Skip to main content

Notes from the Field: Helen Hall’s New Bundle of Joy

Originally published October 21, 2022

*****

On Saturday, September 24, 2022, Helen Hall Library in League City, Texas, hosted the Grand Opening of its Family Place Library program during the library’s Fine-Free Fiesta—a community celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month. The event featured a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Family Place Library program; promotion of Helen Hall’s status as a fine-free library; as well as food trucks, coloring pages, paper flower making, and live performances by Ballet Folklorico Herencia Mexicana de Houston and Texas City High School’s Sting Band, Mariachi Raya. Among those in attendance to show their support were the Texas State Library and Archive Commission’s Youth Services Consultant Christina Taylor, City Librarian Teresa Potter, Assistant City Librarians Meredith Layton and Darla Rance, and Children’s Services Librarian Kate Guynn.



“This is a dream come true. Early literacy has been a huge passion of mine, and Family Place is something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time… It took everybody to make this happen. I really appreciate it, and I’m thankful for this community that loves and supports the library.”

– Kate Guynn, Children’s Services Librarian

Family Place Libraries™ is a nationwide network of children’s librarians who believe that literacy begins at birth and that libraries can help build healthy communities by nourishing healthy families. Based on research about the importance of early brain development, Family Place Libraries™ supports the essential role of parents and caregivers as first teachers and addresses the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive aspects of child development to help build a foundation for learning during the critical first years of life. By partnering and working with other social, health, and educational service providers, the Family Place model positions libraries as key early childhood and family support organizations within their local communities.


Participation in the Texas Family Place Libraries Project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. Helen Hall Library is a part of the 2022 Cohort and the first library in Galveston County to have this designation.


TSLAC initiated the Family Place Libraries™ Project to help public libraries address early learning with a goal of ensuring that all children enter school ready and able to learn. Applications for 2023 will open soon. If you are interested in applying, please familiarize yourself with the requirements on our Family Place Libraries Project website, and consider subscribing to our Library Developments blog to stay informed of updates.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Becoming a Comics Librarian and the Importance of Joining a Community of Practice

  Originally published April 5, 2023 Library Developments Blog |  Library Development and Networking Division Texas State Library and Archives Commission ***** As a freshly-minted librarian, I was hired to serve at THE high school bearing my district’s name alongside an amazingly zany, veteran librarian who knew the current collection inside and out as she’d been the one to revitalize it with bond money just prior to my arrival. To say that I was intimidated about what I could possibly have to contribute is more than an understatement. So when the moment of truth arrived and I was handed a “small” purchase order to get my feet wet, I. Was. Stymied! Her  fingerprints were all throughout that collection, and what  she  didn’t read our assistant  did . How would I ever fit into this team?! What could I possibly contribute?! To be honest… after teaching a core, tested subject for fifteen years, I was just beginning to read young adult literature regularly...

ARSL 2024 Conference Recap

  Originally published October 25, 2024 Library Developments Blog  |  Library Development and Networking Division Texas State Library and Archives Commission Waiting outside Gate 21 where the scent of pizza from the nearby Eastside Pies booth filled the air, I excitedly chatted about the transitional weather with my new teammate – to quote James Hurst “summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born” – the logistics of traveling for work, and our preparedness to attend the 2024 Association for Small and Rural Libraries (ARSL) conference . Neither of us truly knew what to expect, but we had been told that ARSL is THE conference for rural and small libraries, with conference organizers who not only understand the constraints of these libraries but also the unique opportunities for their being chrysalises of change. The conference theme “Libraries are (r)Evolutionary” proclaimed the event aimed to provide an opportunity for exploring the transformative power of rural and sm...

Staff Highlight: Christina Taylor

Originally published July 28, 2021 Library Developments Blog | Library Development and Networking Division Texas State Library and Archives Commission **** As part of our effort to make sure you know who the staff here at the Texas State Library are, we would like to periodically highlight staff members that you may at some point come in contact with! For our next staff highlight of 2021, I interviewed Christina Taylor, Library Development and Networking (LDN)’s new Youth Services Consultant on the Continuing Education and Consulting (CEC) team)! What are your job responsibilities at TSLAC? As the Youth Services Consultant, I will work towards ensuring Texas libraries are knowledgeable about and have the resources to implement youth services that meet the needs of their communities. To that end, I will lead projects for internal, statewide, and national initiatives relating to youth services. What projects are you excited to get started with? As a fervent advocate for comics and graph...