THE POWER OF EVIDENCE
“The Briscoe Center’s collection has no equal. It is a gateway to learning the eyewitness history of who we are, who we were, and how we perceive ourselves as a nation.”
—Morley Safer (1931–2016)
CBS News Correspondent
Collect.
The Briscoe Center for American History’s archives, libraries, museums, and historic buildings document the people, events, and ideas that have shaped America. One of the university’s intellectual catalysts, the center is home to a vast collection of historical evidence including the most significant collection of Texas-related materials in existence, one of the nation’s top three archives documenting the American South, and unmatched holdings on the history of news media, to name a few. Studying the original material in the center’s collections provides a valuable learning experience like few others.
Student visiting with Bobby Seale, civil rights activist, at a Briscoe Center program.
Preserve.
Without records, there is no history—only myth and legend. By collecting, preserving, and making historical material available for study, we can ensure that what is said about American identities, origins, and values is rooted in evidence. Students, scholars, and visitors can examine primary sources to form questions, seek evidence, and deepen their understanding of the American story.
Photo archivist Amy Bowman shows the oldest dateable photograph taken in Texas, documenting the Alamo in 1849, to visitors.
Discover.
Whether reviewing documents and artifacts in our reading room, exploring them in our exhibition galleries and museums, or zooming in on their details via our digital repositories, visitors and researchers are furnished with extensive access to the center’s collections.
The Briscoe Center is comprised of Research and Collections in Austin, the Briscoe-Garner Museum in Uvalde, the Sam Rayburn Museum in Bonham, and Winedale in Round Top.
Researchers review primary source evidence in the center’s reading room on the UT Austin campus.
The Power of Philanthropy
The University of Texas at Austin provides 35 percent of the center’s annual budget. This amount has been declining every year and is expected to continue to do so. Philanthropy is critically important to the center’s ability to support teaching and research. Over 60 percent of our annual budget is made up of gifts from people like you.
You can help provide the essential support we depend upon to ensure the collections remain accessible for generations to come.
Your gifts help acquire material, preserve the evidence of the past, and make our world-renowned collections accessible by supporting the arranging, cataloging, and digitizing of acquisitions, creation of public programs and exhibitions, internships for graduate students, research fellowships, and providing reference services to onsite and online visitors.
*Invest in the future of our past today by making a charitable gift to benefit the Briscoe Center for American History. Click here to give now www.giving.utexas.edu/briscoe.
* Donors of gifts of $1,000 or more will be recognized as members of the Briscoe Center’s Director’s Circle.
