| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, For more than a century, the Legislative Reference |
|
|
Library has provided invaluable assistance to Texas lawmakers; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Signaling to the world that the Texas Legislature |
|
|
early on understood the need for expert assistance from |
|
|
professional library staff and the value of a specialized reference |
|
|
library, leaders of this state reserved a special place at the core |
|
|
of the 1888 Capitol to house this vital resource for current and |
|
|
future generations; the Legislative Reference Library was |
|
|
established on the second floor in the north wing to assist members |
|
|
of the legislature and their staffs, and its resources are also |
|
|
available to the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker, and their |
|
|
staffs, to the staff of the governor's office, to legislative |
|
|
officers, agencies, and committees, to state agencies and |
|
|
commissions, to librarians and legislators from other states, to |
|
|
members of the press, and to Texas citizens; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The tools may change through the decades, but the |
|
|
need for information endures, and the library's electronic data |
|
|
systems currently expedite the delivery of knowledge to the |
|
|
legislative community and the people of Texas in both direct and |
|
|
indirect ways; the creation, compilation, and utilization of |
|
|
information in a reliable and timely fashion are provided today in a |
|
|
manner unimaginable by the legislature in 1888, yet the importance |
|
|
of the library's continued proximity to the seat of Texas |
|
|
government was reaffirmed during the restoration of the Capitol in |
|
|
the 1990s, thus underscoring the intrinsic value of this treasured |
|
|
institution; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The effectiveness of the library would not be |
|
|
possible without the talented people who staff it; these |
|
|
individuals provide in-depth analyses of legislation from all 50 |
|
|
states, respond to historical legislative queries, and create ad |
|
|
hoc legislative statistical reports for staff in the Speaker's and |
|
|
Lieutenant Governor's offices; during legislative sessions, the |
|
|
library plays an integral part in the legislative process; staff |
|
|
develop electronic records in the Texas Legislative Tracking System |
|
|
for each bill or resolution filed and furnish real-time information |
|
|
to the legislative community, to executive agencies, and to |
|
|
citizens of this state through such proprietary applications as |
|
|
TLIS and TLO; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Stationed on the floor of the House and Senate |
|
|
chambers, library staff record critical legislative actions as they |
|
|
occur, and they work closely with the Senate and House |
|
|
parliamentarians, the Senate and House journal clerks, the chief |
|
|
clerk of the House, the secretary of the Senate, and their staffs to |
|
|
ensure that these records are accurate and complete; library staff |
|
|
members are also responsible for assigning and entering subject |
|
|
terms and companion relationships to facilitate legislative |
|
|
research, and they review enrolled legislation for the effective |
|
|
dates of each measure; in addition, the library operates a |
|
|
toll-free bill status hotline for the public; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, As the statutory custodian of legislative records, |
|
|
the library maintains the most comprehensive physical repository of |
|
|
information relating to the Texas Legislature, including original |
|
|
legislative bill files, historical and current publications of |
|
|
legislative committees, state agencies, and institutions of higher |
|
|
education, and legislative legal resources, journals, law reviews, |
|
|
and periodicals; a circulating collection of materials is also made |
|
|
available to the legislative community; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The library has undertaken an ambitious and ongoing |
|
|
project to digitize historical legislative records and |
|
|
information, including the House and Senate journals, to ensure |
|
|
that this information is available to scholars and the public to |
|
|
foster better understanding of the history of Texas and the |
|
|
legislature's role in that history; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Each business day, the library compiles select |
|
|
articles from newspapers statewide for the legislative community, |
|
|
and it generates weekly listings of important journal articles and |
|
|
monthly listings of newsworthy additions to the library's |
|
|
collection; the library provides accurate and up-to-date |
|
|
legislative information electronically through a number of |
|
|
databases; the Texas Appointment System contains information on |
|
|
members of state councils, boards, and committees appointed by the |
|
|
governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker; the Legislative |
|
|
Archive System holds the only electronic version of original |
|
|
legislative bill files and documentation, while the Index to |
|
|
Sections Affected is the sole source of information detailing the |
|
|
proposed statutory effect of bills; moreover, the library maintains |
|
|
Texas Legislators: Past & Present, highlighting legislative |
|
|
membership information from 1846 to today, as well as a legislative |
|
|
reports database covering that same period, and it archives |
|
|
gubernatorial executive orders, messages, and proclamations; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Guided skillfully by director Mary L. Camp, the LRL |
|
|
staff includes assistant director/librarian Catherine |
|
|
Wusterhausen, librarians Elizabeth Buchanan, Colton Chambers, Ali |
|
|
Dzienkowski, Melanie Harshman, Elizabeth Hinderer, Karen McBurney, |
|
|
Marissa Talamantes, and Ia Wood, archivists Tricia Bailey, Linna |
|
|
Dean, and Kaelyn Morice, library assistants and administrative |
|
|
staff Elizabeth Bellisario, Donald Brower, Michelle Martinez, |
|
|
Kelvin Mote, Kali Palmer, Julia Walden, Jay Young, and Fernanda |
|
|
Zamora, and clipping service staff Vincent Cowan, Cristopher |
|
|
Taylor, David Wood, and Karen Wright; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, These hardworking and dedicated professionals |
|
|
demonstrate an unyielding commitment to excellence as they carry on |
|
|
the long and storied tradition of their agency, and they may take |
|
|
justifiable pride in the important services they provide to the |
|
|
legislature and to the citizens of the Lone Star State; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby honor the Legislative Reference Library and |
|
|
extend to the staff members sincere appreciation for their |
|
|
outstanding contributions; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for the library as an expression of high regard by the |
|
|
Texas House of Representatives. |