Website Policies

What we do on this site and how it impacts you

The State Preservation Board, a Texas governmental agency, operates the Bullock Texas State History Museum and maintains this website, thestoryoftexas.com, as a public service. On this page, you will find the Bullock Museum’s current policies on accessibility, website privacy and security, social media and user-content collection, linking, intellectual property rights and ownership, and links to the State Preservation Board’s Compact with Texans and Open Records policy.

If you have any questions about these site policies, please contact the Museum at 512-936-8746 or contactus@thestoryoftexas.com.

Website Accessibility Policy

The Bullock Texas State History Museum is committed to making this website accessible to the widest possible audience, including people using assistive technology, according to the standards set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and as set forth in the Texas Administrative Code, Title 1, Chapters 206 and 213.

In an effort to make this site universally accessible, the Museum utilizes the following guidelines:

  • Following and addressing the most current web standards, including formatting web content to conform to the requirements of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0;
  • Using a descriptive text equivalent for images and other non-text elements;
  • Aiding users who listen to site content by testing new content and changes with screen readers;
  • Ensuring major reports and website publications are available in HTML or other accessible formats, including accessible versions of Adobe Acrobat PDF files;
  • Providing alternatives to interactive site functions, so all content can be seen on all devices;
  • Testing on multiple internet browsers (including Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox and Chrome);
  • Using accessibility checklists and guidelines, including those at http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/full-checklist.html.

The Bullock Museum welcomes comments on how to improve the site’s accessibility. If you use assistive technology and the format of any material on this website interferes with your ability to access the information, please contact the museum at 512-936-8746 or contactus@thestoryoftexas.com. To enable us to respond efficiently, please indicate the nature of your accessibility request, the format in which you prefer to receive material, the web address of the inaccessible material and your contact information.

Website Privacy and Security Policy

This Privacy and Security Policy describes the Bullock Museum’s privacy and security practices regarding information collected from website visitors, including what information is collected and how that information is used.

Please note that all information collected or maintained by the State Preservation Board and the Bullock Museum is subject to the provisions of the Public Information Act (Chapter 552, Texas Government Code.)

Age requirements and personal information

This site was built to be accessed by visitors of all ages, but the Museum requires that anyone submitting content or personal information is at least eighteen (18) years of age, and content or personal information submitted does not contain images or likenesses to persons younger than eighteen (18), unless permission is granted by a parent or legal guardian.

No personal information is collected on the site without a user’s permission. Users may be prompted to supply minimal personal information to participate in certain website features; however, the Museum only collects what is absolutely necessary. Submitting personal information is at the user’s discretion.

Personal information on the site may include:

  • A first, middle or last name;
  • Physical address(es), including the names of streets, cities, towns and/or counties needed to collect geolocation coordinates (longitude and latitude) for site interactivity;
  • Telephone numbers, email addresses and/or contact information for the Museum to communicate directly with a user. This information will never be posted online;
  • Photography, video or audio files.

Information we collect

The Bullock Museum collects information for statistical purposes and to provide the best possible experience when you visit thestoryoftexas.com website – from basic information like the language you speak, to more complex things like which pages you find useful or connections you make between the content you post and other site information.

The Bullock Museum is the sole owner of information collected on this website.

With few exceptions, you are entitled to request to be informed about the information we collect about you under Sections 552.021 and 552.023 of the Texas Government Code. Additionally, under Section 559.004 of the Texas Government Code, you are entitled to have us correct any incorrect information gathered about you.

There are two ways we collect information

  1. You give us information. There are many different ways that you can use the Bullock Museum website – to search for and share information, to communicate with others, or to create and post new content. When you share information with us, for example by sharing your stories, photos or video, on the Texas Story Project, we can make your site experience even better by helping you connect with relevant interests and people, and making your content easy to post and access.

    When you submit information on this website, you are using a web form. If you submit information about yourself using a web form, we will not display any personally identifiable information, such as your last name or home and email addresses, before posting your content on the website.

    An additional way you may give us information is by signing up for an email list, commenting on a blog post, or buying advance tickets to an exhibit, film or event. These transactions are also performed using web forms. When you give us information on this website, the museum will not share any personal information, such as your name, email address, telephone number, home address or credit card information.
     
  2. You visit the website. General site visitors have information collected about them to help us improve their user experience on this website and for statistical reporting. We collect most of this information using web analytics software. This information includes:
     
    • Web browser information. The Bullock Museum collects browser-specific information, such as the type of web browser you use to visit this website and the default language of your web browser. No personally identifiable information is collected during this process.
    • Web visit information. When you view content provided by the Bullock Museum, we may automatically collect and store certain information, including details of how you used the site. Web visit information includes your search queries; your Internet Protocol (IP) address, which is a numerical label assigned to a device connecting to the internet, and your IP location; the website you clicked from to get to this website; what web pages you visit; and, the date, time and duration of your site and page visits. No personally identifiable information is collected during this process.
    • Local storage. We may collect and store information locally on your device using mechanisms such as browser web storage, which is data stored across user sessions, and application data caches, which are data repositories on your personal device. This information is collected to allow you to participate in website activities, such as interactive features, without needing to log in or submit personally identifiable information.
    • Cookies and anonymous identifiers. Cookies are small pieces of data sent by websites and stored in web browsers. The Bullock Museum uses cookies for limited purposes, including to distinguish visitors, to maintain a user session, to store information so a user can use the site anonymously, to provide targeted advertising, or to automate navigation. Cookies are not used to collect personal information about site visitors.
    • Javascript. All pages of the Bullock Museum’s website use Javascript to enhance the overall experience and measure site activity. These scripts do not collect personal information about visitors.

How we use the information we collect

We use the information we collect from this website to provide, maintain and improve the website, to develop new features, to protect website visitors, and to offer you tailored content, such as improved search results or related website content.

We use information collected from cookies and other technologies, like pixel tags, to improve your user experience and the overall quality of your site visit. For example, by saving your response to a poll, we’ll be able to display the poll results.

How we protect your security

Your security is important to us. Web-based forms that collect transaction payments or personally identifiable information are encrypted using privacy and security safeguards, such as a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) session or similar technology, such as Transport Layer Security (TLS).  An SSL/TLS session provides secure communications over the internet through use of cryptography.

Third-party web forms

The Bullock Museum uses the following third party websites for web forms:

  • Anchor. Anchor provides Point-of-Sale software for the Bullock Museum to manage visitor records and process transactions. When purchasing a ticket to an exhibit, film, event or membership online, the transaction is processed through a third-party payment system. Information you submit when purchasing items on our website remains securely within our payment system. 
  • Constant Contact. Constant Contact provides email newsletter services for the Museum, and uses a secure connection for web forms to allow visitors to sign up for email newsletters. Click here for Constant Contact's email privacy policy.
  • Formstack. Formstack provides secure, custom online forms and data collection services for the Museum. Click here for Formstack’s privacy policy.

Social Media and Texas Story Project Policy

Your story is a part of the story of Texas, and the Bullock Museum has numerous social channels and the Texas Story Project to make your voice a part of the conversation.

Disclaimer

The Bullock Museum does not maintain nor exert editorial control over any of the social channels curated for this website’s content. Users of this website are responsible for checking the accuracy, completeness, currency and/or suitability of all information themselves before posting on this website or tagging or mentioning the Museum in social media. The Bullock Museum does not assume responsibility for the content of linked or embedded content and does not endorse the content, products, services or viewpoints expressed or provided by users on this website.

Social curation and moderation

All content you submit on this site as part of the Texas Story Project will be actively moderated by Bullock Museum staff.

The Bullock Museum has also instituted tools to curate the social content you post and tag with Museum-related references on social media – including Facebook, Flickr, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube, LinkedIn and Medium – for display on this website.

Any social media posts or Texas Story Project submissions – or links – that are inappropriate, off-topic, political or contain personally identifiable information about you or others will be removed from this website. Additionally, advertising or posting content for commercial gain is not permitted. Website content removal is at the sole discretion of the Bullock Museum, and the Museum is not required to, but may, provide an explanation for removing content.

Privacy notification

Only public information should be posted on this website or on social media channels tagged with @bullockmuseum or #bullockmuseum. To protect your privacy, you must exclude any personally identifiable, sensitive or any other information protected by law from social media communications or blog comments. Personally identifiable information submitted in collaboration with the Texas Story Project will not be published when your story appears on the Bullock Museum website.

Third-party social media websites

The social media tools employed by the Bullock Museum are hosted by third parties, and the use of those sites is governed by the social media providers’ own policies.

Examples include:

All third-party social media website content displayed on the Bullock Museum website must relate to the institution’s programs, activities, functions, artifacts or exhibits.

Intellectual Property Rights and Ownership Policy

Any trademarks that appear on this site are the property of their respective owners who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or sponsored by the Bullock Museum.

The contents of all material available on the Bullock Museum website are copyrighted by the State Preservation Board unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced or translated in any form or medium without the prior written consent of the State Preservation Board, or the credited copyright holder where applicable.

The Bullock Museum respects the rights of all copyright holders, and therefore, the Museum has adopted and implemented a policy that provides for the termination, in appropriate circumstances, of users and account holders who infringe on the rights of copyright holders or violate this policy. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or if you have copyright inquiries, please contact us by phone at 512-936-8746 or email contactus@thestoryoftexas.com.

Link Policy

The Bullock Museum’s policy on posting links from this website to other websites, or embedding third-party content, is guided by having a public purpose for establishing the link and the business needs of the State Preservation Board or the Museum. Links are provided as a public service and for informational purposes only. Links are provided only when the external server provides information that is useful to the public, or Museum constituents or employees, and relates to the Bullock Museum’s programs, activities, functions, artifacts or exhibits. The following are Bullock Museum guidelines for establishing external web links:

  • Political websites. Links to political websites are not allowed.
  • Public websites. Links to public government and education websites are allowed.
  • Private websites. Links to private commercial and noncommercial websites will only be allowed if there is a public purpose for establishing the link, and the link is approved by management.
  • Considerations in determining whether to link to a private website. Where there is a legitimate business need (public purpose) to establish a link from a Bullock Museum webpage, the proposed link will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. If there is a public purpose for including such links (e.g. to facilitate the state fulfilling a specific statutory duty or to provide information related to the Museum’s programs, activities, functions, artifacts or exhibits), then a link may be allowed, subject to approval by management.

We will remove or disallow links to external servers and embedded third-party content if we become aware that they are not managed in a professional manner, not operational and available most of the time, not kept up-to-date, provide inaccurate information, or contain unlawful or inappropriate content. We will also remove a link if the owner of the website objects to such link. The Bullock Museum reserves the right to refuse to allow a link to be established to any website that contains material that may be deemed to be offensive or inappropriate as determined by the sole judgment and discretion of the Bullock Museum. The Museum also follows the State Web Site Link and Privacy Policy that is posted on the Department of Information Resources (DIR) website.

Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

Users of this website are responsible for checking the accuracy, completeness, currency and/or suitability of all information themselves. The Bullock Museum does not assume responsibility for the content of linked sites and does not endorse the content, products, services or viewpoints expressed or provided by linked sites.

The Bullock Museum makes no effort to independently verify, and does not exert editorial control over, information on pages outside of the Bullock Museum website. The views and opinions expressed in any referenced document or any website linked to this server do not necessarily state or reflect those of the State Preservation Board, the Bullock Museum or the State of Texas. Neither the State Preservation Board, Bullock Museum, nor the State of Texas, nor any of their employees, makes any warranties, express or implied, concerning the information, services, or software found on this site or other sites to which it links.

The Bullock Museum, and its employees, expressly disclaim all implied warranties of merchantability and of fitness for a particular purpose. You expressly agree that your use of this site is at your own risk. The State Preservation Board, Bullock Museum, State of Texas, and their employees do not warrant that this website, its services, its servers or email sent from it are free of viruses or other harmful components.

Under no circumstances shall the State Preservation Board, Bullock Museum, State of Texas or their employees be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages that result in any way from your use of this site, or sites to which it links, or from reliance on or use of information, services, software, or merchandise provided on or through this site, or that result from deletion of files, delays in operation or transmission of data, or any failure of performance of the site.