DRT Library Welcomes 1100 Visitors During Founders Day

Cataloging Librarian Beverly Ewald (left) talks to a family about a petticoat that belonged to Alamo survivor Angelina Dickinson.

“Love it!”

“Interesting.”

“Fantastic!”

“Thank you.”

These are some of the enthusiastic comments we received from visitors who came through the DRT Library as part of San Antonio Founders Day. Held on the Alamo grounds and in Alamo Plaza on Saturday, October 22, 2011, Founders Day featured outdoor exhibitions and booths by more than forty-five area cultural heritage institutions and organizations. The displays, entertainment, and other activities all reflected the Founders Day mission of

honor[ing] the…cultural groups and outstanding individuals who shaped our San Antonio heritage and stimulat[ing] interest in reading and learning about our history and heritage in the context of the history of Texas, the nation, and the world.

Two visitors compare the original Daniel Cloud letter with a transcription of the document during the Library's Founders Day Open House.

For the third year in a row, the DRT Library held a day-long Open House in the reading room in conjunction with Founders Day. Since the Library has no permanent exhibit space, the event is one of a handful of times during the year that rare and unique treasures from the collections are on display.

Addressing the Founders Day mission, one exhibit featured documents related to Texas Declaration of Independence signers Jose Francisco Ruiz and Samuel Augustus Maverick; a letter written by Alamo defender Daniel William Cloud; Ernst Schuchard’s paintings of fresco details at Mission Concepción and frescoes on the facade of Mission San Jose; and items highlighting families and individuals in San Antonio’s German, Tejano, and Italian communities. A second exhibit included photographs, letters, and other materials – including a report card from 1880 – by, to, or about young people who lived in San Antonio or Texas during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. The Open House brought approximately 830 people into the Library; visitors came from places across Texas, twenty-one other states, and four foreign countries.

One Open House exhibit highlighted materials that reflected the Founders Day theme.

The second Open House exhibit, "Kids in the Archives!"

In addition to the Open House, the Library also put together an outdoor exhibit that showcased (digital prints of) historical Alamo photographs in the Library’s collections. Approximately 270 people stopped by to check out the exhibit and ask questions about the materials on display.

The DRT Library's outdoor exhibit, "The Alamo Through Time," at Founders Day.

The outdoor display.

Reference Librarian Chuck Tucker answers questions about the Alamo photographs.

We look forward to participating in Founders Day 2012!

Open House This Saturday, October 22

Visitors examine a nineteenth-century map of Texas during the DRT Library's 2009 Founders Day Open House.

This coming Saturday, October 22, 2011, the DRT Library will be having an Open House as part of San Antonio Founders Day, a day-long celebration being held on the Alamo grounds and in Alamo Plaza. This is the third year the Library has held an Open House as part of this event.

October is also American Archives Month, an opportunity to celebrate the significance of archives as institutions that preserve and shape individual memory and communities’ collective memory.

On Saturday, the Library will be open from 10:00 am until 4:30 pm. Visitors will be able to view numerous rare and unique treasures from the library’s archival, photograph, and art collections. One exhibit will include historical photographs of San Antonio children and other materials highlighting how kids lived in the past; a second display will highlight materials that reflect the Founders Day theme of honoring the “cultural groups and outstanding individuals who shaped our San Antonio heritage.”

Researchers will not be able to access library materials during the Open House. Patrons interested in conducting research at the DRT Library should return during regular business hours or contact library staff at drtl@drtl.org.

Be sure to also stop by and see the Library’s outdoor exhibit, which will feature copies of photographs of the Alamo from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s.

Forecasts call for beautiful fall weather on Saturday, and there will be lots of family-friendly activities available at Founders Day. We look forward to seeing you at the Library!

American Archives Month Events at the DRT Library

Sponsored by the Society of American Archivists and the Council of State Archivists, American Archives Month is held each October to celebrate the significance of archives as institutions that preserve and shape individual memory and communities’ collective memory. (For more thoughts about Archives Month, check out “Inside the Gates” entries from October 2009 and October 2008.)

To help celebrate American Archives Month, the DRT Library will be holding two Open Houses in conjunction with special programs at the Alamo:

Fall at the Alamo living history event

Saturday, October 9, 2010

10:00 am – 4:30 pm

San Antonio Founders Day

Saturday, October 23, 2010

10:00 am – 4:30 pm

During both Open Houses, numerous rare and unique treasures from the library’s archival and photograph collections will be on display, including:

• an original copy of the printed Texas Declaration of Independence, one of about thirteen known to still exist;

• a map of Texas drawn by Stephen F. Austin in the 1820s;

• a letter written by Alamo defender Daniel William Cloud while en route to San Antonio;

• items that belonged to Alamo survivors Susanna Dickinson and her daughter, Angelina;

• and much more!

Researchers will not be able to access library materials during these events. Patrons interested in conducting research at the DRT Library should return during regular business hours or contact library staff at drtl@drtl.org.

We look forward to seeing you at the library!

October Special Events at the DRT Library are a Hit!

Library visitors during Founders Day.

Those who have visited the DRT Library know that during regular weekday business hours it is a non-browsing library, open to researchers only. However, during two Saturdays this October, the Library hosted Open Houses and invited visitors to peruse highlights from the archival collections that were on display.

Volunteer Kay Garsnett staffed the library's table during Founder's Day and let everyone know about the Open House.

The first Open House was held in conjunction with the Alamo’s living history program, Fall at the Alamo, on October 10. The second was held on October 24 as part of San Antonio Founders Day; as one of the fifty historical and cultural exhibitors at the celebration, the library also staffed a booth on the Alamo grounds. This was the first year the library was open with exhibits during Fall at the Alamo; it was also the first year the library participated in Founders Day, which in the past was held at other locations in San Antonio. These events coincided with American Archives Month, which promotes the significance of archives.

More than 2,000 people visited the library during the two October events.

One of the exhibits being prepared for Fall at the Alamo.

The exhibits at both Open Houses showcased outstanding examples of different types of materials in the collections, including maps, photographs, letters, newspapers, government records, books, artifacts, and items of popular culture. During both events, visitors were able to see one of the library’s two copies of the Texas Declaration on Independence; a letter written by Alamo defender Daniel Cloud; examples of redback currency printed by the government of the Texas Republic; a copy of the Telegraph and Texas Register from March 1838; and a cased ambrotype of Alamo survivor Anglina Dickinson. The remaining items on display, however, were different for each Open House. Since the focus of Fall at the Alamo was daily life in Texas during the Republic period, the library’s exhibit for that event focused on materials from approximately 1836 to 1846. By comparison, visitors who came to the library during Founders Day saw items dating from 1579 to 1932; they were especially interested in seeing a petticoat that belonged to Susanna Dickinson and using a stereoscope from the early twentieth century.

These two Boy Scouts weren't the only visitors who enjoyed viewing three-dimensional images through the library's stereoscopes; kids, and even adults, were fascinated with them, too.

Visitors examining "Genl. Austin's Map of Texas with Parts of Adjoining States," published by Henry Schenck Tanner in 1840.

Library visitors examining the various archival materials on display during Founders Day.

American Archives Month: Events at the DRT Library

During the month of October, the DRT Library will be holding two Open Houses in conjunction with special programs being held on the Alamo grounds:

Fall at the Alamo

Saturday, October 10, 2009

10:00 am – 4:30 pm

San Antonio Founders Day

Saturday, October 24, 2009

11:30 am – 4:30 pm

Special items from the library’s 450 archival collections will be on display, including:

• An original copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence, one of about thirteen known to still exist.

• A map of Texas drawn by Stephen F. Austin in the 1820s.

• A letter written by Alamo defender Daniel Cloud while en route to San Antonio.

• A cased photograph of Angelina Dickinson, Alamo survivor.

Researchers will not be able to access library materials during these events. Patrons interested in conducting research at the library should return during regular business hours or contact library staff at drtl@drtl.org.

We look forward to seeing you at the library!