Pictured above: young readers at Marathon Public Library, holding books purchased with a 2018 Texas Library Grant

We are pleased to announce the recipients of our 2019 Texas Library Grants! This year we were able to offer collections enhancement funding to forty-one public libraries across 36 Texas counties—an amount totaling $100,500.

“The Texas Book Festival believes in the power of libraries to educate, enrich, and delight individuals in their communities,” says Lois Kim, executive director of the Texas Book Festival. “Our goal through our library grants is to improve free, year-round access to high quality books for Texans across the state.”

A patron at the Flower Mound Library browses new books purchased with their 2018 Texas Library Grant

The 2019 grants target a mix of needs in communities across the state. Several libraries will use their 2019 Texas Book Festival grant will expand their collection of Spanish and bilingual books—such as the Brookshire Pattinson Library in Waller County, which requested Spanish-language books for all ages to meet a demand for new books in Spanish as parents are inspired by their kids’ love of reading.

Denison Library’s grant is focused on diversifying their collections by adding more books by multicultural authors.

“Our patrons have little access to books by Native American authors, and with  the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma less than 20 miles away, we realize our book collection was completely inadequate in this area,” says Kimberly Murray, Library Director at Denison Library. “Our collection should reflect and serve the needs and interests of everyone that comes through the doors.”

The Terrell County Library is a first-time Texas Library Grant recipient. With recent budget cuts that have left them with only one full time staff member and the next closest library 64 miles away, grant funds to purchase more than 200 new books for children and teens will help fill out a much outdated and incomplete children’s section

Since our organization’s founding in 1995, a key part of our mission has been to promote Texas libraries and literacy. Since then, it has been our great honor to offer over $3 million in support to more than 800 libraries across Texas.

Interested in applying for a Texas Library Grant for your library? Applications for the 2019-20 public library grant cycle will be available in December 2019—check back then!

2019 Texas Book Festival Library Grant Recipients: 

• Temple Public Library

• Cedar Park Public Library

• Friends of the Round Rock Public Library

• Polk-Wisdom Library

• Terrell County General Fund

• Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library

• McAllen Public Library

• Mineola Memorial Library

• Maribelle M. Davis Library

• City of Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library

• Cockrell Hill Library

• Lewisville Public Library

• Hutto Public Library

• Whitehouse Community Library

• Corsicana Public Library

• North Branch Library

• Marlin Public Library

• Marathon Public Library

• R. Huffman Public Library

• Palestine Public Library

• Dublin Public Library Board

• Leon Valley Public Library

• Garden Ridge Library

• Pflugerville Public Library

• Carl and Mary Welhausen Library

• Denison Public Library

• Charlotte Public Library

• Henderson County Clint W. Murchison Memorial Library

• Arlington Public Library

• Fannie Brown Booth Memorial Library

• Grand Saline Public Library

• Sarah Bain Chandler Public Library

• El Paso Public Library

• Judy B. McDonald Public Library

• Brookshire Pattison Library

• Friends of the Longview Public Library

• Leadership Academy Library

• Whitesboro Public Library

• Buna Public Library

• Roberta Bourne Memorial Library

• Cleburne Public Library