`docs/portal-to-texas-history-request-DRAFT.md`

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# DRAFT — NOT SENT
**To:** The Portal to Texas History, UNT Libraries — Feedback Form at https://texashistory.unt.edu/about/portal/contact/ (newspaper program contact: Ana Krahmer, Texas Digital Newspaper Program — ana.krahmer@unt.edu, (940) 565-3367)
**From:** Steve Abrams
**Subject:** Research access request — Paul Conrad syndicated editorial cartoons in Texas newspapers, 1950–2010

Dear Portal to Texas History staff,

I am compiling a private, non-commercial research index of Paul Conrad's editorial cartoons (Denver Post 1950–1964; Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate 1964–2010) that records where and when each cartoon appeared. Texas newspapers in the Portal may have carried his syndicated work. The index is internal research only: it is not redistributed, is not published to the open web (noindex), is access-controlled, and reproduces no page images.

I would like to ask how best to do this research with the Portal, and have not run any automated queries against it. Specifically:

1. **Preferred — a metadata/OCR export or guidance on the approved route.** Search hits (title, issue date, page, ARK/item identifier, Portal URL, and the matched OCR snippet) for "Paul Conrad", "Conrad" together with "Los Angeles Times Syndicate", and "Denver Post" cartoon credit lines, 1950–2010. If the Portal's existing OAI-PMH feed, API, or search-results export is the right tool for this, I would be grateful to know the rate limits and terms you would like me to follow.
2. **Or — permission for a limited number of automated search-result queries** using a clearly identified User-Agent ("paul-conrad-archive/0.1 research metadata-only", with a contact address), or any UA/token you assign.

For any automated access I commit to: one connection at a time; at least 5 seconds between requests (or any slower rate you set); off-peak hours only; search-result and text pages only (no page images or PDFs); a total request budget you specify; and stopping immediately on request. Every record would credit The Portal to Texas History and the contributing partner and link back to the Portal item.

If this is best routed to a particular partner institution, I would welcome being pointed there.

Thank you for your time and for the Portal's remarkable work.

Kind regards,
Steve Abrams