AHC Reading Room, 2013
Research
April 8, 2025
Due to technological issues beyond our control, the Austin History Center is not yet ready to reopen in our new space as planned. We don't currently have a reopening date, but we will update this website and social media as soon as we have more information to share.
The bulk of our collections have been moved to the new building and are accessible to staff, but some items may still be inaccessible at this time. Additionally, staff are still working to get everything moved, unpacked, and ready for reopening, so we have limited bandwidth for conducting customer research.
That said, we may be able to assist through our limited reference services, depending on staff and collection availability. This includes helping find relevant materials and, if applicable, creating and sharing access copies. To request research assistance, please submit a Research Request Form.
Inquiries will be answered as soon as possible given staff availability. You can anticipate hearing back from us in about a week, but delays may ensue. We appreciate your patience during this time of transition and look forward to assisting you soon.
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In addition to collecting and preserving the materials that document Austin's unique history, the Austin History Center serves as a research institution where customers can easily and efficiently access those materials for study. Some research using our materials may be accomplished remotely, but most of our resources will have to be viewed on-site. We offer a variety of reference and duplication services to assist you.
Online Research
Subject guides compiled on a range of topics can help pinpoint AHC resources that fit your research needs, and some online databases are available. Basic information about preserving your own archival items is also available.
Reference Services
Do you have a short, factual question that you would like for a staff member to answer? Submit it using our contact form. Do you have a more complex question, or are you unable to visit the AHC in person? Learn about your options on our Reference Services page.
Visit Us
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.
Subject Guides
Subject Guides link
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
- Art Resources Guide
- Asian Pacific American Subject Guide
- Audiovisual Materials Resource Guide
- Austin American Statesman Resource Guide
- Biographical Research Guide
- City of Austin Resource Guide
- Civil War and Reconstruction Resource Guide
- Jewish American Resource Guide
- LGBTQ+ Subject Guide
- Live Music Subject Guide
- Latino/a/e/x American Resource Guide
- Native American Indigenous Subject Guide
- O. Henry Subject Guide
- People With Disabilities Subject Guide
- Photography Resources Guide
- Property Research Guide
- Public Schools Resource Guide
- Segregation Bibliography
- UT Tower Shootings Resources
- Women's Resource Guide
Reference Services
Reference Services link
The Austin History Center (AHC) strives to make information about Austin and Travis County readily available to the public. 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 other materials may be accessed using a variety of in-house indexes, catalogs, databases and research guides. Our Reading Room staff is available to assist you in the use of these items.
Contact Us
If you have a question that requires only a short, factual answer, you may submit your question using our online form or call our reference desk at 512-974-7480.
Requests for In-Depth Research Assistance
** December 15, 2023: Paid research assistance is temporarily suspended due to limited staffing.
If you are unable to visit the Austin History Center in person and your project is one that requires in-depth research beyond the service that we are able to provide, you may wish to consider hiring a researcher from the Archivists of Central Texas’s proxy researcher list.
When we are fully staffed, the Austin History Center offers limited research assistance. The AHC charges a $15.00 non-refundable fee that entitles you to up to 30 minutes of staff research time ($16.24 for Texas residents due to sales tax).
To initiate a research request, fill out the Research Request Form and staff will contact you for a method of payment. We accept credit cards, checks, and money orders. Work on your request will begin when both the order form and complete payment are received. Orders are completed within two weeks. Customers are limited to one hour of research per month.
Please note that the Austin History Center reserves the right to refuse to fill any copy request because of potential damage to a fragile original or other concerns. We will make every effort to quickly inform customers if we cannot fill an order.
Other Duplication Requests
We are able in many cases to duplicate photographs and audio-visual materials for a fee. We also facilitate duplications of some oversized items through an outside vendor.
Online Reference Tools
Online Reference Tools link
The following databases and online reference tools may be helpful to your research. To view our digitized collections view our Online Collections page or our Online Photo Collections page.
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-Stateman Databases - The Library subscribes to several databases for searching local news articles.
Booklists - Variety of resources about Austin history, geneology, and more. Some items are in the Library's collection to check out, and some are available for use 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.
What to Expect When You Visit
What to Expect When You Visit link
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.
Our parking lot is unavailable due to construction. So for now, when you visit the AHC, you'll need to pay to park in a metered spot on a nearby street. Metered parking is free on Sundays.
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.
- Four microform reader-printers. Two of our machines can scan microforms to a PC. 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.