The museum maintains a library of military history publications consisting of over 10,000 books and periodicals. The collection is growing every day with donations from the public and with the accumulation of current military newspapers and periodicals. In addition, an extensive Field and Technical Manual library is also maintained.
We have the original World War I card files on all soldiers who joined the military in Texas. In addition to the soldiers name, address and serial number these cards list date of induction, units, rank, overseas service, and if the soldier was wounded. We also have cards for Texas female military personnel, Navy and Marine Corps as well as those killed overseas or those who deserted.
A card file for members of the 36th division in World War II can also be found at the museum. These are for all members of the 36th Division no matter what state they came from. Many of the cards just have the soldier’s name, address, and dates of service, and unit. Some have a little more service information.
Papers belonging to individuals on a "by collection" basis are also maintained. A small sample of these include: personal memories from 36th Division members, World War I journals or field books from 36th Division soldiers, history of the Texas National Guard, 36th Division After Action Reports, World War I and II souvenir books, post card books, and numerous scrapbooks with a wealth of interesting materials inside.
We also maintain a photo archives with 7000 plus cataloged photos and many thousands more awaiting processing. These photos run the range from turn of the century panoramic photos to soldier’s snapshots, to official Texas National Guard photographs. This valuable resource is open to researchers by appointment with our photo archivists.
The library and archives are open by appointment for research to all members of the public; please call (512) 782-5659 to schedule a visit.