General Preservation Assessment of Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty, Texas

FAIN: PG-51933-13

Texas State Library and Archives Commission (Austin, TX 78711)
Alana Inman (Project Director: May 2012 to September 2014)

A preservation assessment of the historical collections maintained by the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center. The library serves as the historical repository for a ten-county area of southeastern Texas and holds 12,000 cubic feet of manuscripts, local government records, prints and photographs, blueprints and maps, artifacts, audiovisual sources, and published materials dating from 1826, when Mexico governed the territory now known as Texas, to the late 20th century. Collection highlights include artifacts from original Native American inhabitants as well as Spanish and Mexican settlers; the executive records of Sam Houston's second term as president of the Republic of Texas (1841-44); Civil War-era correspondence and military records; photographs and government records documenting the development of the oil industry in Texas in the early 20th century; and the papers of prominent political figures of the 1900s, namely U.S. Representative Martin Dies and U.S. Senator and Texas Governor Price Daniel.

This grant would support the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center's first general preservation assessment of its archival and artifact collections. These unique materials document Southeast Texas' contribution to state and national history. For the past eighteen months, the Center has conducted a number of internal and external assessments related to its general operations, user satisfaction, historic building preservation, and safety and security in an effort to achieve a higher level of professionalism for the benefit of both its collections and its users. These assessments have shown the need for further consideration of the Center's preservation and access policies and practices. A consultant will help define the short-term actions needed to protect and make the collections available to the public and develop a long-range plan for improving collections management.