AHC Reading Room, 2013
Research
The Austin History Center (AHC) provides information on Austin and Travis County to the public. We collect and preserve materials about Austin's history. You can study these materials on-site in our Reading Room. Some research is possible remotely, but most resources require an in-person visit. We offer in-person reference and duplication services to assist you.
Reference Services
If you have a question that requires only a short, factual answer, you may submit it using our online contact us form. This includes checking whether we have relevant material in our collections. You may also call our reference desk, 512-974-7480.
Visit Us
Most of our materials may be accessed using a variety of in-house indexes, catalogs, databases, and research guides. Our Reading Room staff can assist you in the use of these items. If you have used our online tools or worked with a staff member to determine that we have materials that you would like to view in person, please see our information about what to expect from a research visit to the Austin History Center. When you visit us in person, we can help you find the materials that may hold the answers and guide you in accessing media in many formats.
In-Depth Research Assistance
If you are unable to visit the Austin History Center in person and your project requires in-depth research beyond the services we can provide, you may wish to consider hiring a researcher from Archivists of Central Texas’s proxy researcher list.
Other Reproduction Requests
We can, in many cases, make copies of photographs and audiovisual materials for a fee. We also facilitate reproduction of some oversized items through an outside vendor.
Subject Guides
Subject Guides
The following subject guides list AHC resources related to specific groups, individuals and places in Austin's history. Guides are arranged by collection unit. Additional information may be found through our Community Archivists Program.
- African American Resource Guide
- Asian Pacific American Subject Guide
- Audiovisual Materials Resource Guide
- Austin American Statesman Resource Guide
- City of Austin Resource Guide
- Jewish American Resource Guide
- LGBTQ+ Subject Guide
- Latino/a/e/x American Resource Guide
- Native American Indigenous Subject Guide
- O. Henry Subject Guide
- Property Research Guide
- Public Schools Resource Guide
- Segregation Bibliography
Online Reference Tools
Online Reference Tools
The following databases and online research tools may be helpful to your research.
Our books, periodicals, and much of our media collection are listed in the Austin Public Library's Catalog, and most of our archival collection finding aids have been posted to Texas Archival Resources Online and/or our ArchivesSpace catalog.
Our Online Collections page features links to digitized print materials, including City Directories, Pease, Graham, and Niles Family Papers, the O. Henry Collection, some periodicals, and 60 books.
Grouped by photographer or subject, our Online Photo Collections showcase digitized images.
The Austin History Center hosts over 8,000 assets on the Portal to Texas History. The portal also features digital archival collections from across Texas.
We host over ### digital assets on Preservica for public access.
Ancestry - For genealogy research, use the Library's subscription to Ancestry, a comprehensive online source of information with billions of names in over 6,000 databases.
Austin American-Statesman Databases - The Library subscribes to several databases for searching local news articles.
Book Lists include resources about Austin history, genealogy, and more. Some items can be checked out from the Library. Others are available at the Austin History Center.
City of Austin Public Records - Access public records found in the Office of the City Clerk, including:
- Council-Approved Records (Council Meeting Agenda and Minutes, Ordinances, Resolutions, and more)
- Municipal Election Documents (Ballot Applications, Contribution and Expenditure Reports, and Campaign Treasurer Appointments)
- Municipal Utility District (MUD) Documents
Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO) - Online finding aids (collection inventories) for our archival collections are searchable in this database, which is hosted by the University of Texas at Austin.
Travis Central Appraisal District - Find general information about the Appraisal District and the ad valorem property tax system in Texas, as well as information regarding specific properties within the district.
Copy link to sectionWhat to Expect When You Visit
What to Expect When You Visit
If you will be conducting research in the AHC Reading Room, please be aware of what you can expect. You can also get a head start on some research from home.
The archives and Reading Room have moved to the John Henry Faulk building at 800 GuadaIupe.
The Austin History Center is on the 1, 3, 801, and 803 bus lines. If you drive to the AHC, you'll need to pay to park in a metered spot on a nearby street.
To ensure the security and preservation of our materials, when you arrive at the Austin History Center we will ask that you:
- Sign in at the front desk.
- Place all bags and personal belongings in the lockers provided. Exceptions are provided for cameras, phones, and laptops, as long as you lock up the case. You may also bring in up to five (5) loose sheets of your own notes.
- Use pencils, not pens, while in the Reading Room. We provide pencils and note paper.
- Fill out a call slip to request materials and staff will retrieve materials for you.
- Use all of our materials in the Reading Room. Items may not be checked out.
- Archival research can be time-consuming; please plan accordingly and provide yourself sufficient time to do your research.
Also available in our Reading Room:
- Photocopier. The rate is $.20 per page, payable by cash, check or credit cards when you are ready to leave.
- Two microform reader-printers. The image files can then be either e-mailed via webmail or transferred to a flash drive. Unfortunately, the current computers cannot burn files to a CD.
- Two computers to access Austin History Center and Austin Public Library reference databases.
- Televisions, VCRs, DVD players, record and audiocassette players for accessing items from our Audio-Video collections.
- Adaptive equipment: Kurzweil reader, Jaws and Magic.