Elvia Palacios, Practicum Student

In 1967 the State University of New York in Oyster Bay held the first International Conference to discuss “Mexico in Microfilm,” an ambitious co-operative project to microfilm great quantities of Mexican documents before they were unrecoverable due to neglect, loss, or destruction. The thirty-four institutional representatives present at the conference supported the importance and purpose of the project, and the following year a national consortium was organized with a priority in filming archives in Guadalajara.

The five Texas delegates who attended the Oyster Bay conference returned to their home state energized and motivated to create a Texas Consortium to support the national consortium by focusing on microfilming documents from different parts of Mexico besides Guadalajara. This passion and collaborative spirit for archiving and making Mexican archival resources accessible to Texas scholars came to fruition in 1969 with the adoption of  “Articles of Agreement for a Texas Consortium to Microfilm Mexican Archival Materials” and an organizational meeting of thirteen Texas institutions to implement the work necessary.

Each member of the consortium agreed to assume responsibility for leading a microfilming program targeting a geographical or functional area of Mexico. In 1971, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) joined the Texas Consortium and shared responsibility with Trinity University in San Antonio and Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) for microfilming in Nuevo León and Coahuila. The Texas Consortium was active for only a few years before problems and challenges put an end to their efforts. 

Now, over fifty years later, you can access a portion of this microfilming project at TSLAC!

There are 380 microfilm reels available that record Nuevo León government and church documents such as birth, death, marriages, baptisms, church and judiciary records, and a miscellany of other records dating 1701 – 1966.

This Nuevo León Microfilm Inventory list describes the general contents of each reel to help pinpoint which reel will benefit your research. The list is organized by locations in Nuevo León (i.e. Abasolo, Agualeguas, Villa de García, and Villa de Santiago), document type, dates of the records, the repository the records came from, and the microfilm’s reel and camera number. You can find the catalog record under the title Fondo de documentación para la historia del noreste [i.e. nordeste] de Mexico microform. If you can’t find what you are looking for in TSLAC’s collection, try searching through Trinity University’s Special Collections and Archives microfilm records of Nuevo León and Coahuila. Their contact us page will direct you on how to get in touch to access their collection.

TSLAC holds publications helpful for Nuevo Leon genealogy and history that can be identified through a search in the online library catalog. If you don’t know where to begin your search, try TSLAC’s Mexican American Genealogy Guide as a starting  point.

For more information on how to access the Nuevo León collection or any other materials, please contact TSLAC reference services at ref@tsl.texas.gov or call 512-463-5455.

Patrons curious about the Texas State Library and Archives Commission’s (TSLAC) genealogy resources and interested in learning how to use them with the assistance of a professional librarian are invited to visit the Reference Reading Room on Second Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. for Hands-on Help Sessions.

TSLAC Reference Librarians will offer a brief overview of a particular collection or tool that family history researchers may find helpful in tracking down ancestors. No registration is needed, and the sessions are free and open to the public. Hands-on Help Sessions on Second Saturdays this fall are as follows:

    Sept. 14    10:00 a.m.    Vital Statistics at TSLAC
    Oct. 12      10:00 a.m.    Newspaper Resources at TSLAC
    Nov. 9        10:00 a.m.    City Directories at TSLAC    

TSLAC’s collections include books, periodicals, documents, photographs, and artifacts related to Texas history, government, natural resources, businesses, culture, people, and more. Themed exhibits showcasing the wide range of materials available at TSLAC are on view in the lobby of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building on the State Capitol grounds. 

Visitors to the Reference Reading Room are also welcome to log on to computers and explore online databases such as Family Search, Ancestry.com, Fold3, and other products that may contain information available only to on-site patrons. The library is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and the second Saturday of each month from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Call 512-463-5455 or email ref@tsl.texas.gov for assistance. Learn more at www.tsl.texas.gov/arc.

Celebrate Constitution Day with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC)! Visit the lobby of TSLAC’s headquarters in the Capitol Complex on Tuesday, Sept. 17 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and pick up a free, pocket-sized version of the U.S. Constitution. The Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building houses important state government records and also provides access to federal government publications.

Constitution Day offers an opportunity to appreciate democracy and the relevance of an informed citizenry. The commemorative date recognizes the historic occasion when, on Sept. 17, 1787, delegates from the existing twelve states signed the U.S. Constitution, the founding document of U.S. governance. The ceremony took place at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA. The pocket-sized version contains the full text of the document—so pick one up while supplies last!

TSLAC is your source for vital information produced by the state and federal government. The state agency’s mission is to ensure citizens have free access to materials that support civic education.

Through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), TSLAC patrons may access federal government publications produced by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) along with a wealth of other materials. Visit the Reference Reading Room from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, or online at www.tsl.texas.gov/reference, to learn more about these and other collections.

Teach students or learn more about the U.S. Constitution through trivia with resources from the FDLP: https://fdlp.gov/constitution-day-trivia.

The Texas State Library Archives Commission (TSLAC) in downtown Austin offers library collections and resources to the general public on weekdays and the second Saturday of each month. Perhaps known more for its archival documents and records from Texas history, TSLAC also manages an extensive collection of library materials with a team of reference librarians on staff ready to assist patrons.

The agency dates back to 1909 when the library was located in the Texas State Capitol. Books, newspapers, paintings, and artifacts were a part of the State Library and visible in the photographs below. (The Texas State Archives was a division of the library and housed in the basement.)

The Texas State Library and Archives needed a separate building to properly store and provide access to the extensive collections and serve the growing populace in the twentieth century. Eventually, in 1959 Governor Price Daniel was able to coordinate with legislators and state agencies to oversee the construction of a new repository. Opening to the public in 1961, the Texas State Archives and Library Building (now the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building) was a prominent element in centralizing state facilities around the Capitol to create the Capitol Complex.

TSLAC’s modern reading room now offers computer access to the library catalog, commercial and in-house databases, Texas newspapers, digital archives, and so much more.

Contact our reference staff with inquiries about our resources at ref@tsl.texas.gov or 512-463-5455. Visit https://www.tsl.texas.gov/arc for online access and information.