Austin, TX – Baylor University’s stunning Armstrong Browning Library & Museum, which is dedicated to the lives and works of famed Victorian poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, is the subject of the newest Lone Star Libraries video and article, now available at www.tsl.texas.gov/lonestarlibraries.
Lone Star Libraries is a quarterly series from the Texas Center of the Book at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission that showcases and celebrates exceptional libraries across Texas with videos and articles exploring collections and exhibits, interviewing staff and sharing tips for visitors. The Center hopes Texans and tourists alike will be inspired to check out these Lone Star gems.
The Armstrong Browning Library & Museum (ABL) houses the world’s largest collection of Browning material and other rare nineteenth-century books, manuscripts and works of art. More than 30,000 people visit the library each year.
ABL is known for its architecture, including bronze doors modeled after the ones at the Baptistery of St. John in Florence, Italy, and 62 stained-glass windows, most of which illustrate one of the Brownings’ poems.
“I think what makes the Armstrong Browning Library special is that everything about it is unexpected—the architectural details, the colorful stained-glass windows the works of art that you’ll see throughout the library,” said Director Jennifer Borderud. “The fact that the world’s largest collection of materials relating to two major British poets would be here is unexpected. I love when people come and visit and they are surprised by what they see, and it immediately turns into a sense of awe.”
The Texas Center for the Book will visit repositories across the Lone Star State throughout 2025, releasing a new video and spotlight article on a quarterly basis. Each new installment will be announced on the website (www.tsl.texas.gov/lonestarlibraries).
One of 50 state centers affiliated with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, the Texas Center for the Book is under the direction of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. For more information contact Michele Chan Santos at mcsantos@tsl.texas.gov or visit tsl.texas.gov/centerforthebook.
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The Texas State Library and Archives Commission provides Texans access to the information they need to be informed, productive citizens by preserving the archival record of Texas; enhancing the service capacity of public, academic and school libraries; assisting public agencies in the maintenance of their records; and meeting the reading needs of Texans with disabilities. For more information, visit www.tsl.texas.gov.
