Our Web Policies and Disclaimers

Thank you for visiting our website. The content that is published on or collected via our website is public information as described in the Public Information Act (PIA). The following discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) website and social media web properties.

Alternative Formats and Accessibility
Privacy Policy
Cookies
Email
High-Value Open Data Sets
IP Addresses
Linking to Sites Other Than Our Own
Social Media Web Properties: Terms of Use
Intellectual Rights and Ownership
Security
Contacting the Webmaster
 

Alternative Formats and Accessibility

TSLAC is committed to making its website accessible to all users in compliance with Texas Administrative Code §206.50, Accessibility. All web pages and electronic documents published to the agency website (built, updated, or revised) must comply with these standards. Section 206.50 establishes a minimum standard for accessibility and web pages; agency staff responsible for publishing to the agency website are encouraged to go beyond the minimum whenever possible.

TSLAC welcomes comments on how to improve the website's accessibility for users with disabilities. If site visitors using assistive technology find that the format of any material on the agency website interferes with their ability to access the information, they should contact the accessibility coordinator. The email to the Accessibility Coordinator should include:

  • Nature of the accessibility problem
  • Preferred format in which to receive the material
  • Web address of the requested material
  • Contact information for the site visitor

Privacy Policy

We do not collect personal information on users in the logs we use to compile our website statistics.

"Cookies" are used to authenticate registered users of online databases. For more information, please see the Cookies section on this page.

Electronic mail questions, online, comments, or web forms submitted to TSLAC that contain personally identifiable information will only be used to respond to that request. We may redirect your message to another government agency or person in order to better answer your question. See the Email section on this page for more information.

TSLAC’s website uses persistent, first-party cookies with web-based forms for such purposes as collecting survey results, providing online registration for TSLAC-sponsored events, collecting and reporting of continuing education activities, and recording computerized geographic data. Personally identifiable information collected from web-based forms is used only for the purpose specified (survey results, online registration, etc.). To the extent personally identifiable information is collected, TSLAC will adhere to all statutory requirements in protecting citizen data.

Please note that all information collected or maintained by TSLAC is subject to the provisions of the PIA.

Email addresses of most members of the public who communicate with state agencies through the Internet are confidential under Texas law. Exceptions to confidentiality of email addresses may be reviewed at section 552.137 of the Texas Government Code.

Cookies

As noted above, the TSLAC website may use cookies to provide interactive pages, compile reports, and authenticate users. TSLAC does not use cookies for other purposes. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however, please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website.

Email

Most email messages received by state agencies are considered state records. Email messages are managed in accordance with the agency's approved records retention schedule and may be made available to the public on request under the PIA.

High-Value Open Data Sets

Section 2054.1265 of the Texas Government Code requires agencies to post on a generally accessible Internet website maintained by or for the agency each high-value data set created or maintained by the agency. View information in the Texas Open Data Portal.

IP Addresses

We may use visitors' IP addresses to help diagnose problems with our web server or to gather website statistics. TSLAC does not report or use this type of information in any manner that would reveal personally identifiable information and does not release the information to any outside parties unless required to do so under applicable law.

Linking to Sites Other Than Our Own

Our website contains links to other websites. While we attempt to ensure the accuracy and usefulness of our own website, we make no claims about the accuracy of materials and websites other than our own.

External links to other sites are intended to be informational and do not have the endorsement of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of other such websites.

Social Media Web Properties: Terms of Use

By visiting any social media web property operated by TSLAC, users agree to abide by the terms set forth below and must abide by applicable state and federal laws, such as copyright and defamation laws, as well as the terms of service, terms of use, privacy policies, and other requirements of any communications platforms used.

A social media web property is defined as: a web property is a point of presence (e.g., a website, social media account, blog, etc.) on the web that is an asset used for the purpose of representing a brand, organization, person, or other entity. Our social media web properties can be found on our social media page.

TSLAC is not responsible or liable for content posted by any public user in any forum, message board, or other social media properties, and such user comments do not reflect the opinions and/or position of TSLAC.

User Participation - Users participate at their own risk. Users are responsible for their comments, photos, username, and any other information provided on TSLAC’s social media web properties including ensuring permission has been granted for submitted content.

  • Users are expected to uphold the highest standards of ethical behavior and to use TSLAC social media forums for constructive communication related to information, library, reading, records management, history, and related information services topics.
  • Posts and comments are public and may be viewed by all users.
  • Users should be careful about posting any private or personally identifiable information, as defined in Tex. Code Bus & Com. Sec. 521.001 et. seq.
  • Posts and comments that include sensitive personal information are subject to removal, unless the subject of the information contacts the Public Information Officer and provides express written consent for the disclosure of that information.

See the Intellectual Rights and Ownership section for more information.

Monitoring - All published TSLAC social media content is subject to monitoring. This content may take the form of digital text and images. User-generated posts will be rejected or removed if the agency considers the content of a post:

  • Used without permission or in violation of copyright or trademark laws (at the time of agency discovery)
  • Off-subject or out of context
  • Contains obscenity
  • Contains personal identifying information or sensitive personal information, as defined in Tex. Code Bus & Com. Sec. 521.001 et. seq.
  • Contains offensive terms that target protected classes
  • Is threatening, harassing, discriminatory, defamatory, or otherwise deemed inappropriate by our agency
  • Incites or promotes violence or illegal activities
  • Contains information that reasonably could compromise public safety
  • Advertises or promotes a commercial product or service, or any entity or individual
  • Promotes, endorses, or contains disparaging language about political campaigns, candidates, or office holders
  • Contains personal attacks or insulting statements directed toward an individual
  • Is of a repetitive or “spamming” nature (the same comment posted multiple times)

Users who post information in violation of this policy may be blocked from TSLAC's social media web properties.

Accessibility

Every effort will be made for content (such as images, posts, videos and comments) on social media web properties operated by TSLAC to be accessible to users of all abilities. However, the agency’s social media properties derive from third party sites, and each third-party site applies its own policies to a given social media property. Since accessibility requirements apply to the content contained in the media, and not in the features of the third-party site, content posted on third party sites is duplicated on other channels from TSLAC. For people with disabilities, web content and documents in other formats are available on request. See our accessibility policy above for more information.

Suggested resources for users with disabilities:

TSLAC social media sites are third party sites and have terms of service and policies that are not governed by TSLAC or the State of Texas. These third-party sites are not official TSLAC websites, and the third party’s website terms of service and policies apply.

Intellectual Rights and Ownership

To the best of our knowledge, works produced by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and appearing to customers, visitors, users, constituents, and the general public on any of our web properties (website, social media, blogs, etc.) are not copyright protected. This designation does not apply to works of other State of Texas websites, websites of local governments, external websites liked from TSLAC websites or properties, or TSLAC collection items appearing on our website or social media, which may be protected by copyright. Please keep in mind:

  • The Texas State Library and Archives Commission has registered the logos and program names of TexShare and TexQuest as service marks with the Texas Secretary of State. Registered service marks cannot be used without permission.
  • Other people may have rights in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights. Privacy and publicity rights protect the interests of the person or people who may be the subject of the work. To learn more about the difference between copyright and privacy and publicity rights, see the Library of Congress website.
  • You may not use a Texas State Library and Archives Commission work in a way that implies endorsement by the agency or an agency employee. An agency work includes but is not limited to images, text, audio, video, presentations, and electronic documents in any format.
  • Works prepared for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by independent contractors may be protected by copyright.
  • Not all information that appears on our web properties is considered to be a Texas State Library and Archives Commission work. For example, it is possible that some or all of the images, text, audio, video, presentations, and electronic documents in any format on our web properties may be protected intellectual property not owned by this agency, but used by permission of the rights holder. To ensure that you don’t mistakenly use protected intellectual property from our web properties, send questions or comments to [email protected].

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission may receive and hold copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise.

Security

This site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Unauthorized use of this website is an offense under the Texas Penal Code.

You may contact our webmaster if you have questions about our web security measures.

 

Contacting the Webmaster

If you have any questions about our web policies or website, please contact:

Webmaster
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
P.O. Box 12927
1201 Brazos Street
Austin, Texas 78711-2927

[email protected]

We also welcome compliments and suggestions!

Page last modified: April 23, 2024