Harris County Public Library

Public library system of Harris County, Texas
Freeman Public Library in Clear Lake City
The loading dock of the previous Harris County Public Library headquarters in Houston
Former Harris County Public Library Administrative Offices in Houston

Harris County Public Library (HCPL) is a public library system serving Harris County, Texas, United States.

Since its inception in 1921, HCPL has grown from a system of small book stations in homes, stores and post offices to 26 branch libraries serving a population of over 1.3 million users in unincorporated areas countywide. HCPL has a collection of over 2.5 million items and circulated over 9.7 million items in fiscal year 2014.[1] Edward Melton is the director of the library system.

HCPL operates branches in several cities which do not have library systems of their own and in unincorporated parts of Harris County. Three branches are located within the city limits of Houston, in sections that have been annexed since the branches opened. Most of Houston itself is served by the Houston Public Library.

Administration

The county library system is headquartered on the property of 5749 South Loop East.[2] It is in a 83,385-square-foot (7,746.7 m2) one story building.[3]

It was formerly headquartered at 8080 El Rio Street.[4] At a later time it was headquartered at 9220 Kirby Drive,[5] within the Corporate Centre Kirby in Houston.[6]

Branches

West University Library in West University Place
Spring Branch Memorial Library in Hedwig Village
  • Aldine Library - Houston
    • The branch serves Greenspoint. An expansion and renovation was scheduled to be completed in January 2001.[7]
  • Atascocita Library - Atascocita CDP, unincorporated area[8]
  • Baldwin Boettcher Library @ Mercer Park - Unincorporated area
    • Some areas near Humble are served by this branch.[7] It was constructed on donated land. It was named after Baldwin Boettcher, a German settler. His descendants deeded the homestead to Harris County. The plans stated that the Boettcher staff would assist the Mercer Park staff in finding any botanical reference books that they or the public need.[9] This library is closed until further notice due to flood damage during Hurricane Harvey.[10]
  • Barbara Bush Library @ Cypress Creek - Unincorporated area
    • The branch serves areas with Spring postal addresses. Construction began in the northern hemisphere summer of 2000,[7] and the library opened on December 18, 2002.[11] The branch flooded during Hurricane Harvey, causing extensive damage and necessitating the library's temporary closure. It reopened in May 2018 after renovations were complete.[12]
  • Clear Lake City-County Freeman Branch Library - Houston
    • The branch is a joint project between HCPL and the Houston Public Library
  • Crosby Library - Unincorporated area
  • LSC Cy-Fair Branch Library (on the Lone Star College–CyFair Campus) - Unincorporated area
  • Evelyn Meador Library - Seabrook
  • Fairbanks Library - Unincorporated Harris County (Houston address)
  • Galena Park Library - Galena Park
  • High Meadows - Unincorporated Harris County (Houston address)
  • Jacinto City Library - Jacinto City
  • Katherine Tyra Library @ Bear Creek - Unincorporated Harris County (Houston address)
  • Katy Library - Katy[13]
  • Kingwood Library - Houston
  • La Porte Library - La Porte
  • Maud Smith Marks Library - Unincorporated Harris County (Katy address) [14]
  • North Channel Library - Unincorporated Harris County (Houston address)
  • Northwest Library - Unincorporated Harris County Cypress, Texas
  • Octavia Fields Library - Humble
  • Parker Williams Library - Unincorporated Harris County (Houston address)
  • South Houston Library - South Houston
  • Spring Branch Memorial Library - Hedwig Village (Houston address)
  • Stratford Library - Unincorporated Harris County (Highlands address)
  • LSC Tomball Branch Library (on the Lone Star College-Tomball Campus) - Tomball[15]
  • West University Library - West University Place (Houston address)

Gallery

See also

  • flagTexas portal

References

  1. ^ "HCPL by the Numbers" (PDF). Harris County Public Library. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  2. ^ "All Locations". Harris County Public Library. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  3. ^ "Harris County Capital Improvement Program Fiscal Year 2014-2015" (PDF). Government of Harris County. p. 15 (PDF p. 26/47). Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  4. ^ "About HCPL" (Archive). Harris County Public Library. Retrieved on June 1, 2010. "Location: Library Administration 8080 El Rio Street Houston, TX 77054"
  5. ^ "Locations." Harris County Public Library. Retrieved on January 31, 2016. " Library Administration 9220 Kirby Drive Suite 100 Houston Texas 77054 "
  6. ^ "Supplemental Notice of a Public Meeting Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine" (Archive). Government of Harris County. March 10, 2015. Retrieved on February 20, 2016. p. 11/32: "Request for approval of an agreement with Warehouse Associates Corporate Centre Kirby II, Ltd., for lease of space at 9220 Kirby Drive for the Harris County Public Library for the period of June 1, 2015-May 31, 2016 at an annual cost of 486,000,[...]"
  7. ^ a b c "WORTH READING ABOUT / Construction work under way on Barbara Bush branch library." Houston Chronicle. Wednesday September 20, 2000. ThisWeek 1. Retrieved on December 9, 2011.
  8. ^ "Atascocita Branch Library". Harris County Public Library. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  9. ^ Beust, Brenda. "The Dirt On Houston's BLOOMS." Houston Chronicle. Thursday March 6, 1986. Weekend Preview 1. Retrieved on December 9, 2011.
  10. ^ "[1]." Baldwin Boettcher Branch Library. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  11. ^ "Barbara Bush Branch Library". Harris County Public Library. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Harvey-damaged Barbara Bush Library to reopen". KHOU 11. KHOU Houston. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  13. ^ "[2]." Katy Library. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  14. ^ "[3]" Maud Smith Marks Branch Library. Retrieved on March 9, 2018.
  15. ^ "[4]." LSC - Tomball Community Library. Retrieved on March 9, 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harris County Public Library.
  • Harris County Public Library Web site (Mobile)
  • Harris County Public Library at Blogspot
  • Harris County Public Library at Flickr
  • v
  • t
  • e
K-12
School districts
Defunct
County agency
Tertiary
Universities
Public
Private
Community colleges
Professional schools
LibrariesSupplementary
education
  • v
  • t
  • e
Texas public libraries
This template should only list library systems that have separate articles
State library
County
City
  • v
  • t
  • e
Flag of Houston City of Houston
Nickname: Space City
Topics
Seal of Houston
Attractions
Business
districts
Communities
Education
Government
Neighborhoods
Sports
  • v
  • t
  • e
Geography
Areas
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Higher education
Libraries
Other
Shopping
Landmarks
Transportation
This list is incomplete.
Many places on this list are not in the corporate limits of the City of Katy, but instead are unincorporated areas with "Katy, Texas" postal addresses.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Geography
Cities
Education
Primary and
secondary schools
Other education
Other
Media
This list is incomplete.
Previously a campus of The Monarch School was in Hilshire Village.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Areas
Places
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Other education
Other
Landmarks
Services
Events
This list is incomplete.
This list includes items within or related to the U.S. Census Bureau-designed Spring census designated place (CDP) and places outside of the CDP with "Spring, Texas" postal addresses. Items within or related to areas outside of the CDP are italicized. This list does not include places without "Spring, Texas" postal addresses. The community college district has no locations with Spring, Texas addresses but is listed anyway since it broadly serves residents of the CDP and others with "Spring" addresses.
The public library has a location outside of the CDP and with a "Spring, Texas" address, Barbara Bush Branch Library, while the nearest library to the CDP is Baldwin Boettcher Branch Library at Mercer Park, which has an "Humble, Texas" address.
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • ISNI