Listen now to Episode #104 – The Portal to Texas History
Host: Randy Whited
Guest: Jake Magnum, UNT Program Development Librarian at University of North Texas in Denton
This episode features The Portal to Texas History at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton. Jake Magnum is the Program Development Librarian and works directly with The Portal to Texas History, and he was interviewed by Randy Whited. The Portal to Texas History includes not just newspapers but 732 unique collections that have been digitized and can be searched on their website.
The initial concept began in 2002, with the first iteration of the website available online in 2004. Since then, there have numerous collections added to the Portal. Most importantly, they all connect to Texas history. Some of the collections include:
- 9 million pages of newspapers (800,000 issues of newspaper, 1740 titles, with 210 different partners
- KXAS NBC5 news collection (first news station in Texas)
- African American funeral programs of San Antonio (10 decades of people)
- Oral histories
- Yearbooks
- And many more.
The typical user includes genealogists, general historians and researchers who are looking for specific items for work they are doing. For example, train hobbyists are often searching the collection for photographs and information on the growth of trains in Texas. Meanwhile, genealogists can often find the social history that was happening in the place and time where their ancestor lived.
The content is found through collaboration with genealogical societies, museums, libraries, government agencies and private collectors. Each item is then digitized so that it can be added to the portal.
Individuals can search by collection, decades, counties, subjects, or dates. The advanced and guided search can help you find the items that are important to you and your ancestors. And come back monthly because they are adding about 10,000 items to the portal each month.
URL: https://Texashistory.unt.edu
Texas Digital Newspaper Program: https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/TDNP/
You can sign up for their newsletter by subscribing on their website.
Or use their FACEBOOK feed (The Portal to Texas History) to see some of the current additions to the portal.