by Jody Bailey
UTA Libraries Awarded $25,000 TexTreasures Grant to Digitize World War II Photo Negatives
UTA Libraries will scan 15,000 negatives from its Fort Worth Star-Telegram Photographic Collection thanks to a $25,000 TexTreasures grant awarded by the Texas State Library & Archives Commission. The project continues an effort started last year to digitize negatives documenting the transformation of Fort Worth during World War II. The images, most of which were never published, show young men crowding military recruiting stations, women selling war bonds, and the construction of Liberator Village which housed workers building B-24 “Liberator” bomber planes.
Approximately 500 newly scanned images are added to the UTA Libraries Digital Gallery weekly. “These images are a valuable aid to understanding how Texans responded to World War II,” said Dean of Libraries Rebecca Bichel. “We appreciate the Texas State Library and Archives Commission’s support in helping us provide access to this unique collection.” This project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. TSLAC awards competitive grants annually, as funding allows. The TexTreasures grant provides assistance and encouragement to libraries to provide access to their special or unique collections and to make information about those collections available to library users across the state. UTA Libraries Special Collections focuses on the history of Texas, Mexico, and the Southwest, and owns one of the world’s finest collection of cartography relating to Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. The Libraries recently completed an NEH-funded $800,000 cold storage vault to help preserve approximately 5 million photographic negatives.
About the University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie Research-1 “highest research activity” institution. With a projected global enrollment of close to 57,000 in AY 2016-17, UTA is the largest institution in The University of Texas System. Guided by its Strategic Plan Bold Solutions | Global Impact, UTA fosters interdisciplinary research within four broad themes: health and the human condition, sustainable urban communities, global environmental impact, and data-driven discovery. UTA was recently cited by U.S. News & World Report as having the second lowest average student debt among U.S. universities. U.S. News & World Report also ranks UTA fifth in the nation for undergraduate diversity. The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times’ 2017 Best for Vets list.
About the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Formed in 1909, TSLAC is committed to giving Texans access to information and programs they can use to improve their lives and communities. It provides historical and genealogical search assistance, federal and state government documents, electronic research and library services to all Texans, including those who are unable to read standard print material because of physical or reading disabilities. For more information, visit www.tsl.state.tx.us.
Image citations
“Mother-Daughter banquet. Mrs. Frank M. Martin, right and seated next to her is her daughter, Miss Mary Martin, president of the Girl Reserves at Arlington Heights High School, Fort Worth, Texas,” UTA Libraries, accessed August 17, 2017, http://library.uta.edu/digitalgallery/items/show/87083.
"Soldiers from Camp Bowie in Brownwood, Texas, attend an Armistice Day Celebration at Fort Worth, Texas, on November 9, 1941. Left to right are Private Irwin J. Floore and Louis Bass,” UTA Libraries, accessed August 17, 2017, http://library.uta.edu/digitalgallery/items/show/95298.
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