Project History

An Open Letter to Our Patrons:

Last spring the Library and Information Technology departments of Schreiner University began an exciting adventure – the creation of the Sam Lanham Digital Library of Texas Hill Country History.  Globally, academic libraries have been establishing these digital repositories for several years and we have tried to learn from their experiences and to implement best practices established by the leaders in the field.   Dr. Lanham has been a dedicated friend of the library who has not only assisted with subject area development but also donated a wealth of resources from his personal collection.  We are pleased to name this library for him.

Moving into the digital realm has been a dream of ours for many years; creating the reality results from a confluence this year of talented people carving time within their already overflowing work schedules, gifts that have provided basic hardware, a determination from these campus departments to contribute both to the growth of the university and to the accumulated knowledge of the academic community, two NEH Preservation and Access grants, and the luck of having a staff of intellectually curious professionals.  I so enjoy my job.

Logan Library’s Texas Hill Country Special Collection currently houses a selection of books, photographs, documents, papers, and other archival material about the history of the Texas Hill Country.  Establishing a digital library of these unique documents allows broader access while protecting the original items.  The launching of this resource also begins our campaign to attract the attention and support of residents of the Texas Hill Country who have one-of-a-kind historical records as documented in private or business records, manuscripts, journals, diaries, letters, and photographs among their family archives.  As Willa Cather said, “The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman.”  We hope that area men and women will consider donating to our Texas Hill Country Collection so that we may digitize these rare documents and offer them to the scholarly community.

What you find here today will change and grow, morphing into a valuable resource for our community and researchers everywhere.  I hope you will check back often.

Our journey has just begun.

Dr. Candice Scott
Library and IT Director
4 April 2006