Mike Miller is the Manager of the Austin History Center, a 14-person, $1.2 million division of the Austin Public Library, with responsibility for personnel, planning, and fiscal aspects. He represents the Austin History Center before library, city, and community groups. Miller writes, speaks and consults about Austin history, managing local history collections, and preservation of historical materials.
MARCH 2021
Programming & Outreach
On February 5, the AHCA hosted its annual Angeline Eberly Luncheon, which went virtual this year. Over 300 people attended the presentation “Our Austin Story, Act II: All Aboard! The Train Comes to Austin” written by Austin playwright Paullette MacDougal and directed by Austin Playhouse Artistic Director Lara Toner Haddock. The performance was a historically-grounded glimpse of events that shaped Austin in the years following the Civil War, most notably the arrival of the town’s first rail service.
Collections
AHC staff finished processing 1 collection, the Japanese American Immersion Project Scrapbook.
Forklift Danceworks donated 25 oral history interviews and transcripts created during their 2020 “Take Me Out to Downs Field” programming, documenting the history of Downs Field and African American baseball players and teams. Along with the recordings and transcripts, a small selection of photos, clippings, and baseball cards make up the collection.
Reference
The AHC’s expanded reference and e-document delivery service received 83 requests and completed 83 this month, delivering 9347 scanned items to researchers. While research topics vary, some of our efforts can have a profound personal affect, as evidenced by the following feedback:
Can't thank you enough for scanning the entire report! And for sending it so quickly! … This report is fascinating and helps me a bunch. More than you know.
During this time AHC staff helped researchers working on a historical marker application for the Manhattan Club, Austin’s secret gay-friendly club in the 1960s; the artonthecorridor.org website documenting the history of transportation corridors; and a historic resources survey study for the Hancock, North Loop, and Upper Boggy Creek neighborhoods.