{"id":33913,"date":"2026-01-12T10:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T16:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/?p=33913"},"modified":"2026-01-22T09:19:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:19:41","slug":"spotlight-january-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/2026\/01\/12\/spotlight-january-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Spotlight: January 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Community Partnerships as Leadership in Action: Three Texas Library Stories<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Expanding Capacity Through Strategic Collaboration | Unger Memorial Library (Plainview, TX)<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Community partnerships aren\u2019t just a programming strategy\u2014they\u2019re a core management and leadership practice that allows libraries to extend their capacity when space, staffing, or funding are limited. Unger Memorial Library<\/a>\u2019s collaboration with PBS Kids Lubbock<\/a> (KTTZ) shows how intentional leadership can turn constraints into opportunities. By leveraging their relationship with PBS Kids educator Reagan Doyal and utilizing the city-owned Fair Theatre<\/a>, library leaders have delivered large-scale, high-impact family programs for more than a year and a half. These Saturday events\u2014featuring storytimes, educational cartoons, free books, and visits from beloved characters like Clifford, Curious George, The Cat in the Hat, and soon Daniel Tiger\u2014demonstrate how thoughtful partnerships align community assets with library priorities. The joy on children\u2019s faces is proof of the program\u2019s success, but from a leadership perspective, it also illustrates how strategic partnerships can expand a library\u2019s reach, align limited resources with community priorities, and model collaborative, future-focused stewardship<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Growing Partnerships From Within the Community  |  Lake Travis Community Library (Lakeway, TX)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Effective library leadership also means looking inward and recognizing the potential already present among patrons. The Lake Travis Community Library West<\/a>\u2019s recent program featuring 16-year-old magician Ace Hart\u2014\u201cThe Amazing Ace\u201d\u2014highlights how long-term relationship building can evolve into meaningful partnerships. Nearly 100 attendees enjoyed an afternoon of magic, laughter, and balloon animals, but the deeper impact came from elevating a young performer who grew up visiting the library with his family. By investing in relationships over time and staying attentive to the strengths and interests of their own community members, library leaders created a program that was not only entertaining, but deeply meaningful. It demonstrates how thoughtful management\u2014grounded in local talent, sustained connections, and a commitment to community pride\u2014can turn everyday patrons into active partners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Sustaining Long-term Partnerships to Meet Rural Needs  |  Claud H. Gilmer Memorial Library (Rocksprings, TX)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong library leadership often requires recognizing needs that extend beyond the library\u2019s walls and building durable partnerships that expand the institution\u2019s impact. For eight consecutive years, the Claud H. Gilmer Memorial Library<\/a> has collaborated with the Texas Youth Hunting Program<\/a> (TYHP), the Edwards County Game Warden<\/a>, and\u2014more recently\u2014the Devil\u2019s Sinkhole State Natural Area<\/a> to offer fully in-person hunter education courses in Rocksprings. This sustained, multi-organization effort fills a critical gap for families seeking hands-on learning in an era dominated by online instruction, drawing participants from both local and distant communities. As the partnership enters its ninth year, it stands as a powerful example of how thoughtful leadership can bridge resource gaps, strengthen capacity, honor local culture, and ensure educational opportunities remain accessible in the places families call home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spotlight on Strong Library Management!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is your library finding smart, creative, or efficient ways to manage programs, services, or operations? We want to hear about it! Whether it\u2019s a new approach, a refined process, or a management strategy that just works for your community, your story not only matters but also could inspire others. Use <\/em>our quick form<\/em><\/a> to tell us how your team is making an impact, and upload a few photos that you have permission to share. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be shy\u2014share your management success today!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Community Partnerships as Leadership in Action: Three Texas Library Stories Expanding Capacity Through Strategic Collaboration | Unger Memorial Library (Plainview, TX) Community partnerships aren\u2019t just a programming strategy\u2014they\u2019re a core management and leadership practice that allows libraries to extend their capacity when space, staffing, or funding are limited. Unger Memorial Library\u2019s collaboration with PBS Kids…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":31131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[251,59],"tags":[1218,959,567,886,885],"class_list":["post-33913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management-leadership","category-public-libraries","tag-in-the-spotlight","tag-library-management","tag-public-libraries","tag-t3","tag-tomorrows-tall-tales"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33913"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33930,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33913\/revisions\/33930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/ld\/librarydevelopments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}