Grant Recipients for Fiscal Year 2015

Texas Reads Grants: recipients | program information

Impact Grants: recipients | program information

TexTreasures Grants: recipients | program information

Library Cooperation Grants: recipients | program information

Special Projects Grants: recipients | program information

See Also: FY 2024 | FY 2023| FY 2022| FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 | FY 2015 | FY2014

Texas Reads Grants — FY 2015

Arlington Public Library System — Seniors to Seniors, $2,860
Arlington will establish a Seniors to Seniors program which will match senior high school students with senior citizens in a group setting. The Library will meet the needs of both groups by providing BiFolkal kits to engage “senior” pairs in reading, writing, storytelling, poetry, and music.

Corpus Christi Public Libraries — STEM Super Heroes, $3,000
Christi Public Libraries will offer STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Super Heroes programs at each of its six community libraries for their summer reading program. Funds will allow for the purchase of equipment and supplies, including engineering and science kits, for the STEM related activities that will be offered.

Dallas Public Library — Adult Summer Reading Project, $3,000
The City of Dallas Public Libraries seeks to increase adult participation in a citywide Summer Reading Club. A partnership with The Dallas Morning News Points - Summer Book Club the project will expand on the Mayor’s Summer Reading initiative that targets youth. Funding for this project would allow the purchase of, at least, 100 copies of the one book designated to discuss across the city. In addition, a contracted reviewer will provide a synopsis of the selected book and lead discussions at various branch libraries.

Irving Public Library — Little LEADers (Literacy Education and Discovery), $3,000
The library plans to offer quarterly community baby showers and parenting classes intended to teach parents the importance of sharing books from birth on up. This program will complement their early literacy center and traditional literacy activities.

JR Huffman Public Library — Rock'n with Puppets! (Hemphill), $3,000
The library will provide a summer reading program themed Rock’n with Puppets. The program includes sock puppet construction, reading, and music, with every child performing in a puppet show.

Speer Memorial Library — Morton's Book Club (Mission), $3,000
Speer Memorial Library will provide free copies of book discussion titles to participants in the Morton’s Book Club so participants can 1) own a book, 2) feel free to highlight and write notes in it, and 3) hopefully, pass the book along to someone they think might benefit from the book and share the love the reading. The program targets adults and senior citizens.

The Library at Cedar Creek Lake — Summer Reading Program (Seven Points), $3,000
The Library at Cedar Creek Lake will offer a summer reading program in 2015 for both the youth and adult population in the area.

Tom Green County Library System — Every Hero has a Story: Everyday Heroes in our Lives (San Angelo), $3,000
The library will host a visit from author, songwriter and entertainer, Stuart Stotts. Mr. Stotts’ new book, "We Shall Overcome," and related CD will be read and discussed throughout the school distict. Themes from the book will be carried over to summer programming at all three library locations incorporating additional reading, drawing, and crafting. Mr. Stotts will also hold a workshop for current and future teachers.

West Public Library — Cinema Bums, $850
The library will purchase a wide-screen television and a one-year public performance site license to incorporate a book-to-movie program for their ever-increasing baby-boomer population.

Impact Grants — FY 2015

Alpine Public Library — EBooks for the Big Bend Region, $10,000
The Alpine, Marfa, Jeff Davis County, and Fort Stockton Public Libraries propose an expanded e-book consortium for the Big Bend Region. This shared online e-book collection will allow over 25,000 rural residents access to free, current publications.

Arlington Public Library System — Career Advancement Program, $10,000
Arlington Public Library will offer a Career Advancement Program to patrons who will use library materials/services to enhance their ability to find jobs. Patrons will explore career opportunities at their own pace through series of classes offered in-house and on the TechLiNK, and they will refine their existing skills to enhance their employability and help them in the workplace.

Balch Springs Library-Learning Center — Early Literacy Storytime and Computers, $9,000
The Balch Springs Library - Learning Center will expand its children's storytime program to include 2 AWE Early Literacy Stations (ELS) to help with the literacy needs of a multicultural population.

Cedar Park Public Library — Test Drive at the Cedar Park Public Library, $9,900
The library will acquire digital content from the Central Texas Digital Library Consortium (CTDL) and tablets for library users to test drive; promote awareness of digital content resources and support; and increase training/support materials and programs for both library patrons and staff for digital content and personal devices.

Corpus Christi Public Libraries — Learn on the Run Mobile Computer Lab, $8,373
Funding will allow the library to create a mobile digital literacy training lab to provide technology training for the community at various sites.

Dickinson Public Library — E-Magazines and Tablets for Public Use, $5,360
Due to lack of space, the Dickinson Public Library is seeking to expand greater access for patrons to current and archived periodicals through the Recorded Books Zinio electronic magazine collection. The library will provide two tablet computers on which patrons will be able to download and read full-page complete magazines in the library.

Dickinson Public Library — Early Literacy Computer Program, $9,550
Dickinson will expand its early childhood programming by purchasing two AWE computers (Early Childhood Systems) and training parents how to educate their children in early childhood technology and more than 50 other subjects.

Dublin Public Library — Taking Technology to Businesses, $9,660
The Dublin Public Library, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and the Economic Development Corporation will introduce a mobile technology lab for training business members in and around the community of Dublin.

El Paso Public Library — Kid's Technology Workshop, $10,000
El Paso Public Library will establish a Kid’s Technology Workshop to tutor children in accessing and utilizing the online resources TSLAC and EPPL provides them through TexShare, Overdrive, and Tumblebooks.

Irving Public Library — MiY Zone, $10,000
Irving Public Library will create a teen tech lab, the MiY Zone. The lab will give students access to quality technology after school to create audio and visual content, while reinforcing the foundations of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) achieved through traditional schooling.

Jacksonville Public Library — Digital Literacy Impact Grant, $3,040
The Jacksonville Public Library will offer computer skills classes to the public. The classes will cover a variety of topics including Microsoft Windows and Office, file management, the Internet, social media and library services such as e-books and interlibrary loan.

Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library — Digital eContent Initiative, $10,000
The library will provide Lancaster residents with an enhanced e-book and e-audiobook collection and provide training on how to access the digital materials.

Nueces County Keach Family Library — Peek-A-Book at the Library, $7,885
Nueces County Library System will purchase 3 Peek-A-Book computer stations and a subscription for their Children's Department. The computers include a touch screen monitor and a downloadable library of more than 450 book previews, plus other media choices such as encyclopedia and dictionary challenges, and educational puppet skits that highlight math and letter skills, spelling, phonics and telling time.

Pittsburg-Camp County Public Library — Expanding your world through online resources and services, $10,000
Pittsburg-Camp County Public Library will add e-books and audio downloads, mobile devices (tablets and e-readers), digital literacy classes, and point-of-contact patron services.

Plano Public Library System — App Time, $10,000
Plano will introduce children and their caregivers to a new digital literacy based storytime using smart devices and applications. Staff will develop this new format using Every Child Ready to Read standards and recommended guidelines for digital literacy. During the program, staff will use the SmartTV to demonstrate materials and then facilitate and model desired caregiver use of applications.

Schulenburg Public Library — E-books for Schuelnburg, $10,000
The library will provide e-books for the patrons of the Schulenburg Public Library. The library will join an e-book consortium and teach patrons how to access e-books and use e-readers.

Speer Memorial Library — Roving Reference/Check Out a Librarian Program, $9,424
Speer Memorial Library will purchase tablet computers for use in the Roving Reference/Check Out a Librarian project. The Roving Reference Librarian program will incorporate iPad technology for staff to provide one-on-one assistance with certain online services and databases to the public anywhere in the library. Patrons will also be able to check out a librarian for one-on-one attention in developing digital literacy skills.

Tyler Public Library — Tech Time to Learn, $9,339
Working with the local agency funded by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Tyler Public Library will provide computer training for both Smith County AgriLife clients and library patrons. The program will include classes in basic computer skills, email, Microsoft software, and use of the Internet.

Tyler Public Library — 1KB4K with Tyler ISD Head Start, $3,173
The Tyler Public Library will use its "1,000 Books Before Kindergarten" program (1KB4K), started in January 2014, as an outreach program in the Tyler ISD Head Start classrooms. The 1KB4K initiative was designed to facilitate early childhood literacy by encouraging families with children age five and younger to read together.

University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) — We Found a Makerspace in Our Closet: Implementing a Betaspace Using Found Technology, $10,000
The UTA Library will continue the development of a makerspace in which its users will drive decisions about the design and construction of a planned future makerspace. Based on those decisions, UTA will purchase technologies and materials that will be introduced into the betaspace to gather usage and feedback data.

University of Texas-Pan American — Roving Reference Service at the University of Texas – Pan American Library, $9,930
The Library at the University of Texas Pan American (UTPA) will implement a roving reference service model, where librarians equipped with tablets answer patron questions throughout the building as opposed to a single service point. They will also develop a centralized reference statistic collection system using mobile devices as a platform.

TexTreasures Grants — FY 2015

Abilene Library Consortium — 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum Historical Photographs Collection, $25,000
The Abilene Library Consortium (ALC) will partner with the 12th Armored Memorial Museum in Abilene, Texas, to digitize approximately 6,600 photographs from the Museum’s collection. The images will be digitize, cataloged and uploaded to the West Texas Digital Archives (WTDA) repository and the Portal to Texas History.

Austin Film Festival — The Austin Film Festival On Story Archive: Digitally Preserving and Presenting Austin Film Festival & Conference Recordings, $25,000
Austin Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) will continue in its effort to preserve, digitize, and make publicly accessible a five-year portion (1994-2000) of its extensive 21-year video and audio collection. The Wittliff Collections at the Alkek Library (Texas State University – San Marcos) will physically and digitally house the collection.

Austin Public Library — Processing the Pease-Graham-Niles Papers, Austin History Center, $20,000
The Austin History Center of the Austin Public Library will hire a project archivist to process and make widely discoverable and accessible the papers of former Texas Governor Elisha Marshall Pease and the Pease family. The project will include the creation of a finding aid and the digitization of 75-100 items based the usefulness to researchers and educators. The collection dates from the 1830s to the 1930s.

Beaumont Public Library System — Melody Maids Scrapbooks, $18,490
The Tyrrell Historical Library proposes to digitize and provide descriptive historical background information for 155-185 scrapbooks related to the Melody Maids Collection. The Melody Maids was a girls’ choir that traveled the United States and the world to perform for military personnel located at military installations from 1942 to 1972.

Concordia University — CTX Historical Collection Digitization (Austin), $8,600
The Concordia University Texas Library (CTXL), The Portal to Texas History, and the Texas German Dialect Project will partner to digitize, preserve, and provide online access to foundational documents and their finding aid(s) related to the establishment and development of Concordia University Texas (CTX), founded in 1926 as Lutheran Concordia College of Texas.

Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin — Creating Digital Access to the Papers of J. Frank Dobie, $19,564
The Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin will provide digital access to manuscript writings, correspondence, and personal papers of the renowned Texas folklorist, writer, and educator J. Frank Dobie (1888-1964).

Houston Public Library — Mapping Houston's History, $25,000
Using the Internet and geographic information systems (GIS) technology, Houston Public Library will partner with the GIS Division of the City of Houston Planning Department to digitize 10 maps representing most decades in Houston’s history (1837-present) and encode them with 1000 geocoded points (locations) representing significant landmarks in Houston’s growth and history. In addition, the library will scan additional objects representing events, architectural monuments, and historical and cultural landmarks in the city’s history associated with the geocoded landmarks.

Panola College — Loblolly Digitization Project (Carthage), $3,248
Panola College seeks to digitize the historical interviews and stories as published in Loblolly Magazine by Gary High School students in Panola County, Texas. These items contain the stories of life in rural East Texas and personalities significant in Texas History and will be deposited at the East Texas Research Center, Ralph W. Steen Library of Stephen F. Austin State University, and the Portal to Texas History.

Southern Methodist University — Everett L. DeGolyer Jr. Collection of United States Railroad Photographs (Texas Railroad Negatives) Digitization Project (Dallas), $20,000
Southern Methodist University (SMU) proposes to digitize and annotate 1,000 negatives depicting seven major Texas railroads from the Everett L. DeGolyer Jr. Collection of United States Railroad Photographs (Texas Railroad Negatives). The freely accessible files can be used for many purposes, including the study of Texas railroads, economic development, and transportation history, as well as Texas history, in general.

Southwestern University — Digital Texas Heritage Resource Center (Georgetown), $20,000
Southwestern University will create the Digital Texas Heritage Resource Center to make accessible their considerable Texas history collection. They will purchase an overhead scanner that will be used in a multi-year project to digitize documents and books Southwestern holds that are unavailable elsewhere or have not been digitized by Google Books, HathiTrust, or another institution.

Texas State University — Texas State University Archives Digitization of Rare Local Newspapers, $1,275
The University Archives will digitize and microfilm approximately 1,000 pages of fragile and rare newspapers from Hays County dating from the late 1800s. All imaging will be completed by the University of North Texas Texas Digital Newspaper Program, and hosted on the Portal to Texas History, as well as on the Texas State University's Digital Collections Repository.

University of North Texas — Let it be Heard; The Dallas Voice Online, $19,915
The UNT Libraries will digitize pages of the Dallas Voice, which has been in publication since 1984 and is the premier media source for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered (LGBT) Texas. The project will encompass 19,420 newspaper pages covering 1984-1999.

Weatherford Public Library — Preserving and Expanding Access to Culture and History (PEACH), $24,941
Weatherford’s Preserving and Expanding Access to Culture and History (PEACH) program will continue its progress in preserving documents, recordings and artifacts relating to Parker County (TX) history by digitizing four collections that have statewide significance for students and researchers: Franco-Texan Land Company documents; Twin V Ranch documents, artifact photographs, and oral histories; Mount Pleasant Colored School oral histories; and a subset of Texas Christian University’s Jim Wright Collection.

Library Cooperation Grants — FY 2015

AMIGOS Library Services — Amigos E-book Distribution Platform Project (Dallas), $75,000
In this continuation grant, Amigos Library Services will continue developing an e-book distribution platform originally initiated in 2012 by the North Texas Library Partners (NTLP). The distribution platform will host purchased, as opposed to leased, e-content. Perpetual access, as opposed to temporary licensing, will allow the patrons of participating libraries to access content indefinitely.

Arlington Public Library System — Shared Resources, $45,750
In this second-year funding request, the neighboring public libraries of Arlington, Grand Prairie, Kennedale, and Mansfield will continue creating, branding and implementing a “virtual branch” to enable all four libraries to better select, fund, market and offer access to digital resources. With an FY15 grant, the libraries will establish a joint programming calendar and shared Summer Reading Club registration and tracking system.

Bell/Whittington Public Library — YOUmedia PortlandTX, $38,565
Based on the Chicago YOUmedia model, the Portland YOUmedia project will enable teens in the Portland area to engage more deeply with technology by providing equipment, training, mentors, and space to produce video, print or music productions on subjects that interest them and to help local service organizations.

Central Texas Library System — 'Bots & Books @ Your Library (Austin), $75,000
This collaboration between CTLS Inc., 16 public libraries, and scores of local organizations will provide a fun setting for 3rd-12th graders to participate in library-sponsored high-energy, hands-on robotics programs.“BOTS & BOOKS @ Your Library” will allow libraries to tie literature-based robotics challenges to science and technology careers.

Dallas Public Library — GED Testing and Workforce Development Project, $74,638
The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library will establish and administer a GED Testing Center to provide GED test-taking and workforce development resources to approximately 3,100 adults a year. This grant will support the implementation and operations of the Testing Center while leveraging technology and facility funding from Atmos Energy.

Fort Worth Library — Worth Reading #WR365, $75,000
The Fort Worth Library is seeking second-year funding to support staffing for its Worth Reading 365 program, a year-round community reading program for all ages which highlights Fort Worth’s cultural opportunities.

Houston Public Library — Astrodome Memories, $75,000
As part of a program to increase cooperation among Houston-area archival repositories and provide improved access to archival collections, the "Astrodome Memories" project will allow the Houston Public Library and its partners to formalize relationships and develop tools to allow researchers, students, and community members to interact with and contribute to preserving the cultural history of the Astrodome. Project goals include increasing the number of Astrodome-related materials available to the public, establishing a model process for obtaining necessary copyright permissions, and piloting access tools.

Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library — Video Media, $41,637
The Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library, in collaboration with the Lancaster Independent School District, plans to provide video creation and editing instruction for youth ages 13-16.

Smithville Public Library — Community 4 Learning, $50,000
The Smithville Public Library, Technology 4 All, the Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce, and Smithville Independent School District will work together to develop new materials and integrate existing resources to deliver a training and tracking package for adult and young adult learners seeking a job or wanting to improve their skills and abilities to improve their current job status. The project will use a blended learning environment with web-based and instructor-led courses, and could serve as a model for other communities.

Special Projects Grants — FY 2015

Carrollton Public Library — Parents' Library: Learn, Share, Grow Together, $13,000
Carrollton Public Library will make available to parents a special collection of print and non-print materials assembled to aid parents in basic childcare and development, as well as to provide information about more sensitive issues such as bullying, violence, and self-awareness. The library will also provide a series of speakers on childcare and related topics.

Central Texas Library System — Connect 4 Literacy – and More (Austin), $75,000
CTLS, Inc. will continue its partnership with Austin Independent School District (AISD) to expand library services to 2000 children in four Title I AISD elementary school libraries: Blackshear, Becker, Dawson, and Graham Elementary Schools. Three branch libraries will work with the school libraries to establish and promote Family Literacy Libraries and increase their hours of access.

Chambers County Library System — After-School Tutoring Program, $7,550
Chambers County Library System, in partnership with United Way of Greater Baytown and Chambers County, Anahuac Independent School District, and the Chambers County Sheriff’s Department will expand and enhance its current middle school after-school tutoring program with tablet computers to encourage different methods of learning with mobile technology.

Corpus Christi Public Libraries — Connecting the Community, $74,527
The Corpus Christi Public Library will enhance its monthly story program for 70 developmentally disabled adults by adding tablet technology to create a digital interactive experience for the participants. In addition, adults at senior and day care centers and families at homeless shelters will also benefit from this program.

Dallas Public Library — Homeless Engagement Initiative, $70,091
The City of Dallas Public Library will hire a coordinator to expand its Homeless Engagement Initiative to provide additional services to 1,500 homeless customers. The coordinator will implement specialized services and community partnerships to create additional programming, as well as provide access to information and referral resources, reading materials, and technology.

Effie & Wilton Hebert Public Library — Technology Training (Port Neches), $15,900
The Hebert Public Library will continue technology training services to the public for a second year. FY 2015 funding will allow classes to continue at the library but also extend technology training to the local Senior Citizen’s Center using tablet computers.

Frisco Public Library — Frisco Public Library Bibliotheca Smartlocker, $39,201
Frisco Public Library will extend its service area beyond its one location by providing a Bibliotheca Smartlocker service point at the city's parks and recreation facility, the Frisco Athletic Center. Library members would checkout reserved items and return materials through an unstaffed, automated system at this facility located in the highest traffic area of Frisco.

Irving Public Library — North Texas Teen Book Festival $50,000
Irving will host a North Texas Teen Book Festival in March 2015, focusing on middle grade and young adult (YA) literature with more than 25 authors. With the support of Half Price Books, Irving ISD, Coppell ISD, and the DFW chapter of the Forever YA Book Club, the festival will connect economically disadvantaged teens in Irving with authors to foster the enjoyment of reading and improve literacy, while meeting needs of older readers in an environment that does not discourage their participation.

Kirbyville Public Library — Education, Employment & Enrichment, 31,728
Kirbyville Public Library proposes a web-based community that will house training, information, and resources that will enhance the education, employment, and cultural and community enrichment of its local users.

North Richland Hills Public Library — The Maker Spot: Igniting Community Creativity, $74,785
The library is creating the Maker Spot, a collaborative work space where children, teens and adults from the 13 North Texas Library Consortium (Consortium) libraries can participate in hands-on learning opportunities and access emerging technologies and innovative processes to design and build projects. The Maker Spot will also have circulating STEM and maker kits and programs that the consortium libraries may book for use at their individual libraries.

Plano Public Library System — Math Literacy, $66,573
Plano Public Library will partner with Plano ISD to offer complementary math resources and instructional support to students in grades 2-4. They will buy math kits (all age levels) for libraries to circulate to the public and for onsite math tutoring. Additionally, they will offer SMART tables loaded with math applications at all library locations to allow for hands-on learning experiences throughout Plano.

Presidio (City of) Library — Saturday Library, $5,760
The library will help students and patrons working on college courses to have access to technology to "catch- up" or "make- up" work on Saturdays.

Schulenburg Public Library — TOPS 3; Round III, $75,000
Schulenburg Public Library seeks a third year of funding for its Technology Opportunities for Schulenburg 3 (TOPS3) program which provides computer, GED, and ESL classes to local area citizens.

The Process of Collaboration - A Circle of Ten, Inc. — Gateway to Financial Literacy (Jacksonville), $75,000
A Circle of Ten, Inc. will implement "Gateway to Financial Literacy," a new library-sponsored financial literacy program, at eight library sites and other community outreach sites for 300 individuals and families from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds living in rural Camp, Cherokee, Rusk, Smith, and Wood Counties.

University of North Texas — UNT Libraries Board Game Workshop (Denton), $4,663
The University of North Texas Media Library, along with the Denton Public Library will host two 4-part workshops to teach participants the theory and mechanics of board game creation. Participants will learn from professionals and will be provided tools and feedback to create their own board games. Upon completion, participants will be given the opportunity to have their games played by the general public at a local International Games Day event (fall) or Tabletop Game Day event (spring).

Wolfforth (City of) Library — Job Resource Center, $38,500
The Wolfforth library will create a job resource center that will give patrons the resources and equipment necessary to develop skills needed to find and maintain gainful employment. The library will develop partnerships with local educators, volunteers, and community and workforce resources in the Lubbock area to ensure the viability of the project.