Inventory of the University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Production Division Records, 1970s-1990s

Historical Note

The Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) Production Division was the creative agency responsible for the production of educational books, study guides, and other materials. According to an undated (circa 1981) description of the division, the purpose of the Production Division was "to translate the ideas and researched materials of the various other Divisions of the Institute into tangible products from design through construction. Contract work is performed for non-profit agencies when time permits." In the 1980s, the Production Division comprised three departments: the Art Department, the Audiovisual Department, and the Fabrication Department.

According to the Production Division's web page, in 2009, the division is comprised of "designers, an editor, and a team of craftsmen, audio-visual technicians, and administrators who maintain and update 50,000 square feet of displays and exhibits in our museum and on the Back 40. The Production team also supports ITC programs and special events by producing high-quality promotional materials, publications, exhibits, stage sets, multimedia pieces, and demonstration materials as well as providing audio-visual setups to staff for meetings and presentations." The Production Division continues to perform contract work for outside agencies.

The Institute of Texan Cultures was established by the Fifty-ninth Texas Legislature on May 27, 1965. The agency was directed to develop and implement an appropriate plan for the state's participation in HemisFair '68 to plan exhibits related to the history of Texas, its development, resources, and contributions; and to design and erect a building suited to housing these exhibits, giving due consideration to its utility for state purposes after the fair. The ITC, a permanent state agency located on HemisFair grounds in San Antonio, was designed to study the ethnic groups that settled in Texas. While not a museum, the ITC displayed relics, artifacts, and personal memorabilia, but only those that had a direct connection with telling the story of the people in each ethnic group. The exhibits made use of sound, color, movement, and atmospheric design. R. Henderson Shuffler guided the research projects and formed the original staff.

The ITC's continued function is to bring together, on loan, fragments of Texas history collections from museums and archives throughout the state, to produce filmstrips and slide shows on segments of Texas history, and to publish historical pamphlets and books. The ITC was put under the University of Texas System effective June 5, 1969, and its official title became the University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio. In 1986 the ITC became, more specifically, a part of the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Upon the death of Shuffler in 1975, Jack R. Maguire was named director. Rex H. Ball was director of the ITC in 1995. He was advised by the ITC's development board and reported directly to the president of UTSA, Samuel A. Kirkpatrick. In 1995 there were 100 regular staff members and 450 volunteer workers. The ITC was funded by biennial legislative appropriations, grants, contributions, and funds generated by the sale of publications, audiovisuals, other products, and the rental of the ITC's facilities. In addition to maintaining 50,000 square feet of exhibits featuring twenty-seven cultures and ethnic groups, the ITC hosts the Texas Folklife Festival, the Asian Festival, and other events.

Sources:

• Museum - Production. http://www.texancultures.utsa.edu/museum/production.html (Accessed April 9, 2009).
• Tiller, David C. "University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures", Handbook of Texas Online.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/UU/kcu25.html (Accessed April 9, 2009).

Scope and Content Note

The collection includes manuscripts, publication files, pamphlets, study guides, and other publications produced by the Production Division of the Institute of Texan Cultures. Production Division projects included the Ethnic Series, a series of Institute of Texan Cultures publications pertaining to individual ethnic/cultural groups in Texas. Also included in the collection are materials produced as part of books for other entities outside the Institute of Texan Cultures.

This collection is housed at UTSA's HemisFair Park Campus, though off-site access is also available at UTSA's John Peace Library.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Usage Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Production Division Records, UA 15.01.07, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.

Acquisition Information

Transferred to the University Archives from the Institute of Texan Cultures Library in November-December 2007 (Acc. 2007-122, 2007-127).

Processing Information

Encoded by Angela McClendon Ossar, University Archivist. More detailed processing is not anticipated at this time.

Inventory of the UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures: Production Division Records