Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library
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[edit] Contact Information
Physical Address: 300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, Texas 78205 (on the grounds of the Alamo complex)
Mailing Address: P. O. Box 1401, San Antonio, Texas 78295-1401
Web site: http://www.drtl.org; blog: http://drtlibrary.wordpress.com
Telephone: (210) 225-1071
Fax: (210) 212-8514
Principal contacts for the collection:
- Caitlin Donnelly, Archivist, cdonnelly@drtl.org
- Leslie Stapleton, Library Director, lstapleton@drtl.org
[edit] Hours and Usage
The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) Library is open to all researchers free of charge. No appointment is needed to visit the library or use its collections.
The library is open for research Monday through Friday, 9:00 am until 5:00 pm, Central Time. The Library is closed on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
For more information about visiting the DRT Library - including information about registration procedures, permitted and prohibited items, and access rules - please see the “Library Use Guidelines” page on our website at http://www.drtl.org/Research/LibraryGuidelines.asp.
With the exception of some ready-reference Texas genealogical materials, the DRT Library is a closed-stacks library; staff members generally retrieve materials requested by patrons. All of the library’s collections are stored on-site and can be retrieved quickly. Resources cannot be checked out from the library, nor can they be requested via interlibrary loan.
Written and telephone requests are welcome. Please make requests for information as specific as possible. Users requesting that copies be mailed to them will be sent an invoice for the cost of the copies plus mailing costs and tax.
Photoduplication of archival materials is provided if copying can be done without causing injury to the item and without conflicting with donor agreements or copyright restrictions. Fees are twenty cents for letter-size copies, twenty-five cents for legal-length copies, and thirty cents for document or ledger size copies (11 x 17 inches). With some exceptions, photocopies can usually be made on the same day of a patron’s visit. Copies must be paid for with cash or a check.
For information about ordering reproductions of photographs, including policies and fees, please see the library’s website at http://www.drtl.org/Contact/Rights&Repro_Gen.asp.
Patrons are not allowed to use personal digital cameras or scanners to create digital copies of library and archival materials.
[edit] Online Catalogs and Finding Aids
The DRT Library’s online catalog can be accessed at its website.
All processed archival collections have a MARC record in the catalog. Small processed collections containing only a handful of items (approximately ten or less) have only a MARC record that briefly describes its contents, i.e. there are no finding aids for these collections. Finding aids have been created for all larger processed collections; some are available online and can be accessed via the MARC record. At this time, work is underway to make all finding aids accessible online. Paper copies of all finding aids are available in the library’s reading room and can be used by on-site patrons. Off-site patrons can receive an electronic or paper copy of a finding aid not available online by contacting the archivist.
Images in the library’s photograph collection are accessed in different ways, depending on where they are housed. Photographs that are part of a processed manuscript collection are described in the collection’s MARC record and/or finding aid. Other photographs are contained in the library’s picture file; some of these images have been described individually in unique MARC records.
The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections, maintained by the Library of Congress, lists 246 of the library’s manuscript collections. Collections acquired since 2004 are not included in this catalog. The DRT Library is in the process of getting all MARC records for its library and archival materials included in OCLC’s WorldCat catalog.
[edit] Collection Summary
The Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library selects, acquires, arranges, describes, preserves, and makes accessible materials relating to the history of the Alamo, San Antonio, and Texas with particular emphasis on the Republic of Texas period (1836-1846).
The Manuscript Collection contains approximately 300 collections of personal and family papers and organizational records as well as approximately 1000 individual documents dating from 1519 to the present. Some of the outstanding archival collections in the library’s holdings are the papers of the Bustillo, Cassiano-Perez, Cumings, Maverick families, whose members were early and influential residents of San Antonio and Texas; James T. DeShields’s research materials and writings on Texas history; the personal and professional papers of San Antonio architect Leo M. J. Dielmann, including many architectural drawings and plans; art, manuscript material, and artifacts of noted artist Theodore Gentilz and the Fretéllière family; materials relating to San Antonians John Herndon James, Santiago Rabia, and John W. Smith; and Ernst Schuchard’s research materials, photographs, and art about San Antonio history, particularly missions, mills, and irrigation systems. The DRT Library is also the official repository for records of the Battle of Flowers Association and the Yanaguana Society. Researchers can also access microfilm copies of materials in the Thomas W. Streeter Texana collection held by Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
The Photograph Collection contains nearly 40,000 photographic images located in various archival collections and in the library’s picture file. These materials record the history of the Alamo, San Antonio, and the people of Texas. Highlights of this collection include the work of photographer C. J. Ekmark as well as images collected by Claude B. Aniol and Edward Grandjean.
In addition to these materials, the DRT library’s general collection includes 17,000 book titles exploring elements of Texas history including politics and government, art, natural history and science, religion, folklore, and fiction. Within this collection are a large number of published genealogical sources, specifically published indices and compilations of records from the Republic of Texas and from all Texas counties. Extensive holdings of periodicals, newspapers, clippings files, sheet music, and fine art and print collections support and compliment the library’s general book collection and archival materials.
[edit] Usage Discussion
Suggestions for approaching the material:
When users conduct a simple or power search (i.e. not a browse search), the online catalog is automatically set to search linked media, including finding aids and collection inventories. This feature of the catalog enables researchers to find the names of individuals, families, organizations, and places that are included in finding aids but not listed as subjects in MARC records.
[edit] Fellowships and Funding Opportunities
Information about the library’s Elaine B. Davis Research Award, including application instructions and a copy of the application, can be obtained at the library’s website at http://www.drtl.org/Research/ElaineDavisAward.asp.
