The goal of the Texas Legal History digital library is to open at least a portion of the special collections of Tarlton Law Library to a wide audience and to create a portal that highlights important documents in the history of Texas jurisprudence and the individuals who shaped Texas legal history. The Texas Legal History digital library currently consists of Texas Constitutions 1824-1876 and Justices of Texas 1836-1986.
Texas Constitutions 1824-1876 provides page images of the constitutions of Texas in effect from 1824 to 1876. Also included are copies of journals and debates of the constitutional conventions at which those constitutions were adopted. The resource links provisions of the several constitutions to those portions of the journals and debates where those provisions were discussed.
Justices of Texas 1836-1986 includes, for each member of the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals between 1836 and 1986, a portrait and biography, citations to opinions authored, and links to additional resources.
By undertaking these projects and creating the digital library, Tarlton Law Library seeks to:
1 . Make important Texas historical and legal materials more readily accessible to members of the public;
2 . Make unique special collections materials available to users at institutions throughout the state;
3 . Advance knowledge in the field of Texas history and Texas legal studies;
4 . Enhance the education of a wide range of library users;
5. Remove the physical barriers that prohibit many library users from accessing important Texas historical and legal materials;
6. Reduce damage to important Texas historical and legal materials caused by physical access to rare books; and
7. Preserve important Texas historical and legal materials in an alternative media to paper-based documents; and
8. Hightlight the Law Library as the premier center for legal research in the State of Texas.