About the Source

Title: The Handbook of Texas
Publication Date: 2018
Producer: Texas State Historical Association
URL: https://tshaonline.org/handbook

Evaluation

Authority

The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a nonprofit organization which provides resources and continuing education for Texas Educators. It was originally founded in 1897, and today is a trusted source of historical information for both teachers and students of Texas history.

Scope

The Handbook of Texas includes extensive information on Texas History. Topics include: Music, Civil War, African American Texas, Tejano History, and Texas Woman. There are features for students, teachers, and the general public. They offer extracurricular programming for students and continuing education for teachers. The site provides instructional materials aligned to the state curriculum.

Arrangement

The header includes a title, a search bar, social media links, and a member login. Below this is a menu with the following links: Home, Education, Handbook, Almanac, Publications, Shop, About, Annual Meeting, Get Involved. Below this is an additional menu with the links: About, Home, Browse, Search, Texas Day by Day, eBooks, Music, Civil War, African American Texas, Tejano History, Houston, Texas Women, Contact.

The main section of the page includes a featured article flanked by two side bars. The top section includes a Quick Browse Menu for browsing the site by letter. To the left are links to specialized areas of the site: Handbook of Houston, The history of Texas during the Civil War, Handbook of Tejano History, The Handbook of African American Texas, and The Handbook of Texas music. Currently, the featured article is the an informative story about the Handbook of Texas Women. To the right is a sidebar featuring advertising related to the site. These includes links to download eBooks, registration for TSHA membership, site shopping, and a hardcover copy of the text Texas Day by Day.

Below this main section of the page, users may sign up to receive articles emailed to them. Additionally there are three small menus: Today’s Popular Articles, and TSHA Links.

Recommendation

This resource would be particularly useful Texas educators and seventh grade students studying Texas History. Younger users, particularly fourth graders studying Texas history as a part of their curriculum may not be able to easily navigate the page or read the resources independently.