Dear Friends,
Happy National Library Week! As we celebrate the incredible work of the Houston Public Library, I want to take a moment to share with you some things that I’ve learned in my first few months as Executive Director.
When I took on this role in December, I made it a priority to visit every library site—27 neighborhood libraries, 5 regional libraries, 1 Central Library, 4 TECHLinks, 3 history research centers, 1 mobile unit, 1 express library, 1 parent resource library at Children’s Museum of Houston, and 1 BookLink at Allen Center—and to meet as many of the nearly 500 library staff as possible. It’s important for the Foundation to have as much on-the-ground information as possible to support the library system.
From the end of January through the end of March, I visited every library site. Here are 3 things that I learned:
1) Kids… EVERYWHERE! As a new parent myself, Emily and I have come to rely on HPL for numerous resources for our daughter and so have thousands of other parents. On my tours, I had to wade through 45 children on a Tuesday following story time at the new Freed-Montrose library. I was shocked by the (almost overwhelming) number of families and children that overtake the McGovern-Stella Link Regional Library every day after school. I was charmed by the sheer enthusiasm of the parents and children lining up for story time at the Looscan library. And I was delighted to see teens (respectfully) take over the Moody library after school to read and play games in a safe and friendly environment—with a line out the door of teens waiting to get in! Kids love the Houston Public Library.
2) People are building their lives through HPL! Libraries are economic engines (most studies show a $5-$7 return for every $1 of public investment). Houston Public Library is no different. Regardless of where I went, from the Shepard-Acres Homes library to Bracewell, from the Flores library to Kendall, I saw people using HPL’s free resources to build their lives.
Every day, Houstonians are making use of free computer access to prepare their resumes and apply for jobs online at a library branch. Every day, Houstonians are taking English as a Living Language courses and citizenship courses to fully take advantage of and fully contribute to the Houston community as Americans. Every day, Houstonians are showing up for entrepreneurial courses, banking courses, and fraud prevention seminars to stay safe and build their lives.
I should also note the entrepreneurs and artists who make incredible use of HPL’s TECHLink facilities—recording music albums, printing high-quality resources for their businesses at a fraction of normal costs, and producing art in new and interesting ways that allows individuals to express themselves and build a brand.
3) HPL has an amazing team! Admittedly, I didn’t need to go on this tour to learn just how dedicated and hardworking HPL’s team is throughout the system. To any library patron, it’s evident how much the HPL team puts into their work, but I want to share a few examples of what I have seen.
I think of the team at the Alief-Henington library that takes the time to read stories to the children with their families in the WIC clinic downstairs. I think of the team at the Heights library that sorts and shelves 36,000 books a month—by hand! I think of the team at the Central library that takes the time to diligently connect patrons with needed social services on top of managing the largest library in the HPL system. And I think of the team at the Stanaker library that produces incredible art to ensure that their community has a warm and inviting space when they come in.
HPL’s archival teams do yeoman’s work in shepherding the history of our community—assisting with family research, stewarding priceless rare books and maps, managing one of the largest architectural archives in Texas, and carrying the stories of those who came before us.
I also want to give a shout out to the systemwide teams: the distribution team which ensures materials get across the system (who I greet and see loading multiple vans every morning as I walk into the office), and the Spaces team (which just won major awards for the design of the new Dr. Shannon Walker Library). The Library Materials Services team, which stewards HPL’s 7 million+ collection—getting patrons the materials they need; the Communications team that gets the word out in engaging and thoughtful ways; the Programs team that helps coordinate thousands of programs each year with hundreds-of-thousands of attendees; and the customer experience and business information teams that help ensure the highest quality of service. All of these folks are oriented around serving YOU!
The Houston Public Library is a home for all Houstonians. It’s for the young woman who was volunteering at the Vinson library, received an email that she was accepted into Columbia University, and the first people she told was the library team. It’s for the group from a home that serves those with mental disabilities who now visit the Walter library and cherish it as their own. And HPL is for the young families who come to the Family Place Libraries like at the Jungman library to learn how to teach their children to read and how to read together as a family.
HPL’s team members, at every location (named above and elsewhere), are dedicated to serving all Houstonians because the library is owned by, and operated for, YOU.
This National Library Week, I invite you to visit your favorite library branch and thank the library staff for all that they do. I remain,
With best regards,
Nick Sawicki
Executive Director
P.S. Go Coogs!