Austin Allison
Assistant Librarian
Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library | Texas Tech University
[email protected] • 806-834-3655
Lubbock, Texas
Education
Master of Science | Major: Library Science
Bachelor of Arts | Major: History | Minor: Classics
Academic and Professional Positions
Assistant Librarian | Bibliographic Services | Tenure-Track
June 2021 - PresentManage and supervise cataloging, metadata, and digitization projects for bibliographic services department. Supervise two exempt unit managers who oversee staffed units within the SWC/SCL, including conservation, reception, and bibliographic services. Work with internal and external stakeholders to ensure proper and ongoing access to physical and digital resources available.
Unit Manager | Bibliographic Services
August 2014 - June 2021Managed cataloging and digitization projects for SWC/SCL bibliographic services department. Supervision of one non-exempt staff member.
Specialist IV | Bibliographic Services
November 2013 - July 2014Cataloged incoming items for SWC/SCL bibliographic services department. Performed specialized duties to create bibliographic records for online access.
Part-Time Reference Assistant | Reference
June 2010 - October 2013Assisted reference staff with duties to serve incoming students and researchers.
Scholarship/Research
Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research
| Year | Funding Entity & Project Frame | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Helen Jones Foundation | Principal Investigator Grant awarded to replace an aging microfilm scanner at the SWC/SCL to support newspaper digitization program. | **$72,000** | Awarded |
| 2020 | Helen Jones Foundation | Principal Investigator Grant awarded to replace aging flatbed scanners at the SWC/SCL. | **$24,400** | Awarded |
| 2018 | National Endowment for the Humanities, National Digital Newspaper Program | — | Not awarded |
| 2017 | National Endowment for the Humanities, National Digital Newspaper Program | — | Not awarded |
Intellectual Contributions
Journal Articles (Academic Journals)
- Allison, Austin. "The Digitization of Edwards Plateau Newspapers." Edwards Plateau Historian. Under Review (Submitted October 2025)
- Allison, Austin. "'Opportunity Knocking': The Vaughan Land Company and Early Bailey County Development." Panhandle-Plains Historical Review 96 (2025), 40-65.
- Allison, Austin. "Surveying the Capitol Land Reservation in Texas." Southwestern Historical Quarterly 129, no.3 (January 2026), 335-364.
- Allison, Austin. "The Digitization of West Texas Newspapers." Digital Library Perspectives. Submitted September 2024, Refused January 2025
- Allison, Austin. "A Spring Sprung It: Tracing and Understanding the True Genesis of North America's Longest River." Journal of the West 58, no. 3 (2019), 6-21.
- Allison, Austin. "Maps and newspapers in the Southwest Collection." Archivation Exploration 3, no. 2 (2018).
- Allison, Austin. "Notes, Documents, and Sundries: Newspapers, Oil, and Railroad Land." West Texas Historical Review XC (2014): 129-135.
- Allison, Austin. "Notes, Documents and Sundries: JA Cattle Company." West Texas Historical Association Year Book LXXXVIII (2012): 173-175.
Book, Chapter in Scholarly Book
Allison, Austin. "Tahoka Lake" in Caprock Chronicles: More Tales of the Llano Estacado, edited by John T. (Jack) Becker and David J Murrah, 55-56. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, 2021.
Magazines / Trade Publications
- Allison, Austin. "Lipscomb County Courthouse: A Prairie Landmark with Enduring Presence" Authentic Texas, Issue 33, Summer 2025.
- Allison, Austin. "The Remnants of the Southwest Conference: The Story of Landmark Archival Collection" Authentic Texas, Issue 27, Winter 2024.
- Allison, Austin. "The Sharps rifle, buffalo hunting, and the South Plains" Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, January 28, 2024.
- Allison, Austin. "Tumbleweed Smith and the Sounds of Texas." Authentic Texas, Issue 25, Spring 2023.
- Allison, Austin. "Comfortably Lodged: Transforming historic county jails into silos for historical and cultural heritage." Authentic Texas, Issue 22, Fall 2021, 40-42.
- Allison, Austin. "Unusual Annotations in Stephen F. Austin's 1835 Map of Texas Tell Early Texas History." The Southwestern Archivist 42, no. 1 (2019), 19.
Edited and Compiled Works
• Compiler of "Publications in West Texas History" for the West Texas Historical Review, West Texas Historical Association, 2014, 2016-2026.
Presentations
Allison, Austin. "Early maps of Lubbock and Lubbock County at the Southwest Collection." West Texas Historical Association 2026 annual meeting. Lubbock, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Opportunity Knocking: The Vaughan Land Company, Virginia City, and Early Bailey County Development." 31st Annual Center for Big Bend Studies Conference. Alpine Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Navigating the Southwest Collection: Accessing Digitized Archives for Genealogy and Research." San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society Speaker Series. San Angelo, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Digitizing West Texas: How a Small-Scale Effort Evolved to Become the Largest Archive of Digitized West Texas Newspapers." Society of Southwest Archivists Workshop. Online.
Allison, Austin. "Surveying the Capitol Land Reservation in 1879 and 1880." 30th Annual Center for Big Bend Studies Conference. Alpine, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Preserving the history of the Edwards Plateau region through newspaper digitization." Edwards Plateau Historical Association conference. Ballinger, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Digital Newspapers." Texas Tech University - Digital Humanities Working Group Symposium. Lubbock, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "The upper northwest Comanche Trail: using maps and drones to trace the trail." Center for Big Bend Studies 28th annual conference. Alpine Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Using drone technology to evaluate sites near and on the Comanche Trail." West Texas Historical Association 97th annual conference. Lubbock, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Missing Links: Attempting to Reconcile Old Maps of the Llano Estacado." Center for Big Bend Studies 27th Annual Conference. Alpine, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Drones for Historic Preservation." West Texas Trails Association annual conference. Graham, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Drones for Historic Preservation." Texas Plains Trail Region Board Meeting. Wheeler, Texas.
Allison, Austin. Southwest Collection Digital Newspaper program booth Texas Press Association. Denton, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Sandoval Plaza: Utilizing drone technology to survey pastores sites in West Texas." Canyonlands Archaeological Society. Matador, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Southwest Collection newspaper digitization." West Texas Historical Association. San Angelo, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "From Wagon Trails to Flight Paths: Drone Technology in Surveying Historic Sites along the Yellow House Draw." West Texas Historical Association. Lubbock, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Drones to identify trails and historic locations." West Texas Trails Association. Wheeler, Texas.
Allison, Austin. Southwest Collection Digital Newspaper presentation and exhibition, Texas Plains Trail meeting. Spearman, Texas.
Allison, Austin. Southwest Collection Digital Newspaper program booth Texas Press Association. San Marcos, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Texas Tech University, Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Newspaper Digitization Project." Panhandle Press Association, 105th Annual Convention. Amarillo, Texas.
Allison, Austin. "Sifting through the Dust: The Process of Digitizing West Texas' Aging Newspapers." West Texas Historical Association, 92nd Meeting. Amarillo, Texas.
Artistic and Professional Performances and Exhibits
Exhibit curated to showcase award after SWC/SCL received "Award of Excellence in Preserving History" from the Texas Historical Commission in April 2024.
Teaching & Project Specifications (Archival Pipelines)
Map Digitization Project (DSpace Growth)
- 2025: 335 maps digitized (30% growth)
- 2024: 245 maps digitized (45% growth)
- 2023: 109 maps digitized (27% growth)
- 2022: 138 maps digitized (47% growth)
- 2021: 63 maps digitized (27% growth from baseline)
Instructional Footprint
LIBR1100, Guest Lecture, Spring 2026
Cataloging Projects Volume
Map Cataloging: 2025: 526 maps | 2024: 505 maps | 2023: 370 maps | 2022: 538 maps | 2021: 110 maps
Mary McClurg Project (2026): 328 periodicals | 137 books
Frederick Suppe Collection (P1 & P2): 2025: 614 books | 2024: 281 books | 2021: 22 boxes
Oral History Cataloging: 2023: 78 in OCLC | 2022: 166 in OCLC
Bruce Mitchell Collection (2023): ~1,500 records altered
Newspaper Digitization Project Volumes
2026 Pipelines Midland Reporter-Telegram 1981-2018 (10,757 issues complete), Lubbock 1926-1930 (2,819 issues ongoing), Dawson County Courier (874 issues), Colorado City Record (5,135 issues), Junction Eagle (699 issues), Snyder Daily News (1,238 issues), West Texas Baptist (586 issues), Wichita Falls (102 issues).
2025 Pipelines Mitchell County News (2,074 issues), Portales Valley News (554 issues), Perryton Herald (1,848 issues), Texas Live Stock Journal (634 issues), Friona Star (51 issues).
2024-2022 Cumulative Pipelines Texas Christian Advocate (2,543 issues), Burkburnett Star (2,336 issues), Stanton Reporter (1,209 issues), Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung (1,487 issues), Abernathy Review (1,568 issues), Talco Times (2,890 issues), El Mosquito (861 issues).
Professional Service
Department / School
- Libraries' Research Committee (Chair 2026-2027, Member 2025-2027)
- Assistant Archivist Search (Chair 2024)
- Rare Books Search Committee (Member 2023)
- Libraries' Executive Committee (Member 2022-2024, Sec 2022-2023)
- Public Programming/Outreach (Member 2016-2024)
- HEB Fuel For Finals Volunteer (2022, 2024)
University
- Graduate School 3MT Competition Judge (2025, 2022)
- President's Faculty Book Award Reviewer (2024)
- Student Research Poster Competition Judge (2024, 2023)
- School of Art Search Consultant (2022)
Professional / Public
- WTHA Annual Events Coordinator (2017-Present)
- WTHA Rupert N. Richardson Book Award Committee (2017-Present)
- Texas Plains Trail Region Board Chair & President (2022-Present)
- Texas Plains Trail Region Board Member (2021-Present)
Fellowships, Scholarships, and Awards
Awarded to the regional digital newspaper digitization project corpus.
Media Contributions
Provided specialized quotes and collection discovery context for the primary historical feature.
Fielded detailed landscape and situational aerial drone video profiles documentation for the 100th anniversary event records.