Recipients

Texas Reads Grants - FY 2023

Arlington Public Library
$5,000.00
The Arlington Public Library will launch There's a Dragon in the Library, a program that will mesh reading, storytelling, and the hit roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons. The program will be an ongoing series for children and teens to use their reading and literacy skills to create characters, plan stories, and create campaigns in the fictional Dungeons & Dragons world. Additionally, classes and game nights will be supplemented with sessions by local storytellers and dungeon masters, as well as sourcing individuals with more specialized expertise.

Bryan+College Station Public Library System
$3,334.00
The Bryan+College Station Public Library System will create a teen book club, Teens Read, at the Larry J. Ringer Public Library Branch. Goals include engaging local teens with the library, and placing special emphasis on fostering the love of learning and reading.

Cooke County Library
$6,640.00
The Cooke County Library in cooperation with Gainesville Parks and Recreation Department will create a StoryWalk® displaying pages of a picture book along a popular walking path in a town park for families to read and discuss as they walk. The program will provide a means to expand opportunities for early literacy and family literacy learning beyond Library walls and operating hours.

Cross Plains Public Library
$7,554.00
The Crossplains Public Library will launch a StoryWalk® outdoor exhibit composed of 16 metal stands with angled frames containing the laminated pages of a book, so that children, parents, and others can walk and read a children’s book - even when the library is closed - while enjoying the butterflies, birds, and flowers. The project will promote early literacy, physical activity, and family time together in nature. 

Dallas Public Library
$9,834.00
Dallas Public Library will launch Here Comes Kindergarten, a  six-week interactive program to provide children with the skills necessary to have a successful first year in school. Each week of the program is designed to address a specific topic regarding school readiness and reading comprehension. The program also focuses on helping parents and caregivers form behaviors that support their child's education. 

Denton Public Library
$7,252.00
Denton Public Library will partner with the local Parks and Recreations Department to design and install a  StoryWalk® in Fred Moore Park located in Southeast Denton.  The project will bring quality, diverse picture books to the park in a way that encourages family bonding and exercise by following the story along a path.  

Dublin Public Library
$4,743.00
The Dublin Public Library will hold a summer reading program entitled All Together Now.  This program will feature make and take crafts, educational entertainers, STEM programs, outdoor movie nights and other activities.  The summer reading program’s goal is to, promote reading for pleasure to combat the summer slide, simplify access to materials that aid in developing literacy skills and promote a love of reading in our community.

El Paso Public Library
$4,190.00
The El Paso Public Library will invest in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) courses and certification for staff members tasked with teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. ESL classes have been offered at the library in the past, however staff has felt underqualified to teach the classes. The certification coupled with the ESL library would give staff the resources needed to teach quality ESL classes.

Honey Grove Library & Learning Center
$6,720.00
Honey Grove Library & Learning Center will launch Around the World Reading, a literacy project and diverse collection of program designed to provide resources and services that promote and enhance literacy in the Honey Grove community.

Houston Public Library
$10,000.00
The Houston Public Library (HPL) will expand the annual John P. McGovern Foundation Summer Reading Program (SRP) with increased staffing to strengthen capacity during SRP activities. HPL will also purchase additional books for virtual Youth Book Clubs. HPL staff have found a balance between virtual and in-person programming, with some portions of the SRP returning to in-person and others remaining virtual.

Nueces County Public Library
$9,975.00
The Nueces County Public Library will launch The Every Child Ready to Read, 1000 Books before Kindergarten Literacy Program. The program will emphasize early childhood and family literacy, and lifelong learning. The program will be a new component to NCPL’s early literacy effort to tie into Family Place programming. 

Rowlett Public Library
$5,295.00
The Rowlett Public Library will partner with other community organizations to provide Reading All Together Now, an exciting and dynamic Summer Reading program. 

The Library at Cedar Creek Lake
$5,000.00
The Library at Cedar Creek Lake will utilize volunteers, staff, and educational programs adn reading logs to offer summer programming five days a week during June and July. The Summer Reading Program promotes reading and educational programs hosted at the library in an effort to provide educational encouragement to a community characterized by low educational achievement and income. 

Wilson County Public Library
$10,000.00
The Wilson County Public Libraries (WCPLs) will establish a StoryWalk® Program that takes reading and learning beyond the wall of the library. Community members can enjoy reading while engaging in physical activity.

TexTreasures Grants - FY 2023

Allen Public Library 
$24,820.00
The Allen Public Library will digitize the printed version of Allen American (AA) newspapers, beginning with issues published in 1987-2001 (some editions are lost).  This project is a continuation project from last year when the 1971-1986 editions were digitized. The images will be added to the collection and will be accessible through the University of North Texas Libraries' Portal to Texas History digital collection. 

Cleburne Public Library
$24,820.00
The Cleburne Public Library will digitize the Cleburne Times Review, issues published 1956 through the end of 1969. Funding will enable the continuation of the Cleburne Newspaper Digitization Project, which began in 2020. Previous funding has provided for the digitization of the Cleburne Times Review, years 1918-1955. The digitized images will be added to The University of North Texas Libraries' Portal to Texas History providing an invaluable resource to those researching events and individuals in Cleburne and the surrounding communities.

Cooke County Library
$25,000.00
The Cooke County Library will digitize the Gainesville Daily Register (GDR), beginning with issues published in 1947 through the end of 1956. The digitized images will be added to the collection of Cooke County Newspapers accessible through the University of North Texas Libraries' Portal to Texas History. This is a multiphase project that will result in the digitization and free accessibility of all issues of the GDR, the oldest surviving newspaper in Gainesville and Cooke County, providing an invaluable resource to those researching events and individuals in North Texas.

Fort Worth Public Library
$24,920.00
The Fort Worth Public Library (FWPL) in partnership with UNT Digital Libraries will digitize issues of the Fort Worth Press newspaper (published from 1921-1975). The archival preservation of the electronic files created, and publication of the content on their Portal to Texas History will provide free, 24/7 access to the content. 

Houston Community College
$24,728.00
Houston Community College (HCC) will hire a processing archivist to preserve costumes, accessories and material with enduring value  in a logical way, describe the arrangement in a digital EAD finding aid, and verify that all basic documentation is completed for the physical archive located at Houston Community College. This project will support fashion historical research by improving access to and the preservation of a collection with strong Texas designer and collector interest; strengthen the visibility of the collection; and ultimately enable HCC to establish improved methodologies for future mass digitization of the materials. 

Houston Public Library
$25,000.00
The Houston Public Library's Africa American Library at the Gregory School (AALGS) will launch the Houston Forward Times Newspaper Digitization Project. The project will outsource digitization of four (4) bound volumes (approximately 15,000 pages) of the Houston Forward Times newspaper for years 1960-1970. Started in 1960, the Houston Forward Times publishes on issues that range from the civil rights movement and desegregation to National/State politics affecting Black Houstonians. Once digitized, HPL will ensure accessibility for all researchers by making the collection available online at the Houston Public Library Digital Archives and the Digital Public Library of America, both available at no cost to the public.

Patrick HeathPublic Library
$25,000.00
The Patrick Heath Public Library (PHPL) will digitize print issues of the Boerne Star from 1966-1993. The digitized issues will be made accessible through University of North Texas Portal to Texas History (Portal) (https://texashistory.unt.edu/).

Southern Methodist University
$25,000.00
The DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University (SMU), holds the John Miller Morris Collection of Texas Real Photographic Postcards and Photographs (Morris Collection). The collection contains 9,266 real photographic postcards (RPPCs), mainly ca. 1900-1925, documenting distinctly local views throughout the state. The DeGolyer Library and Norwick Center for Digital Solutions (nCDS), both units of SMU Libraries, will digitize and make available on the Internet 1,683 RPPCs showing Texas locations, buildings, people, events, and industries.

Texas A&M University Corpus Christi
$17,952.00
Special Collections at Bell Library at TX A&M-Corpus Christi will digitize and transcribe the Corpus Christi Coffee Club VHS Collection, consisting of 739 tapes, donated by Rey Madrigal.  They are recordings of his public programming TV show, “Corpus Christi Coffee Club,” a popular civic forum for the Latinx community in the 1990s.   The videos document the perspectives of Hispanic citizens and their concerns for equality.

University of North Texas
$25,000.00
The University of North Texas Libraries will digitize 25,000 pages of the Houston, Texas newspaper, Jewish Herald-Voice, spanning 1949-1979.  These newspaper issues, when digitized, will be made openly accessible on The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu), in the Texas Digital Newspaper Program collection.

Regional ILS Collaborative Grants - FY 2023

North Texas Library Consortium
$61,000.00
The North Texas Library Consortium (NTLC) will turn over administration and managemnt duties to a new ILS vendor in an effort to free up consortium staff to focus on direct services to patrons and improved training and catalog data quality.

MetroShare Library Consortium
$73,998.00
The MetroShare Library Consortium utilizes a shared Koha ILS from ByWater Solutions and a partnership with Trans-Amigos Express (TAE) courier service to deliver materials between partners. MetroShare Library Consortium will use grant funds to ensure the cost-efficiency of the current operating model, to continue to facilitate an enhanced exchange of library services, and to allow for the inclusion of new members.

Special Projects Grants - FY 2023

Arlington Public Library
$23,654.00
Arlington Public Library will develop a pilot program to provide services to homebound patrons who are unable to come in person for library services, due to mobility or transportation issues, including temporary health issues impairing mobility. Program options will include access to library materials and technology, technology support for e-content, and assistive technologies such as Talking Books and other resources to provide support to homebound individuals.

Bedford Public Library
$25,000.00
The Bedford Public Library (BPL) will create a FED: Food Education Program focused on educating families about food and nutrition through hands-on cooking, food demonstrations, and gardening classes. 

Brownsville Public Library
$25,000.00
The Brownsville Public Library System (BPLS) will roll out the Designing a More Creative Future program focused on providing resources and access to the community through learning events and MakerSpace services that will broaden skills for patrons to use in their creative and business endeavors. The program will minimize the digital divide by providing low to no cost services to connected equipment within the library branches. 

El Paso Public Library
$74,971.00
The El Paso Public Library will partner with EveryoneOn to provide Digital Skills classes for the community library branches and at other local partner location across the city. Grant funds will be use dto hire staff and purchase equipment to suppor classes. 

Hewitt Public Library
$51,228.00
Hewitt Public Library will increase access to library offerings with Hewitt Public Library On the Go. HPL On the Go will mobilize services, programs, technology, and books by taking a mobile library trailer to different areas in the community, such as parks, neighborhoods, nursing homes, low income areas, businesses, and schools. 

Honey Grove Library & Learning Center
$4,000.00
The Honey Grove Library & Learning Center will launch The Digital Literacy at the Library project to assist community members who need training, support, and guidance using digital resources safely and effectively. The program will utilize translation services, technology classes, and technology lab hours to meet community needs and narrow the digital divide.

Houston Public Library
$75,000.00
The Houston Public Library will expand the Career Online High School (COHS) program by providing tuition, computers and internet access to 25 new program participants in FY23. COHS is a SACS accredited high school completion program offered in partnership with Smart Horizons and the Workforce Solutions. The program helps adults ages 21+ who have completed a minimum of eighth grade earn their high school diploma and prepare them for the workforce. 

Irving Public Library
$62,445.00
The Irving Public Library will continue the Building a Maker Movement project designed to help patrons learn 21st century job skills, harness their creativity, and promote community building and collaboration. During the third year of the project, IPL will create a media digitizing lab and enhance makerspace programming for all ages at West Irving Library in addition to launching a Maker-In-Residence program.

Mansfield Public Library
$23,500.00
The Mansfield Public Library will create a Mobile Makerspace equipped with emerging technology and new tools to empower underserved patrons and non-library users to learn new skills beyond the library’s walls. Programming will focus on STEM exploration, crafting creation, and nutrition literacy.

Mesquite Public Library
$11,160.00
The Mesquite Public Library System will use grant funding to cover 12 months of unlimited data for thirty T-Mobile Wi-Fi hotspots currently owned by the library that are available for check out to city residents.

Partners Library Action Network (PLAN)
$75,000.00
PLAN will launch The Texas Library Rescue, a new initiative designed to support libraries in need of capacity building. The program will engage a team of volunteers, consultants, and stakeholders who will conduct intensive hands-on work, lead training, and provide support over the course of a 5-day work week. At the end of the week, the participating library will have its immediate and short-term challenges addressed, with an action plan for follow-on tactics and strategies. 

Pottsboro Area Public Library
$24,651.00
The Pottsboro Area Public Library will address health literacy and digital health literacy inequity in the rural Pottsboro community through education provided by a Community Health Worker or Health Sciences Librarian, a virtual health room, and public health learning opportunities and resources.

Rowlett Public Library
$5,415.00
Rowlett Public Library will develop and implement a loan program for wi-fi hotspots in an effort to narrow the digital divide and provide equality of access to technology for patrons and community members. 

Texas Woman's University
$57,651.00
Texas Woman’s University (TWU) will create a path for qualifying inmates to earn a bachelor’s degree in sociology at the Mountainview Unit, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison housing female offenders. Goals include providing technology to ensure no-cost and TDCJ-approved course module access for students, the development of an on-site reference print collection, access to a no-cost offline electronic library database, and the development of a document delivery system for requesting and receiving copies of journal articles.

Tom Green County Library System
$72,486.00
The Tom Green County Library (TGCL) will continue to grow and support career focused, hands-on, NASA-mission aligned STEM engagement for underserved K-12 students with its partner organizations.

University of Dallas
$71,228.00
The Cowan-Blakley Memorial Library at the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas will launch The Core Textbook Collection for Pell-Eligible First Generation Students. The program will better support first generation students from underrepresented groups by providing equal access to required core textbooks. The library providing access to required core textbooks during the 2022-2023 and future academic years would be an essential resource beneficial to student learning and research.