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CURRENT ISSUE

Latest News from the Austin History Center

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Austin History Center is currently open for remote reference service Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and for in-person research Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The AHC is closed Saturday and Sunday.


The exhibit of photos featuring people of color from the photo morgue of the Austin American-Statesman closes Oct. 10. Photo: AS-74-88350, © Austin American-Statesman. Graphic courtesy Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

Exhibits

Above and Beyond the Fold: Finding Community in Austin American-Statesman is currently on display at the Austin Central Library, 4th floor. The exhibit presents a selection of photographs that reflect narratives of pride, laughter, and building intergenerational community within Austin’s communities of color. All images were produced as part of the ongoing project, “Communities of Color in the Austin American-Statesman Photo Morgue: A Digitization Survey,” which aims to digitize thousands of negatives documenting Austin’s African American, Latinx, and Asian Pacific American communities. AHC’s Austin American-Statesman Photographic Morgue Collection (AR.2014.039) contains hundreds of thousands of negatives taken by staff photographers between 1958 and 1982, but the collection is expanding (see Collections below).


This initiative is funded by a TexTreasures Grant made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The exhibit runs through Oct. 10.


Collections

  • AHC staff have a number of collections being processed, including the Armenian Church of Austin Records (AR.2018.045)

  • The AHC finalized an agreement with the Austin American Statesman/Gannett on a substantial donation of negatives that will complete the Austin American-Statesman Photographic Morgue Collection (AR.2014.039) from 1958 through 2006 when the newspaper transitioned from using film and prints to digital photo collection.

  • AHC received a donation of subject files, notebooks, and other administrative records documenting the history of the Austin Chapter of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TXAEYC) from its founding in 1959 to 2019. Information covers board members, roles, publications, conferences, trainings, collaborations, and awards.

  • AHC received news clippings, a scrapbook, programs, minutes, rosters, and photographs documenting the Douglass Club of Austin, the oldest African American women’s service organization in Austin and Central Texas. The organization was formed in 1906 to provide an avenue for African American women to address the needs of their family, community, and nation, by addressing issues that improve quality of life.

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