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Welcome to the Texas State Library
and Archives Commission
TSLAC NEWS
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TSLAC exhibits illuminate Texas history
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission's latest lobby displays take a closer look at the first leaders of the Republic of Texas — and some of the famous documents they had a hand in creating. Learn more about the exhibits, then come check them out weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building, 1201 Brazos St., Austin.
Talking Book Program celebrates 80 years
The Talking Book
Program's circulation center today ...
... and during the Capitol basement years.
With its 80th birthday this year, the Talking Book Program has reached a grand milestone. But Texas began providing services for vision-impaired residents well before the Library of Congress officially created the National Library Service on March 3, 1931.
Our talking-book history actually goes back nearly 100 years, to 1918, when the Texas Legislature appropriated $1,000 to purchase raised-letter books for blind readers. This state also was one of the first to join the Library of Congress' network, now known as the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
The service has undergone much growth and change in its lifetime. From 1931 until 1961, materials were housed in the Capitol's basement. By 1940, the TBP had 1,119 boxes of books recorded on phonograph records and served 480 patrons. The Texas Commission for the Blind loaned record players to TBP's patrons. Longer books required many discs: the 1930s best -seller "Gone With the Wind" took 20 LPs to retell.
In 1952, the program expanded to include children. By 1954, TBP had 1,300 patrons. It began circulating books on reel-to-reel tapes in 1959.
In 1961, TBP moved from the Capitol's basement to the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building. In 1963, it added large-print books to the collection. In 1966, people with other disabilities became eligible to use its services; by 1968, TBP had 7,701 patrons and circulated 363,725 volumes.
TBP volunteers at work recording a murder mystery.
The 1970s saw a switch to cassette tapes, along with the start of a public awareness campaign, more Spanish-language titles and a toll-free telephone service. In 1978, TBP began recording Texas-oriented books and magazines to supplement the national collection.
In the 1980s, TBP moved its circulation operations to a three-story facility on Shoal Creek Boulevard in central Austin. When the Zavala building was renovated, three new, state-of-the-art recording booths were installed. TBP began offering books on digital flash cartridges and replacing cassette players with digital ones in mid-2009.
Some patrons now download book and magazine files to their computers, then transfer them to a thumb drive or blank cartridge for use on their digital players.
Today, TBP distributes an average of 4,500 items every weekday. By the end of the 2010 fiscal year, TBP had circulated 917,816 books and magazines to its 18,000 patrons — including "Gone With the Wind," which now fits on a thumb drive.
TSLAC FYI ...
Preservation tips from the Texas State
Archives
Learn how to preserve your personal family archives with preservation
tips from the Texas State Archives. Tips include basic book, paper and photographic
handling and storage, water emergencies, pest management and environmental
controls. More tips are available from the Texas
State Archives, a division of the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission.
Titles tell more about Texas history
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission created a list of books
to help children and teens explore Texas history and heritage. These and
other books available through your local library will carry young readers
on many adventures; they’ll find others by joining joining our Texas
Reading Club or Texas
Teens Read! summer programs. For more info, ask your librarian. View the Texas history reading list; click each book title
for more information.
Broadband
stimulus report available
The purpose of this report is to identify all libraries and educational
and community service institutions in Texas that benefited from federal
broadband stimulus funds, to describe the scope of each broadband project
and to gauge the total benefit for Texans. View report.
TexShare participation lists
TexShare is a cooperative
program that enables participating libraries to offer a broader range
of materials and services than any single library can provide. It makes
access to electronic databases affordable for public and academic libraries,
facilitates interlibrary loans and distributes thousands of publications
to libraries throughout the state. View library-by-library listings of TexShare participants.
Texas Public Library Statistical Snapshot available
View the
Texas Public Library Statistical Snapshot, a compact report of key state
library statistics. Complete Texas public library statistical data can
be found at www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/pls.
Our Mission
The mission of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission is to preserve the record of government for public scrutiny, to secure and make accessible historically significant records and other valuable resources, to meet the reading needs of Texans with disabilities, to build and sustain statewide partnerships to improve library programs and services, and to enhance the capacity for achievement of individuals and institutions with whom we work. Explore TSLAC
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Texas State Library & Archives Commission, P.O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711
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