Who we are
The collection of materials at the Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division is one of the largest of its kind in the nation. Our holdings span many aspects of the diverse history of not only Dallas and the surrounding area, but the entire state of Texas.
The Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division collects, preserves, and makes available to patrons information in text, graphic, audio, and video formats.
Please note that because of the many unique and fragile resources in the Texas/Dallas collection, no items circulate outside the Library.
The Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division is part of the Special Collections department, which also houses the Fine Books Division.
Upcoming Events
Organizers of the fifteenth annual Legacies Dallas History Conference invite proposals on the theme "Unusual Side of Dallas." Proposal submissions are due by July 1, 2013. See flyer for details.
Current rotating exhibits
Featured items
- Works by Texas artists now available online
Texas Artists: Paintings, Sculpture, and Works on Paper is a joint digital collections project between Southern Methodist University Libraries, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Dallas Public Library's Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division and Fine Books Division. The goal of the project is to provide access to a wide range of digitized copies of works by Texas artists, and to promote the growth and study of Texas art movements. - Check out our online searchable maps database now with select sheets available online! Please note that the Murphy and Bolanz maps are not part of this database. That is a separate collection and will remain accessible through its own page.
New manuscript collection finding guides
- Willie Burke Anderson Materials (June 10, 2013)
- Hunter, Homer A. Scrapbook (April 17, 2013)
- Artist Contracts Collection (April 17, 2013)
- Shamburger's Select Business School Collection (March 28, 2013)
- Medford, James, Korean War Correspondence (August 4, 2012)
- Committee on Day Care for Children (August 4, 2012)
- Barnett, J.W., Collection (August 4, 2012)
- Smith, Richard F., Collection (August 4, 2012)
- Riddle, Penn, Collection (August 4, 2012)
- Illinois Club Records (August 4, 2012)
- McCamey Business and Professional Women's Club Records (August 4, 2012)
Renaming Dallas Streets
In response to the recent discussions among Dallasites and the Dallas City Council about renaming local roadways, the staff of the Texas/Dallas History Division have compiled a little information about some of the streets under discussion, as well as the events and persons for which they were named.
Texas/Dallas Notifications Email
The Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division periodically sends out emails providing notices of events, new acquisitions, and other items of interest. If you would like to be added to the distribution list, please let us know by sending a message to texas@dallaslibrary.org. You may visit our archive of past issues of the newsletter here.