In 1909 the Texas State Library and Historical Commission began publishing Texas Libraries. This journal included state-wide statistics, news notes from public, private and college libraries, as well as the minutes of the newly formed Texas Library Association. Periodically, Texas Libraries included the latest edition of the Handbook of Texas Libraries, and also published lists of Federal Depository Libraries and articles on documents related topics.
The current FDLP Texas libraries who were also participating in the Federal Depository Library Program in 1902 (the year TLA was established) include: University of Texas, Austin (designated 1884); Houston Public Library (designated 1884); San Antonio Public Library (designated 1899); and Dallas Public Library (designated 1900). Other libraries with pre-1924 designations (the year News Notes - the Bulletin of the Texas Library Association began) include: Fort Worth Public Library (designated 1905); El Paso Public Library (designated 1906); Texas A&M University (designated 1907); the Rosenberg Library (designated 1909); and Texas Christian University (designated 1916).
The following excerpts are included to chronicle Texas interest in government information and documents librarianship.
Items of Interest from Pre-1920
November 1909 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no.1, pages 3-5) "Texas Library Association - From Secretary's Minutes"
[Excerpts:]". . . Miss [Gertrude] Matthews [Waco Public Library] made some practical suggestions as to things she would like the [Texas State Library] Commission to accomplish . . .Mr. [Benjamin] Wyche [San Antonio Carnegie Library - later with the University of Texas] and Mr. [P.L.] Windsor [University of Texas] urges the importance of the publication of a check list of Texas State publications by the Commissioner. . . ."
November 1909 (Texas Libraries, vol.1, no. 1, pages 8-12) "News Notes"
[Excerpts:] " . . . Austin - State Library . . .The store room has been furnished with 1,356 feet of shelving. This will facilitate the handling of government documents and duplicates. . .
College Station - [A&M Library] . . . No library appropriation has been made for this institution for several years . . . There are 6,000 or 7,000 books in the library but many of these are government publications which while valuable did not cost the State a cent while the volumes on art, philosophy, science, etc. are all old, with noting recent for reference, and the fiction is a mere handful, with none of late publications. . .
San Antonio - [Carnegie Library] . . . The collection of public documents formerly shelved in the stack room has been transferred to the south gallery . . .
Waco - Baylor University Library . . . The library has almost 30,000 volumes, including 5,000 government documents; 10,000 pamphlets and about 2,000 bound periodicals. . . ."
November 1909 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 1, pages 12-14) "Texas Documents Compiled by the Texas State Library"
[Excerpts:] "The following is a complete list of Texas documents for the biennium ending August 31, 1908 . . . Libraries may obtain copies of those documents [annual reports from various agencies] from the State Library . . . [other documents on the list] are printed for the department or institution issuing them, and application for them should be addressed to such department or institution. Much valuable information is found in the documents and other publications. With few exceptions, the number of copies printed of each is very small . . . ."
November 1910 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 2, pages 13-16) "Texas Reference Collection"
Prepared by the State Librarian
[Excerpts:] "This list was prepared to answer requests received at the State Library. Its publication is prompted by a belief that the list will prove useful to others. . .
6. The Republic of Texas. . . Garrison, George P. Ed., Diplomatic Correspondence of the Republic of Texas. vol. 1. In Vol. 2 of the Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1907. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1908. pp. 646 . . .
11. Books of Special Topics. Lane, J.J., History of Education in Texas. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903. (Publication No. 293 of the U.S. Bureau of Education.) pp. 334 . . .Bray, William L. Forest Resources of Texas. Bulletin No. 47, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Division of Forestry, Washington, 1904. pp. 71. Bailey, Vernon. Biological Survey of Texas: Life Zones with Characteristic Species of Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Plants. Washington. 1905. pp. 222.
12. State Publications. . . . Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture . . . Annual Report of the Comptroller of Public Accounts . . . Secretary of State Biennial report . . . Secretary of State Laws of Texas, Superintendent of Public Instruction Biennial report . . . ."
January 1914 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 3, pages 1) [Forward]
"After an interval of three years Texas Libraries will again makes its appearance, and will be published quarterly. In order that the records may be as complete as possible, statistics of the several libraries for 1911, 1912, and 1913 are included . . . ."
January 1914 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 3, pages 2-7) " Library Laws of Texas"
[Excerpt:] ". . . 4. Library and Historical Commission . . .
State Library, what belongs to. --- All books, pictures, documents, publications, and manuscripts received through gift, purchase, or exchange or on deposit, form any source for the use of the state, shall constitute a part of the State Library, and shall be placed therein for the use of the public. (Act March 19, 1909, sec. 5, R.S., 1911, art. 5604.)
Duties of the state librarian. --- First. He shall have charge of the State Library and all books, pictures, documents, newspapers, manuscripts, archives, relics, mementoes, flags, etc., therein contained . . . Third. He shall demand and receive from the officers of state departments having them in charge, all books, maps, papers, manuscripts, documents, memoranda, and data not connected with or necessary to the current duties of said officers, relating to the history of Texas, and carefully classify, catalogue and preserve the same. The attorney general shall decide as to the proper custody of such books, etc., whenever there is any disagreement as to the same . . .
Public documents for exchange. --- That 150 copies of each annual or biennial report, printed by the secretary of state in accordance with the laws regulating public printing, shall be delivered by the secretary of state to the Library and Historical Commission for distribution to the free public libraries of Texas and to libraries elsewhere in exchange for publications received from them. (Act April 15, 1913. General Laws, 1913, ch. 140, art. 5607a.) . . . ."
January 1914 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 3, page 7) [Publications of interest]
[Excerpts:] "A list of books suited to a high-school library" (104 pages) was published at Bulletin 35 of the U. S. Bureau of Education, Washington . . . "Teaching material in government publications" (62 pages) is the subject of Bulletin 47 of the U.S. Bureau of Education. It is useful to everyone in need of information on agriculture, domestic science, economics, geography, history, hygiene and sanitation and nature study. The various publications listed are described, priced and contents noted, with full directions how to order them."
November 1914 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 3, pages 8-15) "News Notes of Texas Libraries"
[Excerpts:] ". . . El Paso - . . . The government documents have all been catalogued and placed in an attractive room. . . . "
April 1914 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 4, pages 2-12) "News Notes of Texas Public Libraries"
[Excerpt:] ". . . Fort Worth . . . We have fitted up one of the basement rooms for a public document room by equipping it with Art Metal library stacks and have added two stacks to the stack room . . . ."
July 1914 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 5, pages 13-23) "News Notes of Texas Public Libraries"
[Excerpts:] ". . . Dallas Public Library . . . Classified contents of the library, May 1, 1914 . . . Public documents - vols. 5,691; vols added 1913-1914: Public documents - 226 . . . ."
January 1915 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 7, pages 11-12) "County Libraries and the Rural Problem"
By Lillian Gunter, Librarian Gainesville Public Library
[Excerpt:] "Think of life on a distant tenant farm, bare walls, meager diet, the fewest and poorest clothes, no books, magazines, or newspapers, poor schools, not much church, no social or intellectual stimulus . . . The vast forces working for the benefit of our rural population have so far, met with pitifully small returns . . . Newspapers and magazines offer the farmer reams of advice, but he has no money to buy newspapers and magazines; politicians go out to make him speeches, but he has neither clothes nor time to go to hear them. The government prints valuable pamphlets on farming, and the State Board of Health edits a monthly bulletin telling him how to safeguard his health. Files of these invaluable documents lie rotting on their shelves, because government officials do not know of their existence . . . If you would see Texas go forward in social, financial and agricultural progress, give her the right kind of county library law. Establish a county library, under trained management, with shelves of live, desirable books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets and government documents open to the whole county . . . Dallas News, December 28, 1914."
January 1915 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 10-11, pages 9-77) Handbook of Texas Libraries Number 3
[Excerpt:] "Preface - To serve as labor saving device to those called upon for details concerning library conditions in Texas and to serve as a source of information to those seeking this data is the object of the Handbook of Texas Libraries, No. 3 . . . .
'Special Features in the Larger Libraries' - . . .
El Paso Public Library . . . Government Documents. --- The government document room is the pride of the library and a source of joy to both patrons and staff. Classified and cataloged under the Decimal System, it is most accessible and in constant use, not only locally but by people from all parts of the Southwest . . .
Fort Worth Carnegie Public Library . . . Government Documents. --- The library is a United States depository for government documents. A large room in the basement has been fitted up as a public document room. The documents are classified by the Cutter system and arranged by serial number. Pamphlets are shelved in the public document room. All pamphlets are classified, numbered according to classification, and tied into bundles. A short subject catalog of the pamphlets has been made. Subject cards for all pamphlets have been added to the mail catalog . . .
Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library . . . Government Documents. --- The bulk of the collection of government documents is stored in the county courthouse, owing to the crowded condition in the library, but government publications are much used and all are available. The library is a United States depository for government documents . . .
Waco Public Library . . . Government Documents. --- The library receives all the government documents necessary for a good working collection in a medium sized library and for others it is able to refer the patron to Baylor University, which is a depository . . .
"The Library and the Community," by Willard P. Lewis, Librarian, Baylor University Library, Waco - In many towns and cities the public library is a direct benefit to the community and may times worth its expense. The most prominent of these benefits are outlined below: . . . 8. The library is a help to all citizens through its circulation of the most popular forms of the United States government documents such as the Farmers Bulletins and the Bulletins of the bureau of Education. . . ."
April 1916 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no.12, pages 6-7) "Aids for Small Libraries"
"The Commissioner will give to any library needing it a copy of any of the starred publications listed below. The others listed will be lent to any library . . . U.S. Bureau of Education: List of Books Suited to a High School Library. U.S. Bureau of Education: 1,000 Good Books for Children. . . Wyler: U.S. Government Documents in Small Libraries* . . . ."
April 1916 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 12, page 15) "Document Depositories in Texas"
"By request we publish the following list of depositories in Texas for the United States government documents: Texas State Library and the University of Texas Library, Austin: Dallas Public Library; Southwestern University, Georgetown; Rosenberg Public Library, Galveston; Lyceum and Carnegie Library, Houston; Baylor Library, Waco; Carnegie Library, San Antonio; Clarendon College Library, Clarendon; Public Library, El Paso; Carnegie Library, Fort Worth and Texas Christian University, Fort Worth."
April 1916 (Texas Libraries, vol. 1, no. 12, pages 30-32) "My Neighbor and I"
[Excerpt:] ". . . Uvalde. El Progreso Library, a subscription library of 1,200 volumes has on its free reading table the following pamphlets issued by the U.S. Government: Pre-natal care, Infant care, Whooping cough, its nature and prevention, Measles, Mental hygiene, Prevention and care of tuberculosis, Beans, peas and other legumes as food, Cereal breakfast foods, The use of milk as food in the home, Bread and bread-making, Care of food in the home, Canning vegetables in the home, Food value of corn and corn products, Principles of nutrition and nutritive value of food, Weeds used in medicine. As these pamphlets may be secured free, other small libraries in the state might follow suit . . . ."
October 1916 (Texas Libraries, vol. 2, no.1, pages 2-3) "Notes"
[Excerpts:] ". . . The Texas State Department of Education has recently issued two bulletins partly devoted to the school library. Bulletin No. 55 gives a list of books suitable for a high school library. The list is arranged under subject, alphabetically by author . . . Bulletin 54 contains a graded list of books for supplementary reading in elementary schools, with price and publisher. . . ."
January 1917 (Texas Libraries, vol. 2, no. 2, pages 36-39) "Suggestions for Securing Free Material"
[By Octavia F. Rogan - Note: With vol. 2 of Texas Libraries Octavia F. Rogan became the journal's editor - Miss Rogan frequently promoted the value of documents and other free materials]
"It is difficult to make suggestions for the wee libraries of Texas for, too often, they have absolutely nothing to work on or with. But here is one suggestion that we believe every wee library in the state will be able to use; if not, we should like to hear the objection to it . . . write for all the free material mentioned that promises to be of use in your library . . .
Monthly Catalogue of United States Public Documents, Sup't of Documents, Washington, D.C. Gratis. Monthly List of State Publications. Sup't of Documents, Washington, D.C. 50c per year. These two publications list much free material issued by the Federal and State governments. In our own state, the A. & M. College, the University of Texas, and the various state departments issue frequently material that is of interest to various people in the small town and which the library may secure for the asking. The Monthly List of State Publications enters all these bulletins. The material listed in these two publications is, for the most part complied by experts, and much of it is popular in style. What more can you want?"
January 1917 (Texas Libraries, vol. 2, no. 2, pages 47-49) "Texas State Documents"
[By Octavia F. Rogan]
"The following are the titles of some of the more popular bulletins issued by the state departments and some issued during 1916 by the University of Texas. It is planned to make this a regular department of Texas Libraries, and hereafter to annotate as far as practicable several popular bulletins selected from those published during the preceding quarter by all state departments, the Agricultural and Mechanical College, the Experiment Stations, the normals, the various state institutions, the University of Texas, etc. It is hoped that this department will render the same service to Texas libraries for Texas state documents that the A.L.A. Booklist renders for Federal documents. To make the department of service, however, the small libraries should each month write for the publications mentioned that promise to be of most interest to their several communities . . . ." [This is followed by a list of 24 titles].
April 1917 (Texas Libraries, vol. 2, no. 3, pages 110-113) "Texas State Documents"
"Nearly all of the Texas State documents issued since December 1, 1916 that have come to the editor [Octavia F. Rogan] are listed below. Libraries and individuals wanting particular documents should write to the issuing department. All Texas reports will be sent by the Commission later in the year to all Texas libraries desiring them . . . . " [Note: this introduction is followed by a list of agency annual reports, home and agriculture related pamphlets, laws, and rules.]
July 1917 (Texas Libraries, vol. 2, no. 4, page 143) "IV. What Some Texas People Think about the Texas County Library Law - The County Library as a Distributing Center for Agricultural Documents."
By W.B. Bizzell, President Agricultural and Mechanical College
[Excerpt:] "The passage of the County Free Library Law in its amended form is a piece of really construction legislation . . . The greatest service that can be rendered through a county library in my opinion, is in the dissemination of fresh and important information, to farmers, their wives and children, of the publications of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Department of Extension and Experiment Stations of the Land Grant Colleges of the United States, of useful and helpful information concerning agricultural production and home economics, including rural architecture and landscape art. There is a wealth of information that would be of great service to the rural dweller if an intelligent method can be secured to promote its dissemination. The count library could become a useful agency in this scheme . . . . "
July 1919 (Texas Libraries, vol. 3, no. 1, pages 1-12) "Library Laws of Texas"
[Excerpt:] "Public documents for exchange. --- That until a permanent state agency for the distribution of State documents to the public and institutional libraries of Texas and the exchange with libraries elsewhere shall be provided for by law, 150 copies of all annual, biennial and special reports of state departments, boards, and institutions, findings of all investigations, bulletins, circulars, laws issued as separates, legislative manuals, . . . and 150 copies of all other publications except routine business forms and court reports, shall be delivered by the State Contract Printer to the State Library for distribution and exchange. . . Provided: That the State Librarian shall at the beginning of each fiscal year revise the mailing list of libraries entitled to receive State publications under the provisions of this Act and desiring to receive them . . . . (Act July 28, 1919. General Laws, 1919, Second Called Session, ch. 60, art. 5607a) . . . ."
