Who is Will Howard, Texas bibliographer?

Your Texas Parlor host and "Will's Texana Monthly" publisher is Will Howard. Howard has worked Texana bibliography for over 30 years. His degrees are A.A. (Lon Morris College, Jacksonville, 1968), B.A. in history, English, psychology, and sociology (SFASU, Nacogdoches, 1970+) and M.L.S. (UT, Austin, 1974).

Howard edited a Southwestern Library Association bibliographical booklet for regional children’s material, founded the Texas State Library’s subject index to state government publications monthly checklist, founded and compiled the Texas Bibliographical Society’s periodical "Texas Current Bibliography and Index", compiled a description of the Amarillo Public Library’s Bush/FitzSimon Collection, wrote a Texana books and publications column in the Texas Library Association’s "Texas Library Journal", taught a course at UT’s Library School on contemporary American publishing and book trade, and has spoken and conducted workshops on Texana, history, librarianship, conservation, book arts, publishing, and archival matters.

Howard published under the imprint Winter Wheat House two small volumes of local Austin interest, "Arthur’s Austin ABC: Arturo en Austin: un abecedario" (bilingual, translation provided by Maria Isabel Jofre, illustrations by Ben Sargent) and "The Austin Almanac," focusing on history and horticulture.

Howard was the Librarian in the Texas Room of the Houston Public Library for 18 years until he retired in 2005. He has held offices in the Texas Library Association, including Chairing the Archives & Local History Roundtable. He has been serving for several years on the Battle of San Jacinto Symposium Organizing Committee, Houston’s Museum of Printing History’s Collection Management Committee, the Houston Review Advisory Board, and in different roles with the Archivists of the Houston Area. He chaired in the 1980s both the Travis County Sesquicentennial Committee and the Travis County Historical Commission, and coordinated the Sesquicentennial Wagon Train through Austin. He is a member of the Harris County Historical Commission as well as other posts in the Texana community. Howard now is an historical and archival consultant, public speaker, and publisher of the electronic periodical Will’s Texana Monthly.

The Parlor is assisted by the WTM Circulation Manager, Morgan Howard, who is an Aggie graduate who has worked in several public interests capacities, and he is currently employed by Communities United to Strengthen America as their Pearland office’s Outreach Coordinator.