-----Original Message----- From: tx-ags-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:tx-ags-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of webmaster@austintxgensoc.org Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 9:35 AM To: tx-ags@rootsweb.com Subject: [TX-AGS] Fwd: [tex-dig] TSLAC awards TexTreasures Grants Press Release Wednesday, August 6, 2008 Texas State Library and Archives Commission Contact: Michael Avila, Public Information Specialist (512) 936-4274, mavila@tsl.state.tx.us or Derick Hackett, Communications Officer (512) 463-5514, dhackett@tsl.state.tx.us TSLAC awards TexTreasures Grants Totaling $95,000 to Libraries for Unique Local Collections AUSTIN - The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) issued grants totaling $95,000 to five TexShare member libraries for the digitalization of special and unique collections of photographs, newspapers, interviews, and other historical documents, making them more accessible to all. TSLAC awarded the TexTreasures grants of up to $25,000 to recipients for fiscal year 2009. Internet access will allow more people in Texas to examine and enjoy these collections that were previously available on-site only. "The TexTreasures grant program focuses on making unique library collections accessible for Texas library constituents," said TexShare Program Coordinator Ann Mason. "Applicants propose projects designed to increase accessibility through a wide range of activities, such as organizing, cataloging, indexing, or digitizing local materials." TSLAC received 28 TexTreasures grant proposals. The exciting projects that have been funded are: 1. "Houston Oral History Project" ($17,474) - The Houston Public Library is partnering with Mayor Bill White to preserve and make the video-recordings of significant Houstonians available on the web. 2. "Early Texas Newspapers: 1829-1861" ($24,637) - The University of North Texas Libraries and the Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin will partner to microfilm, digitize, and provide free public access to the earliest Texas newspapers held by the Center for American History. 3. "The Wittliff Collections" ($20,000) - The project creates an online exhibit accessing the primary source materials of researcher Dick J. Reavis held by the Southwestern Writers Collection at the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University about the siege of the Branch Davidians at Mount Carmel outside of Waco in 1993. 4. "Austin History Center Glass Plate Negatives" ($12,889) - The Austin History Center, a division of the Austin Public Library, will digitize the complete Hubert Jones collection of 471 glass plate negatives containing subjects local to Austin and Texas. 5. "Tejano Voices Project" ($20,000) - The University of Texas at Arlington Library will digitize and describe 60 of the 174 oral history interviews with notable Tejanos and Tejanas from across Texas conducted in 1992-2003 by Dr. Jose Angel Gutierrez, associate professor of political science at UT Arlington. The TexTreasures grants are a component of the TexShare Program of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. TexShare emphasizes the benefits of statewide library resource sharing so that Texans can acquire the widest possible range of information regardless of the type of library used. Other components of TexShare include online research databases, a library card that allows for statewide borrowing of materials, and a courier service that affords quick delivery between libraries. MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION: Michael Avila TSLAC Public Information Specialist Library Resource Sharing (512) 936-4274 mavila@tsl.state.tx.us ABOUT THE TEXAS STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES COMMISSION TSLAC helps Texans find the information they seek. The people of Texas utilize TSLAC services and programs to effectively use information and materials that improve their lives, the lives of their families, and their communities. Since 1909, TSLAC has carried out a commitment of making information work for all Texans by providing history and genealogical services, federal and state government documents, electronic research, and library services to Texans of all ages who are unable to read standard print material due to visual, physical, or reading disabilities. For more information, go to http://www.tsl.state.tx.us or email pio@tsl.state.tx.us. Derick Hackett Communications O ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TX-AGS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message