Austin, TX - The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) invites nominations for its 2023 archival awards. THRAB grants awards in the categories of excellence, advocacy and distinguished service.

The Archival Award of Excellence honors archival institutions and individuals in Texas who have made significant achievements in preserving and improving access to historical records in any format.

The Advocacy for Archives Award acknowledges an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to ensure the preservation and availability of Texas’s historical record.

Final

Austin, TX – April 17, 2023, marks the start of National Volunteer Week in the United States. The Talking Book Program (TBP) Volunteer Recording Studio at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) this week honors its volunteers, who have been resilient and steadfast by continuing to provide thousands of Texans and those across the country with reading materials in digital audio format.

“Volunteers are the heart and spirit of our 45-year running recording studio. They are the voice and the muscle that enable us to produce the thousands of titles to Texas patrons and beyond. We c

Austin, TX – The Texas Center for the Book has announced the winners of the 2022-2023 Letters About Literature Texas contest, a statewide event sponsored by the Texas Library and Archives Foundation. This annual competition invites 4th through 12th grade students to write letters to authors—living or dead—about how that writer’s words affected them or changed their worldview.

Hundreds of Texas students selected a book, book series, essay, play, poem, short story or speech that touched their lives and submitted their letters to the program. First place winners will be honored at the 2023 Texas

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has announced the release of a new report, Texas Public Libraries: Serving Communities to Enhance Digital Literacy. Created through a TSLAC partnership with the Bureau of Business Research IC2 Institute at The University of Texas at Austin, this publication gathered primary data from main and branch libraries throughout Texas to identify areas of urgent need relating to digital literacy in communities statewide. This research was made possible by support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, with funds from the American Rescue

Austin, TX – This April, Texans celebrate 27 years of Children’s Day, Book Day (El día de los niños, El día de los libros): a celebration of children, culture and literature. The Texas Center for the Book coined the term Lone Star Día for the Texas event and encourages statewide participation. Nationally, libraries, schools, churches and organizations are encouraged to discover “bookjoy” year-round. Most events occur around the official national observance on April 30.

“We are so excited for the 27th annual Lone Star Día celebration,” said Gloria Meraz, Director and Librarian at the Texas Sta

Austin, TX – The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is pleased to announce the 2023 recipients of its Family Place Libraries™ Grant Project:

Carrollton Public Library—Carrollton, Texas

Copperas Cove Public Library—Copperas Cove, Texas

Dickinson Public Library—Dickinson, Texas

Lamar Bruni Vergara Inner City Branch Library—Laredo, Texas

Leon Valley Public Library—Leon Valley, Texas

Mesquite Public Library—Mesquite, Texas

Pharr Memorial Library—Pharr, Texas

Richard Burges Library—El Paso, Texas

Westside Branch Library—New Braunfels, Texas

TSLAC initiated this project in

Austin, TX – The Texas Center for the Book is pleased to join in the announcement of a local author contest that will accept submissions of adult and young adult fiction, to be recognized as the top indie-published e-books in Texas by the Texas Author Project.

Winners in each category will receive $1,000, as well as:

●    Honors at the 2023 Indie Author Day reception ●    Opportunities to promote the winning title at Texas public libraries ●    Inclusion in a full-page spread in Library Journal, one of America’s oldest and most renowned trade publications for library news ●    Opportunities

Austin, TX – The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 TSLAC Research Fellowship in Texas History: Cecilia N. Sanchez Hill, Angus McLeod and Halee Robinson. The fellowship includes a $2,000 stipend and is awarded for the best research proposal utilizing the collections of the State Archives in Austin.

Hill is a PhD candidate at Texas Christian University and has conducted research at the State Archives for her dissertation project. The fellowship allows her to continue her inquiry into the history of educating Mexican American st

Austin, TX – The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) is pleased to announce the reappointment of board member Tara Turk-Zaafran. 

Turk-Zaafran, who was originally appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in March 2021, is the Vice Principal at a local private school in Houston, where she taught social studies and interfaith studies for grades 6 through 8 for several years prior. Turk-Zaafran holds a degree in microbiology and immunology from the University of Miami Coral Gables, and a Master of Education degree from the University of Houston. Turk-Zaafran’s term will expire Feb. 1, 2026.

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Austin, TX – The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) has announced free spring training opportunities on encoding finding aids to enhance the collection access efforts of historical and genealogical societies, archives, museums, libraries, colleges, local governments and other institutions who hold Texas’ archival collections.

Introduction to TARO: Encoding and Submitting Finding Aids is a workshop designed to serve anyone learning how to encode archival finding aids using the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) standard in XML, but focuses on the local guidelines and participation