SHSU library personnel are also working on an arrangement with the Huntsville Public Library to allow users of that facility who have a good record in returning books to check books out as well, at no charge, from the SHSU library. SHSU is a great place for music, theatre, dance and athletic events, all open to area residents for relatively low admission fees. The Wortham performance is unusual, in fact the first ever by a SHSU student ensemble, according to conductor Gary Sousa. But most who attend the regularly-scheduled campus cultural and athletic events agree that the quality to cost ratio in comparison with professional offerings in the Houston area is extremely favorable. Baseball and softball games are free of any admission charge.
Art exhibits are always free.
Many other special events, such as the Distinguished Lecturer Series, are free. Some of the speakers in that series over the years have been Ashley Montagu, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Zbigniew Brzezinski, John Kenneth Galbraith, Alvin Toffler, Larry McMurtry, David Halberstam, Liz Carpenter, and just this past fall, Lech Walesa. One area which does have plenty of free parking and all sorts of possibilities for involvement is the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Walker Education Center. Almost every Saturday there are pottery, hands-on crafts such as spinning, weaving, and others, offered free of charge. The exhibits in the Walker Education Center are all free.