LOS FRESNOS — Library Director Angie Lugo said she will be adding more books to the Whipple Library collection.
The Whipple Library is just one of many throughout Texas awarded the Texas Book Festival’s Texas Library Grant worth $2,500.
With the grant the library will add roughly more than 200 hardcover books to its collection.
Lugo said the new books will be on topics of medicine, technology, science, health, travel and more.
“We want to get current information that people really need,” Lugo said.
She has been pulling the current collection’s outdated books out of circulation to make room for the new books.
“The grant was written to replenish the adult non-fiction collection,” Lugo said. “Several aspects of the collection have to be replenished.”
Lugo said this is the first time the library has received the Texas Library Grant.
The winners of the Texas Library Grant were announced at the Texas Book Festival held in San Antonio recently.
Each year, proceeds raised at the annual festival through book sales and individual, corporate and foundation sponsorships fund the festival’s Texas Library Grants.
Nearly $3 million has been awarded to more than 600 libraries across Texas.
“I applied for the grant this year, and we were lucky enough to get it,” Lugo said. “We want to get these books in people’s hands, so they benefit from them.”
Currently the Whipple Library has a 20,000-book collection, including online books.
Three Valley libraries were selected as grant recipients out of 44 public libraries across 35 Texas counties.
A total $100,450 was awarded to Texas libraries — the largest amount the organization has awarded in its 21-year history of giving.
The TBF’s Texas Library Grants support collection enhancement to help public libraries meet the needs of their diverse communities.
Out of the 44 public libraries awarded, 15 are first-time Texas Book Festival library grant recipients. The grants targeted a mix of needs across Texas’ libraries including grants specifically for children’s books, Spanish and bilingual books, large print books for seniors, and to create and enhance young adult sections.
“Public libraries are an invaluable resource throughout our state,” says Lois Kim, executive director of the Texas Book Festival. “We are proud to support the important work they do and help them continue to adapt to meet the needs of our communities.”
Area libraries receive grant to stock up on new books through the Texas Library grant.
– Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library – $2,500
– Ethel L. Whipple Memorial Library – $2,500
– Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library – $2,500
