The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has announced a new web page featuring the official legislatively-designed State Symbols of Texas. The new site, accessible at www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/symbols, features each official state symbol with a photograph and citation of the relevant resolution from the Texas Legislature. State symbols have been designated since 1901, when the bluebonnet was chosen as the official flower of Texas by the 27th Legislature. The list now numbers 76 symbols across a […]
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission Awards $156,233 in Library Capacity and Texas Reads Grants
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has announced $156,233 in additional grants for Texas libraries in 2023-2024. Ten successful Texas Read Grants totaling $81,233 from libraries across the state and a $75,000 Library Capacity Grant proposal from the Partners Library Action Network (PLAN) were recently approved by TSLAC. Agency commissioners awarded the statewide library grants at their Friday, Aug. 4 meeting. TSLAC’s Texas Reads Grant Program supports public libraries in their efforts to promote reading and literacy within […]
Texas Talking Book Program Announces 2,000 Texas Titles Now Available for Patrons Nationwide
The Talking Book Program (TBP), a division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has announced a milestone achievement by its Volunteer Recording Studio. TBP has contributed 2,000 Texas-related titles to the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) audio download collection. These titles, including books and magazines on Texas topics and/or by Texas authors, are available to NLS patrons nationwide via the BARD (Braille and Audio Reading […]
Historical Texas Newspapers Now Available Online Through Texas State Library and Archives Commission Partnership with the University of North Texas
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is pleased to announce a new partnership with the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries. The TSLAC Newspaper Collection is now live and available for free online. More than 4,500 issues of historical Texas newspapers from TSLAC’s collection, published from 1855 to 1930, are already available online through UNT’s Portal to Texas History, with more to be added through August of this year. The Portal provides free […]
State Library’s Talking Book Program Partners with Austin Public Library to Unveil Braille Enhanced StoryWalk
The Texas Talking Book Program and Austin Public Library (APL) have partnered to create an accessible, braille-enhanced StoryWalk® at APL’s Windsor Park branch. Now open to the public, the StoryWalk® is located at 5833 Westminster Dr. in Austin. A StoryWalk® is a permanent installation incorporating a children’s story that has been deconstructed, with each page displayed separately along a path for participants to read and enjoy. The APL Windsor Park StoryWalk® tells The Three Billy Goats Buenos story […]
“Beyond the Badge: The Work and Records of the Texas Rangers” Exhibit Now on View at Texas State Library and Archives Commission
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has today announced the opening of its latest exhibit, Beyond the Badge: The Work and Records of Texas Rangers, in the lobby gallery of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building in Austin. A virtual companion exhibit is also accessible on the TSLAC website at www.tsl.texas.gov/beyondthebadge. Beyond the Badge highlights the official records and other resources about the Texas Rangers available in the State Archives. […]
Texas Talking Book Program Celebrates Its Recording Studio Volunteers
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 […]
Texas Center for the Book Celebrates Children’s Literature Across All Communities with Lone Star Día, April 30
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 […]
Felicia J. Williamson Appointed to Texas Historical Records Advisory Board
The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) is pleased to welcome new board member Felicia J. Williamson. Williamson, who will join THRAB on February 1, 2023, has served as the Director of Library & Archives at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum since 2015, working to expand, strengthen and increase access to the Museum’s important collection of rare books, artifacts and oral history testimonies. In addition, she has received a grant from the Texas Holocaust, […]
Texas Libraries Invited to Apply for 2024 Grants from Texas State Library and Archives Commission
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has announced that it will begin accepting applications for its next round of annual grants programs to Texas libraries on Oct. 24. TSLAC’s Fiscal Year 2024 grant offerings include Texas Reads, TexTreasures, Special Projects and Regional ILS Cooperative grants, as well as a new grant program specifically geared toward funding Summer Reading Club programming. More information on this grant program will be released in November 2022. Accredited […]