DENTON, TX, Nov. 29, 2021 – The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) recently awarded funding to the Denton Public Library, through the TexTreasures grant program, to digitize historic issues of the Denton Record-Chronicle. The award, in the amount of $24,820, will be used to digitize 24,000 pages of the newspaper from 1955 through 1969.
This is the third TexTreasures grant award received by the Denton Public Library that has made the Denton Record-Chronicle Digitization Project possible. The project began with newspapers published in 1908. The digitized images are part of the Texas Digital Newspaper Program and are freely accessible through the University of North Texas Libraries' Portal to Texas History.
“The DRC is one of the oldest surviving newspapers in Denton County, and digitally preserving it will allow researchers, archivists, and Denton residents to access the rich history of Denton,” said Jennifer Bekker, Director of Libraries.
This project is just one of 43 made possible this year by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. “Communities in every corner of Texas will benefit from the resources that have been made available through this list of forward thinking grant proposals,” said Mark Smith, TSLAC Director and Librarian.
TSLAC awards competitive grants annually, as funding allows. For the 2022 fiscal year, which runs from Sept. 1, 2021 to Aug. 31, 2022, TSLAC has awarded approximately $1.18 million in competitive grants. The TexTreasures Grant provides assistance, encouragement and access to special or unique collections across the state at 11 libraries, including Denton Public Library’s project to digitize the hometown newspaper, the Denton Record-Chronicle.
The Denton Record-Chronicle Collection can be viewed at, https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/DRC/, on the Portal to Texas History.
Contact: Laura Douglas, (940) 349-8749, [email protected]