Featured Collection: Texas Visions and Voices

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Peggy Price

By Gina Watts, Reference Librarian

To celebrate the Texas Center for the Book’s 2019 Texas Great Read selection, “What Do You Do with a Voice Like That? The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan” by Chris Barton and illustrated by Ekua Holmes, our new featured collection focuses on the subject of that book, Barbara Jordan.

Featured Collection: Texas Visions and Voices on display in the Reference Reading Room.

Jordan, a former Texas Senator and Representative in the U.S. Congress, was a skilled orator known for her deep, very recognizable voice. The video on the Texas Great Read page provides an excellent sampling.

Along with books about the notable Texan, the featured collection includes titles in which the authors have employed the use of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission’s diverse and fascinating collections, especially those with audiovisual components.

Take a look through the Visions and Voices of Texas titles below:

Barbara Jordan
James Haskins
328.73092 J761H
Main

Barbara Jordan, a self-portrait
Barbara Jordan and Shelby Hearon
923.2764 J761b
Main

Barbara Jordan : American hero
Mary Beth Rogers
923.2764 J761r
Main

Barbara Jordan : freedom medalist and Texas treasure
Crystal Sasse Ragsdale
P2350.8 B232
Texas Documents

Barbara Jordan : speaking the truth with eloquent thunder
Barbara Jordan and Max Sherman
Z UA380.8 J761BA
Texas Documents

Breaking the ice : the racial integration of Southwest Conference Football
Richard Pennington
796.332 P384B
Main

Houston Cougars in the 1960s : death threats, the veer offense, and the game of the century
Robert Jacobus
Z TA475.8 J159ho
Texas Documents

Thursday night lights : the story of Black high school football in Texas
Michael Hurd
Z UA380.8 H934th
Texas Documents

Tomlinson Hill : the remarkable story of two families who share the Tomlinson name – one white, one black
Chris Tomlinson
305.896 T597t
Main

Wil the thrill : the untold story of Wilbert Montgomery
Edward J Robinson
Z TT422.8 R561wi
Texas Documents

The Carrasco tragedy : eleven days of terror in the Huntsville prison
Aline House
365.641 H816C
Main

Eleven days in hell : the 1974 Carrasco prison siege in Huntsville, Texas
William T Harper
Z N745.7 C868crj NO.3
Main

Texas state parks and the CCC : the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps First edition.
Cynthia A Brandimarte
Z TA475.8 B733te
Texas Documents

Fighting their own battles : Mexican Americans, African Americans, and the struggle for civil rights in Texas
Brian D Behnken
305.8 B395f
Main

Landscapes of exclusion : state parks and Jim Crow in the American South
William E O’Brien
305.8 OB69LA
Main

Who gets a childhood? : race and juvenile justice in twentieth-century Texas
William S Bush
364.36 B963w
Main

Parks for Texas : enduring landscapes of the new deal
James Wright Steely
333.783 St325p
Main

Please pass the biscuits, Pappy : pictures of Governor W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel
Bill Crawford
976.4063 OD1p
Main

Ten dollars to hate : the Texas man who fought the Klan
Patricia Bernstein
Z TA475.8 B458te
Texas Documents

The featured collection display is on view in the Reference Reading Room in the Lorenzo de Zavala Texas State Archives and Library building at 1201 Brazos St. Austin, Texas 78701. For more information about the books and other materials available at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, contact the Reference staff at ref@tsl.texas.gov or 512-436-5455.

Second Saturday Workshops Continue with Introduction to Newspaper Collections

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Peggy Price

Researchers encounter newspapers in libraries and archives on microfilm, in old bound volumes and through online databases that allow users to keyword search entire collections of digitized issues dating back decades and even centuries. The next installment in the Texas State Library and Archives Commission’s monthly workshop series covers the various methods of locating and using these resources with an Introduction to Newspaper Collections.

Brenham Banner-Press, 12-8-1941. Original newspaper from the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

TSLAC reference staff will guide participants through our newspaper resources in a free, 20-minute orientation session beginning at 10a.m. on September 14, 2019. Registration is encouraged but not required. Visit our workshop page for descriptions and a full schedule of topics or go ahead and register here.

TSLAC Reading Room Transition Complete

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Peggy Price

UPDATE (10/7/19) Due to work on the new library programming and event space, the Genealogy Collection will be temporarily unavailable from October 14-16, 2019. All other collections will be open and available.

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission has completed the remodel of the Reference Reading Room on the first floor of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building and welcomes visitors to explore the new configuration with the images below and in person during our regularly-scheduled hours.

Essential Genealogy resources like vital statistics indexes and city directories, along with a new Genealogy Reference section are now located on the first floor. Patrons will find all public computers, microfilm readers, photocopier and scanning equipment, and assistance from Reference Staff available in the Reference Reading Room.

Questions about our collections or conducting research at TSLAC? Contact Archives and Information Services at: ref@tsl.texas.gov.

Inquiries about improvements at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building may be addressed to: pio@tsl.texas.gov.

TSLAC Staff Participate in Council of State Archivists / Society of American Archivists National Conference

Posted on August 16, 2019 by Peggy Price

When the Council of State Archivists (CoSA) / Society of American Archivists (SAA) held their joint annual meeting in our hometown of Austin,Texas this summer, the name badges of Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) staff could be spotted throughout the conference. TSLAC archivists gave presentations, facilitated panel discussions and obtained vital information on current trends in the field. Colleagues from the State and Local Records Management (SLRM) division of TSLAC also presented and attended sessions relevant to government records.

TSLAC Archives and Information Division Director and State Archivist, Jelain Chubb served on a panel discussion about controversial monuments.

The CoSa/SAA program featured a number of TSLAC presenters. State Archivist and the division director for TSLAC Archives and Information Services, Jelain Chubb, chaired a timely panel discussion on the role government archives play in relation to controversial public monuments. Jelain also facilitated the session for CoSA’s invited speaker, former State Archivist for Texas and retired University of Texas professor David Gracy.

Archivist Anna Reznik found deeper meaning in records dealing with radioactive waste for a Science, Technology, and Health Care Section presentation and Jessica Tucker, another TSLAC archivist, facilitated a session on how student employees contribute to archival work. Both Anna Reznik and Rebecca Romanchuk, the team lead for our TSLAC archives unit, presented at a forum for the archives information database, ArchivesSpace.

TSLAC Archivist Rebecca Romanchuk presents at the 2019 CoSA/SAA joint annual meeting in Austin, Texas.

TSLAC invited conference attendees to explore the home of the State Archives with two behind-the-scenes tours of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building. Archives and Information Services personnel offered close-up views of the Summerlee Conservation Lab, archival storage and processing areas, the digital program, and reading rooms.

Digital Asset Coordinator, Steven Kantner gives a talk on TSLAC digitization projects for a tour group.

Digital Asset Coordinator, Steven Kantner, played a little hoe-down music from a Pappy O’Daniel radio program that he had reformatted to digital audio. Conservator Sarah Norris described how she approached a recent project to conserve a Texas Ranger company muster roll from the 19th century.

Conservator Sarah Norris provides a tour of her lab at TSLAC.

Sarah Norris describes the conservation techniques she applied to a Texas Ranger muster listing from the 19th century.

We had a great time hosting our guests and sharing a few of our techniques and procedures with fellow archivists from around the country. The annual national conference takes place in a different city each year and we look forward to when Austin once again welcomes archivists back to town.

More scenes from CoSA/SAA 2019:

Archivists Angela Swift, Rebecca Romanchuk and Anna Reznik pose with former ARIS Preservation Officer, John Anderson.
State Archivist, Jelain Chubb gives a behind-the-scenes tour of the State Archives.
Rebecca Romanchuk stands ready at the registration desk for the ArchivesSpace forum.
Anna Reznik, second from left, with TSLAC colleagues from the State and Local Records Management division (L-R Erica Siegrist, Sarah Jacobson, Craig Kelso and Megan Carey)
Conference name badges with ribbons indicating presenters, first-time attendees, etc.
Archivist Tiffany Criswell demonstrates how a large trash can serves as a humidification chamber.
Tour group ready to explore the State Archives.
Anna Reznik speaks at the ArchivesSpace forum.

Collections on the Move! Summer Changes Coming to TSLAC Reading Rooms

Posted on July 24, 2019 by Peggy Price

UPDATE: (August 16, 2019) TSLAC has made significant progress relocating frequently-accessed materials from the second floor to the reconfigured first-floor Reference Reading Room. While work continues on converting the second floor to a library event and educational programming space, many of the key changes to collection locations and service points are complete. Patrons may now expect to conduct (non-archival) research and use all library resources in the Reference Reading Room. New additions to the space include:

Vital statistics, city directories and other essential research tools.
A new Genealogy Reference section.
Expanded area for display of featured collections and new books.

Questions about our collections or conducting research at TSLAC? Contact Archives and Information Services at: ref@tsl.texas.gov.

Inquiries about improvements at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building may be addressed to: pio@tsl.texas.gov.

Read more about the project in our original post here:

UPDATE: Starting Tuesday, at 12 p.m. August 6, 2019: All reading room services will be provided in the Archives Reading Room. Researchers planning a visit between August 6 and August 13 may contact reference staff for more information at 512-463-5455 or ref@tsl.texas.gov.

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is pleased to announce an exciting transition coming to the Reference and Genealogy public service areas in the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building. Frequently accessed materials such as Texas vital statistic indexes and city directories from the Genealogy and Family History collection will be relocated to the Reference Reading Room.

The current Reference Reading Room in the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building.

This transition will begin on Wednesday, August 7, 2019 with as little disruption to services as possible. We do not anticipate closing to the public during this period. Please consult with reference staff upon arrival to confirm which reading room will be available for research while the change is underway, which we expect to be completed within a few days.

Key changes include:

Ready Reference shelving will be relocated to the current microfilm computer area to make room for additional research tables and microfilm stations will be moved to a central location in the reading room.
The updated space will include a refreshed Reference Collection, expanded display area for featured and new books, as well as periodicals.
The second floor will be enclosed to create a new public events and educational programming venue.

According to TSLAC Director and State Librarian, Mark Smith, “This change allows us to increase the visibility of our collections and concentrate our staff to work more closely with researchers.” Smith adds, “We are also pleased to be able to dedicate space for public programming and enhance our slate of educational activities.”

Check back here at Out of the Stacks for updates. Thank you for your patience as we work to improve services for our patrons.

Questions about our collections or conducting research during the transition? Contact Archives and Information Services at: ref@tsl.texas.gov.

Inquiries about improvements at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Building may be addressed to: pio@tsl.texas.gov.

Margie Neal, First Woman Elected to the Texas Senate

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Peggy Price

By Susan Floyd, Archivist

In 1927, two years after Miriam “Ma” Ferguson became the state’s first woman governor, four years after Edith Wilmans entered the Texas House of Representatives as the first woman in the Legislature, and only eight years after Texas women’s suffrage rights were acknowledged and enforced by the 19^th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Margie Neal became, as Governor Allan Shivers said at Margie Neal Appreciation Day in Carthage in 1952, “the first woman to invade the masculine sanctity of the Texas Senate.”

Margie Elizabeth Neal was born in 1875 in Clayton, Panola County, Texas, to William Lafayette and Martha Anne Gholston Neal. Later in life, she recalled that her interest in politics was sparked at age ten, when she saw then-Governor John Ireland speak in Carthage in 1885 or 1886. She attended, but did not graduate from, Sam Houston State Teachers College.

In the spring of 1893, Neal earned a first-grade teaching certificate and began her career in the Mount Zion community in east Panola County. She subsequently taught in several schools, including in Forney, Scottsville, Marlin and Fort Worth, before returning home to Carthage in 1904 to be the primary caregiver of her mother, whose health was failing. However, this move also provided her a new professional opportunity. From 1904 to 1911, Neal was publisher and editor of the Carthage East Texas Register. A large portion of the newspaper’s content was editorial writing. Neal used its pages to champion the establishment of a Y.M.C.A. in Carthage, push for city clean-up and tree-planting projects, argue for the creation of a chamber of commerce and press for improvements to county roads. But the Register’s most consistent editorial interest was in public education. As editor, Neal argued for improvements to school facilities and sponsored scholarships to local business colleges.

Photograph: “Margie E. Neal—The Progressive Editor.” From Harris, Walter L. The Life of Margie E. Neal, MA thesis, University of Texas, 1955. Available from TSLAC-MAIN Collection (non-circulating) ARC 923.2764 N254H.

From 1912, her mother’s health worsened, and Neal was forced into semi-retirement for four years. Despite these family obligations Margie Neal was also instrumental in the founding and development of both the Carthage Circulating Book Club from 1907 and the Panola County Fair, first held in 1916. Her interest in women’s suffrage also continued to grow, and she became secretary of the Panola County Equal Suffrage Association.

In 1918, the Texas Legislature recognized women’s right to vote in state primary elections.[1] In an effort to bolster women’s turnout in Panola County, Margie Neal ordered professionally printed buttons reading “I have registered” and distributed them among women. At the end of the 1918 voting drive, more than 500 women in the county had registered. Margie Neal was, unsurprisingly, the first woman to cast a vote in Panola County.

Margie Neal was the first woman to serve as a member of the State Teachers Colleges board of regents (1921-1927) and the first woman to serve as a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee in 1918. She was also a delegate to the 1920 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. In 1922 and 1924, she turned down first Governor Pat Neff’s and then Governor Miriam Ferguson’s offer to appoint her Secretary of State.

Photograph: Margie E. Neal in 1925. From Harris, Walter L. The Life of Margie E. Neal, MA thesis, University of Texas, 1955. Available from TSLAC-MAIN Collection (non-circulating) ARC 923.2764 N254H.

Neal’s work as a regent was the primary impetus for her 1926 Senate run. She was a frequent visitor to Austin during legislative sessions; in an interview later in life, she recalled a specific visit during which she became concerned about the direction certain legislation was heading, leading her to think to herself, “If I had a vote… I might do more for education than I am doing as a college regent sitting in the gallery.”[2] She returned to Carthage and sought advice from trusted colleagues, family, and friends, then decided, in March 1926, that she would run for the Texas Senate from District 2.

This district included Panola, Harrison, Gregg, Rusk and Shelby Counties. Neal’s only opponent in the Democratic primary was Gary B. Sanford of Rusk County, who had prior experience as a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Neal launched her campaign on June 12 in the Carthage County Courthouse, followed by five weeks of intensive campaigning in all five counties of the district. Her platform consisted of four components: better public schools—especially rural schools, to be achieved through an increased per capita apportionment; an improved state highway system, to be achieved through a new gasoline tax; more aid for farmers, labor, and capital; and a streamlining of laws for improved law enforcement. In the end, Neal defeated Sanford in every county but his own, and, facing no opponent in the general election, was elected to the Senate on July 28, 1926.

Continue reading →

Women’s History Month, 2019: Women in the Texas Legislature

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Peggy Price

By Stephanie Andrews, Library Assistant

Display of titles on Texas women from the collections of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Every March, we as a country celebrate women and their role in our nation’s history with Women’s History Month. According to the United States Statutes, Public Law 100-9, the first celebrated Women’s History Month was in March 1987.

Visit the Law Library of Congress’ Women’s History Month webpage for more information about the federal government’s role in this yearly event. In addition to the annual proclamation, the National Women’s History Alliance suggests a theme for each year’s celebration. This year’s theme is, “Visionary Women: Champions of Peace & Nonviolence.”

As the Texas Legislature is currently in session, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) would like to share some of our resources about women in the Texas Legislature. These women embody this year’s theme by the way they have brought about change in peaceful and nonviolent ways. Whether they were serving unfinished terms for their husbands, lobbying for a woman’s right to vote, or becoming the first of many to serve in the Texas Legislature, Texas women have had a vibrant and important role in the history of Texas politics.

A selection from the TSLAC collections highlighting the contributions of Texas women.

Some of the more notable women in Texas politics include: Edith Wilmans, the first woman to be elected to the Texas Legislature; Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, the first woman to be elected as Texas Governor; Barbara Jordan, the first African-American woman to be elected to the Texas Legislature; and, Irma Rangel, the first Mexican-American woman to be elected to the Texas Legislature. Read more about Texas’ female Legislators in Nancy Baker Jones’ book, Capitol Women: Texas Female Legislators, 1923-1999.

Below you will find a reading list of publications that cover people or topics related to Texas women in politics. The list is not intended to be comprehensive, but can be a starting place for learning more about Texas women legislators.

“The majority of the American people still believe that every single individual in this country is entitled to just as much respect just as much dignity,
as every other individual.”
Barbara Jordan, Texas State Senator 1967-1973

Publications and Electronic Materials
Title	Call Number	Format	Collection
A Texas Suffragist: Diaries and Writings of Jane Y. McCallum	322.44 M124H	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Barbara Jordan: A Self-Portrait	923.2764 J761B	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Black Texas Women	305.48 W725B	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Black Texas Women: A Sourcebook	305.48 W725BS	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Brave Black Women	305.48 W725	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Celebrate the World	PE 1.12:W 84/2	Electronic File	U.S. Documents
Claytie and the Lady	976.4063 T578c	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Democratizing Texas Politics	Z UA380.8 M348de	Print	Texas Documents
Finder’s Guide to the Texas Women: A Celebration of History Exhibit Archives	305.40976 F492	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Joint Resolution to Designate the Month of March, 1987, as “Women’s History Month.”	AE 2.111:101/PT.1	Print	U.S. Documents
Latina Legislator: Leticia Van De Putte and the Road to Leadership	Z TA475.8 N228La	Print	Texas Documents
Oveta Culp Hobby: Colonel, Cabinet Member, Philanthropist	Z UA380.8 W725ov	Print	Texas Documents
Picturing Texas Politics	Z UA380.8 B151pi	Print	Texas Documents
Profiles in Power: Twentieth Century Texans in Washington	923.2764 P943 2004	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Quotable Texas Women	305.4 Q57	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Texas Senators 83rd Legislature	L1803.1 SE55 83	Print	Texas Documents
Texas Through Women’s Eyes	Z UA380.8 M118TE	Print	Texas Documents
Texas Women in Politics	329.009764 W413T	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Texas Women: A Celebration of History	976.4042 T312	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Texas Women: A Pictorial History	305.4 W725T	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Texas Women: Interviews and Images	305.409764 L334T	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Texas Women’s Hall of Fame	976.4092 M814t	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Texas Women’s Hall of Fame: A Sesquicentennial Celebration	976.4092 SE64	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Texas Women’s History Project Bibliography	305.4 T312B	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
The Capital Book	328.764092 C172	Print	TSLAC-MAIN
Tributes Delivered in Congress: Kay Bailey Hutchison	Y 1.1/3:113-8	Print	U.S. Documents
Women in Decision-Making	PE 1.12:W 84	Electronic File	U.S. Documents
Women in Texas	976.4042 C856W 1992	Print	ARC-REF

Archival Materials

Title	Collection
Records of Representative Anita Hill, 1979-1992		Archives
Representative Patricia Harless records, 2007-2015		Archives
Representative Debbie Riddle records, 2003-2015		Archives
Representative Molly White records, 2007-2016		Archives
Representative Myra Crownover records, 2003-2015		Archives
Representative Patricia Gray records, 1991-1993, 1995-2002, undated, bulk 1995-2001		Archives
Representative Harryette Ehrhardt records, 1991, 1994-2001, undated bulk 1995-2001		Archives
Records of Representative Ernestine Glossbrenner, 1977-1990 (bulk 1987-1990)		Archives
Records of Senator Cyndi Taylor Krier, 1974-1992 (bulk 1985-1992)		Archives

To search for these collections, books and more, check out our catalog at www.tsl.texas.gov/catalog. To learn more about our archives collections visit our Descriptive Guides webpage.

Contact the Reference Desk with any inquiries regarding these or other materials at TSLAC at ref@tsl.texas.gov, call us at 512-463-5455 or visit in person at 1201 Brazos Street, Austin, TX 78701 room 109.

Quotes above were referenced from Susie Kelly Flatau and Lou Halsell Rodenberger’s “Quotable Texas Women” (State House Press, 2005).

State Archives Offering Research Workshops on Second Saturdays

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Peggy Price

Beginning in January, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) will offer resource orientation workshops at 10 a.m. each Second Saturday of 2019. The workshops highlight key tools researchers may use at the State Archives or through the website, with each 20-minute session focusing on one essential resource. Reference staff will present on Texas city directories, county records, newspaper collections, vital statistics, U.S. Census records and Ancestry.com (Texas Collection). The sequence repeats after the first cycle ends in June.

Researchers using Reference Library computers.

The free workshops should appeal to a wide range of patrons interested in library research. Those still familiarizing themselves with the assortment of access points one must navigate to discover source materials may find all of the topics germane, while the more practiced patrons may have specific collections in mind. Guests are invited to stay on and use TSLAC’s public service areas for their research activities until the library closes at 4 p.m. (Learn more about visiting the library here.) Here is the 2019 Second Saturday Workshop Series schedule:

Searching the Census Online Jan. 12 | July 13

Introduction to Newspaper Collections March 9 | Sept. 14

Introduction to Texas County Records April 13 | Oct. 12

Ancestry.com Texas Collections May 11 | Nov. 9

Introduction to City Directories June 8 | Dec. 14

Registration is preferred but not required. Walk-ins are always welcome! For more information and to register visit https://www.tsl.texas.gov/arc/workshops.

Featured Collection: Western Landscapes and Beyond

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Peggy Price

By Caroline Jones, Reference Archivist

Selection of titles on the subject of Western art available in the Texas State Library and Archives collections. The display is currently on view in the Reference Reading Room.

Our newest featured collection is now on display in the Reference Reading Room. “Western Artists: Texas Landscapes and Beyond” features the works of Tom Lea, Frank Reaugh, Charles M. Russell, and many other Southwestern artists who captured the sights of the Wild West. Browse through tranquil images of longhorns in their pastures and bluebonnets in bloom. Study the images of Native American hunters and horse- wrangling cowboys. Whichever book you choose, you’ll be sure to enjoy this sampling of artistic publications from our collections.

John Canfield Ewers’ “Plains Indian Painting,” Stanford University Press, 1939.

To search for these books and more, check out our catalog at www.tsl.texas.gov/catalog. You may search for subjects like “Texas in art” or “West (U.S.) –In art” or for the names of specific artists. If you are interested in a title on our Featured Collection shelf, please visit the Reference Desk in room 109. Below is the complete list of titles you’ll find on our Featured Collection shelf for June and July. Download the list of the featured collection. .

TITLE	AUTHOR	CALL NUMBER	COLLECTION
The Art of Tom Lea	Lea, Tom	700.924 AR75 OVER-L	MAIN
The West of the imagination	Goetzmann, William H.	700.978 G555w	MAIN
Plains Indian painting : a description of an aboriginal American art	Ewers, John C. (John Canfield)	759.011 EW38	MAIN
Painting in Texas : the nineteenth century	Pinckney, Pauline A.	759.1 P651 OVER-T	MAIN
Gallery of Western Paintings	Carlson, Raymond	759.13 C197 OVER-T	MAIN
H.W. Caylor, frontier artist	Caylor, H. W. (Harvey Wallace)	759.13 C318H OVER-L	MAIN
Bluebonnets and cactus; an album of southwestern paintings	Salinas, Porfirio	759.164 SA33	MAIN
Artists who painted Texas	Von Rosenberg, Marjorie	759.164 V897A	MAIN
Artists of the Old West	Ewers, John C. (John Canfield)	759.18 EW38	MAIN
Frank Reaugh, painter to the longhorns	Reaugh, Frank	920.71 R236F OVER-L	MAIN
The Charles M. Russell book; the life and work of the cowboy artist	McCracken, Harold	927.5 R912m OVER-T	MAIN
Hecho en Tejas : Texas-Mexican folk arts and crafts	Graham, Joe Stanley	Z N745.7 T312f NO.50	TXD
Walls that speak : the murals of John Thomas Biggers	Theisen, Ollie Jensen	Z N745.8 T341wa	TXD
Of Texas rivers & Texas art	Sansom, Andrew	Z TA475.8 SA58of	TXD
Art of West Texas women : a celebration	Hopper, Kippra D.	Z TT422.8 H778AR	TXD
Thomas Moran : watercolors of the American West : text and catalogue raisonné	Clark, Carol	Z UA380.8 T365	TXD
Windows on the West : the art of Frank Reaugh	Mears, Peter	Z UA380.8 W724we	TXD
Treasured landscapes : National Park Service art collections tell America’s stories	National Center for Cultural Resource Stewardship and Partnerships (U.S.)	I 29.2: AR 7/5	USD
An Eye for History: The Paintings of William Henry Jackson	Knudsen, Dean	I 29.2: P 16	USD
Picturing America	Hindley, Meredith	NF 3.2: AM 3/8	USD
American Art in the Making: Preparatory Studies for Masterpieces of American Painting, 1800-1900	Sellin, David	SI 1.2: Am 1/3/800-900	USD
Cast and recast : the sculpture of Frederic Remington	Shapiro, Michael Edward	SI 6.2: R 28	USD

High School Student Learns the Ropes at the Library

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Peggy Price

By Bailey Judis

High School student Bailey Judis (center) with the TSLAC library staff (l-r) Taylor Fox, Stephanie Andrews, Brianna Cochran, Angela Kent, Maria Barker, and Mackenzie Ryan

I am a high school student at the Austin Waldorf School, and as part of our school’s curriculum, we are given two weeks during the Spring semester to experience a type of work featuring a process. Given my passion for history and interest in museums and archives, I chose to do my work experience at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC). I have very much enjoyed learning the many processes that go into storing, preserving, and digitizing the TSLAC’s many artifacts. I was able to witness many dedicated and hardworking staff members as well as numerous steps taken to ensure all of the archival materials and artifacts are available to everyone for research. Accessibility is a key motivation for this organization.

One of the processes I observed was the TSLAC’s process of digitization. By putting scans of artifacts and documents onto the Texas Digital Archive, I learned that this allows patrons and researchers to access and observe them from anywhere in the world. It also helps preserve the life of the artifact and documents. I was able to observe the project and process of digitizing the Texas Supreme Court documents. The first thing I learned about this process is that in order for the documents to be scanned, they must be flat. Since most of the documents had been rolled very tightly and stored in boxes for many years, they definitely needed to be flattened. After removing the documents bindings, such as ribbons and brads, the documents were then humidified using a simple method of container humidification. After being humidified, the documents were laid between pieces of blotting paper and transferred to the book press. Some documents however were bound with homemade glue, requiring a tedious process of removing the adhesive before they could be pressed. After being left in the book press for two weeks, the now flattened documents were stored in the stacks as they waited to be scanned and put onto the Texas Digital Archive. An overview of what was said in each document would be added with the document’s scan to the Texas Digital Archive, that way a researcher would be able to look through the Texas Supreme documents and have an easier time finding what they were looking for.

Bailey Judis with State Archivist Jelain Chubb in the stacks at TSLAC.

One of the most surprising things I learned was how organized and neat the stacks are. There is so much detail and so many little steps that are key to ensure no artifacts and documents become lost. The Archives and Library staff put so much care into what they do, and their passion for what they do has been very inspiring for me. I was able to learn so much about how the Archives and Library works, and I also had the privilege of seeing their Talking Book Program, working on my skills of scanning and learning about digitization, looking at old photographs and nineteenth century microfilm and much more. I feel very honored to have had the privilege to work with so many inspiring and compassionate people and the opportunity to learn about such an amazing organization. Their passion for their jobs was incredibly inspiring.