The digitized pages will be available globally through the Portal to Texas History, where the issues from 1940 to 1986 can already be read, thanks in part to TSLAC. The 1987 to 1993 issues are currently being scanned and updated daily.
When the library conducted a customer satisfaction survey in 2022, nearly a quarter of respondents said they used the library to explore local and genealogical history, and several made remarks about preserving and making available online the documents in the local history section. That was the primary impetus to pursue this grant.
Adult Services librarian Robin Stauber, who manages the library’s Dietert Historical Archives is especially anxious to access the expanded offering. “The Boerne Star chronicles community events and provides vital information relevant to community members’ lives. Obituaries, marriage announcements, sporting events, school events, and birth notices contain information for genealogists and historians, whom we assist on a regular basis.”
Several library staff members and volunteers are working tirelessly to paint a more complete picture of the people who have lived and died in the Boerne area in the past 75 years. Staff member Libby Quintero has found this digitization project to be of huge help to her as she works to connect family members on the massive Findagrave.com website. Quintero states, “Everyone who has lived and died in the Boerne area was important to friends and family, and they shouldn’t be forgotten. With this new information at our fingertips, we’ll be able to read old obituaries and discover the interesting lives many of these people led, as well as their origins and loved ones’ names. It means so much to us when we can help library visitors discover more about their ancestors.”
“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 TSLAC Director and Librarian Gloria Meraz.
Funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services through a grant to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (Grant # LS-252486-OLS-22).* (2023)
Late last autumn, we were awarded a $25,000 Tex Treasures grant, through the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
The library has used the $25,000 award to provide broader access to Boerne’s history with the digitization of The Boerne Star from issues dated from 1966 to 1993. The project is proceeding quickly, with new editions being added all the time. We're already up to 1986! The digitized pages will be available globally through the Portal to Texas History, where the issues from 1940 to 1965 already reside.
This $25,000 award is funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services through a grant to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (Grant #LS-252486-OLS-22).* (2022)