87R30077 BK-D
By: Metcalf H.R. No. 1950
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/librarian Mary Camp,
the LRL staff includes assistant director/librarian Catherine
Wusterhausen, administrative/legislative staff Michelle Martinez,
Kali Palmer, and Julia Walden, administrative staff Amber Baade,
Donald Brower, Christopher Taylor, and Jay Young, clipping service
staff Vincent Cowan, David Wood, and Karen Wright, and librarians
Elizabeth Buchanan, Linna Dean, Ali Dzienkowski, Sally Harlow,
Melanie Harshman, Mickey Lanning, Karen McBurney, Kaelyn Morice,
Ana Sifuentes-Martinez, Brandon Vasquez, Lindsay Wickham, and Ia
Wood; 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 87th 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.