Claud H. Gilmer Memorial LibraryROCKSPIRNGS, Texas – We were up before dawn to hit the road for the 65-mile drive to Rocksprings, Texas, in the rugged, beautiful Hill Country of Texas. Today we are visiting one of Texas’ unique libraries in this small town of 1,000. We know we are in a remote part of the country because there is no cell phone service until we are two miles from town.
Lisa Scroggins is the librarian of the
Claud H. Gilmer Memorial Library - a library that is two libraries under one roof. The library serves as the K-12 public school library as well as serving as the community library. When you walk in the door, you can feel the energy that young people bring to any environment.
During school hours, students make up the majority of patrons in the library. In the late afternoon hours, adult patrons arrive to complete personal and family business, scan photos, take online college courses, pay bills, write resumes, and search for jobs. After hours, there are people parked outside the library and the glow of laptops can be seen as they use the library’s Wi-Fi, the only free public Internet access in town.
Lisa told us about the virtual fieldtrips to locations around that world that students at the school take. She downloads the video fieldtrips from the Internet and shows them in the library’s large video room. According to Lisa, many area students have never been out of the county and this broadens their view of the world.
We met a high school student named Dallas who has aspirations for public and professional speaking. Bright and full of energy, Dallas uses the library’s Internet to access the UIL (University Interscholastic League) materials created by the University of Texas that are so important in her preparation for persuasive speech contests.
Randy, a local pilot, uses the library to prepare and submit his flight plans and get the latest weather information about where he is flying. He said that if he didn’t have broadband access, he could not fly legally.
This library is truly a place that allows people to pursue their educational dreams.
Our next stop is San Antonio, 140 miles away.
San Antonio Public LibrarySAN ANTONIO, Texas – We pulled up to the big red library building located in downtown San Antonio, not too far from the Alamo. San Antonio’s
Central Library is the main library in a 24-library system with three additional libraries under construction. This mammoth building takes up what looks like a whole block, is six stories tall, and has all the hustle and bustle of any major downtown inner-city library.
This is where we met Jennifer, a stylish and up-to-date youth services librarian well-versed in the technological trends in the teen world. She told us that today there are significant changes to how teens use the Internet and online resources at the library. Teens have gone from doing basic database searches to content creation, using online applications such as Flickr and Picasa to create photo albums, and Slide.com for uploading PowerPoint creations for school assignments.
Elizabeth Graham, the public relations director, guided us around the massive building. Every reading space is occupied by patrons. Art work dots the walls and adds to the pleasant ambience. There are plenty of workstations and study areas.
Austin Public Library
AUSTIN, Texas – Austin is the last stop on our library tour of Texas.
The
Austin Public Library’s main library, the
Faulk Central Library, is located in downtown Austin and is one of the 23 libraries in the Austin Public Library system.
Sean, a local library patron, is a consultant for a debt collections company and a sourcing agent for a commodities broker. Sean uses the library for his business, utilizing the library’s broadband Internet service to contact customers and associates, and transmit files. The speed of the library’s broadband Internet access allows him to run his personal business more effectively.
Jennifer, a librarian, said the library’s broadband Internet access allows local patrons in need to apply for jobs. She has seen a huge increase in the number of people coming in and looking for employment. On the day we visited, the library was hosting a job fair, and it also offers free computer training classes each week.
The library runs a New Immigrant Program that provides information and services to the new, primarily non-English speaking immigrant population in the Austin area. It also allows them to schedule appointments with immigration officers at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration offices.
The children’s and teen programs at the Austin Public Library are outstanding. The library runs a youth outreach program, Connected Youth, that provides teen spaces in the libraries, laptops, and programs for teens, and helps connect young adults to the library’s free services and resources.
Sabina, a teen from the Austin area who uses the library do her homework, said she would likely fail in school if she did not have access to broadband Internet service at the library.
This library confirms what we found at all of the libraries that we visited throughout Texas. Libraries are facing greater demands from their patrons as Texans turn to their libraries for needs that require broadband Internet access such as banking, job applications, research, online education, accessing government services, and social networking.
Seventy-four percent of Texas libraries reported that they provide the only free, public Internet access in their communities and 57 percent reported that their connection speed was insufficient or only sufficient part of the time.
For me, the library tour of Texas was an eye-opening experience. Texas public libraries are community centers, open to all people, and providing services vital to the well-being of the state.