Alexander Architectural Archive > TxCOPAR: Texas Committee for the Preservation of Architectural Records

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Texas Committee for the Preservation of Architectural Records (TxCOPAR)

Sponsored by the Alexander Architectural Archive,
Architecture and Planning Library, The University of Texas at Austin

Mission
Definition
Methodology
Become a TxCOPARtner!

Mission

Welcome to the organizational home page for the Texas Committee for the Preservation of Architectural Records. Our goal is to organize and develop a resource for institutions holding architectural, building and planning records in the state of Texas.

TxCOPAR will allow institutions to 1) share expertise, and 2) share holdings information. TxCOPAR will function as a resource for cooperative development, encouragement, and sharing of information in the support and promotion of specific projects for the ongoing processing, preservation, and interpretation of the architectural records created or held in Texan collections.

Definition

For the purposes of TxCOPAR, architectural records may be of any record or material type representing architecture from initial design to the design-as-built environment. Record types include design drawings, working drawings, job files, specifications, student work, etc. Material types include manuscripts, drawings, sketches; photographs, negatives, film or video; reproductions, blueprints, sepias; books, magnetic tapes, etc.

The intended scope includes records from:

practitioners (ex., records reflecting the work of an architect, firm, contractor, engineer)

professional associations (ex., the Texas Society of Architects)

architectural education (ex., students' or faculty's work)

building trade and technology (ex., records of suppliers, fabricators)

publications (ex., trade magazines, catalogs)

Methodology

TxCOPAR is being built on the model of other regional COPARs which are part of the national COPAR (Cooperative Preservation of Architectural Records) effort. The national effort produced the National Union Index to Architectural Records (held at the National Trust Library) and the COPAR Newsletter with the cooperation of the Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs Division, Center for Architecture, Design, and Engineering. (It is hoped that redesign and additions to the Index will resumed in 2001-2. The newsletter, suspended in 1998, may be resumed as an online publication.) CTCOPAR, MassCOPAR and PaCOPAR are examples of other regional COPARs. While some COPARs have incorporated, many of them are run less formally.

TxCOPAR is suitably based in the Alexander Architectural Archive, close to many important resources such as the Texas State Archives, the Texas Historical Commission, the UT School of Architecture, the Architecture and Planning Library, and the UT School of Information with its strong preservation and conservation studies departments in the Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record.

Why you should join TxCOPAR

You, your institution and your collections will benefit from interacting with other professionals with similar collections and needs. Becoming a member of TxCOPAR will give you opportunities via:

Networking	Raise the visibility and profile of your collections! TxCOPAR is keeping in touch with the other regional COPARs and on top of developments including the movement to build an interactive national database of architectural records holdings on the Web.
Learning	Share similar problems and solutions in the management of architectural collections in group meetings and forums!
Enhancing Access	To similar collections and collections management resources via TxCOPARtners and COPARs!
Fundraising	Identify TxCOPARtners for cooperative/consortial grant requests!

Become a TxCOPARtner!

We are in the planning stages - to indicate your interest, please fill out the form below and click the submit button.

Holding Institution:
Address 1:
Address 2:
City:
State:
Zip:
Contact person/Title:
Telephone:
Fax:
url:
Contact email:
Contact phone:
Special notes:
Number of full-time staff:
Number of part-time staff:
Collection Focus:	Please describe collecting areas
Major Collections:	Please name your major collections
What percentage of your collections is processed?
Do you have an emergency plan?		yes	no	in development
Do you have an use/handling policy?		yes	no	in development
Do you have an exhibit policy?		yes	no	in development
Do you have a loan policy?		yes	no	in development
Do you have a collection development or acquisitions policy?		yes	no	in development
Do you have a copy work policy?		yes	no	in development
Do you have access to a conservator or preservation department?		yes	no

What would you expect out of your TxCOPAR membership?		Please describe your expectations here.

Beth Dodd, Curator
Alexander Architectural Archive

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