Recent Events

June 23
Both amateur and professional genealogists participated in "Looking for Vital Records in the Texas Family Heritage Research Center," the third in an ongoing TSLAC genealogy program put on with support of the Friends called Genealogy After Dark. It followed two earlier seminars on “Researching Republic-Era Records” on Feb. 25, and the first in the series on Dec. 3, 2010, “Using the Catalog to Find Resources in Our Collections.”

May 23
Friends supported TSLAC’s the Texas Reading Club Kickoff with former State Musician Sara Hickman, which launched TSLAC’s annual summer reading program, now in its 54th year.

April 14
Nearly 100 enthusiastic librarians and library friends turned out to hear Christiane Leitinger, national director of Pennies for Peace, speak at the Friends of Libraries & Archives of Texas’ annual program and membership meeting, held annually at the Texas Library Association’s annual conference, this year titled “Crossing Boundaries.”
In what was a busy spring, the Friends also co-sponsored the following events in the newly-launched TSLAC Speaker Series:

March 17
Quilt expert and author Marcia Kaylakie described the complex symbolism in the 19th-century "summer spread" attributed to Margaret Lea Houston, Gen. Sam Houston's wife. Guests were treated to a showing of the award-winning 30-minute documentary, Quilts in Women’s Lives, by filmmaker Pat Ferrero. The summer spread, on display for the first time at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building, is from the collections of TSLAC’s Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty.

March 2
University of Texas history professor and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist H.W. Brands visited TSLAC’s Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building to celebrate Texas Independence Day. He offered a rousing discourse about the Lone Star state’s struggle for independence, and how its reverberations still can be felt in international uprisings today. Following his talk, the Friends hosted a book signing of Brands’ Lone Star Nation: the Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence.

January 27
The Friends helped to launch TSLAC’s new Speaker Series with a resoundingly successful talk and book signing by author, educator and former state archivist Dr. David B. Gracy II. Gracy regaled an audience of more than 50 with the story of how the state archives went from the basement of the Texas Capitol to a cow barn, to a leaky Quonset hut and finally, to the stately Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building in which they’re housed today. The 126-year odyssey is detailed in his new book, The State Library and Archives of Texas: A History, 1835-1962. The Friends hosted a book signing following Dr. Gracy’s talk.

Membership in and contributions to The Friends of Libraries & Archives of Texas support the educational programs and other work of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

If you are not yet a member, please join today!

Past Events