And they are truly making a difference in those people’s lives. They’ve helped them with citizenship classes. “They had to morph and become a place where those people could come to learn about services and social services that are available to them. And so, they come there looking for assistance and information and the library has evolved to meet that,” said LaBoon. "Some of our libraries are much easier, access-wise, for people in the neighborhood than other social services. Jennifer LaBoon, president of the Texas Library Association, said libraries are able to help residents in the community because they’re embedded in them. In addition to an extreme influx of digital assets, they continue to be beacons of trusted resources within the communities they reside in. Libraries simply aren't just warehouses for stacks of books. Khadija Alsayed (right), of Syria, engages in the library’s conversation class. They understand across cultures and across boundaries, by just having those genuine and authentic conversations.”Ĭlassmates from Iran, Japan, and China engage in conversation class at the Looscan Neighborhood Library. “It’s a place where neighbors meet neighbors. “We believe the library should be your community’s living room,” said Chou. They also have programs like bilingual story time, live language interpretation resources, and continue to hold citizenship and English classes. And we’ve seen a lot of support from the community for building those relationships.”Ĭhou said they host a variety of cultural events, including “ The Living Room at HPL,” where visitors can meet each other while enjoying food from all over the world. “And so, we really try and build resources for community needs.
That doesn't mean it's necessarily changed in terms of the interactions between neighbors, here, in Houston,” said Chou. "Definitely, the climate, the environment around immigrants and refugees has changed.
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For example, Chou said a library recently hosted a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) information workshop, with pro bono lawyers from the Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative. And Chou said their libraries have embraced and evolved with the city's diverse population.
The Houston Public Library operates over 40 locations and serves about 2.3 million Houstonians. And that’s really what we’re trying to do at the Houston Public Library, is expand those opportunities to learn from each other.”Ĭhou says visitors enjoy learning about other cultures through experiencing different traditional foods. And, for us, seeing Houston as the most diverse city, we really believe that one of the best opportunities for learning is from each other. In that, they have equal access to learn.
But the nice thing is: everybody who walks through these doors is equal to everyone else. "We really see libraries as that unique place in the community, where people come here to learn, for very different reasons, often times. "It's not your grandmother's library anymore," said Helen Chou, Senior Manager of International Services at the Houston Public Library. "They can meet the customer in the stacks, and be able to answer their question without having to go back to their desk to look something up." "We have staff that are roaming throughout the library, with iPads or tablets," said Covington. So, they can get instant access to our electronic books, movies, and music."Ĭovington said they make sure their libraries have strong Wi-Fi signals, plugs for customers to charge personal devices, and technology has even changed the way staff interacts with library visitors. "We buy more things digitally, and we allow customers to sign up for a library card online. Covington has been with the system since 1999. "We saw just last year, our circulation of our e-content up 35 percent," said Laurie Covington, Deputy Assistant Director of Customer Experience for the Houston Public Library. (Photo Credit: Allison Lee)Īccording to data from The Texas State Library and Archives Commission, electronic materials (like audio, video, e-books, and databases) have increased nearly 14,000 percent, between 19. The Scenic Woods Regional Library book return sits at the edge of the parking lot.
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