Harris County Public Library

Last updated
Freeman Public Library in Clear Lake City Freeman Public Library in Clear Lake City.jpg
Freeman Public Library in Clear Lake City
The loading dock of the previous Harris County Public Library headquarters in Houston HarrisCountyPLLoading.jpg
The loading dock of the previous Harris County Public Library headquarters in Houston
Former Harris County Public Library Administrative Offices in Houston HarrisCountyPublicLibraryHeadquarters.JPG
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.

Contents

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 WestULibraryRecreation.JPG
West University Library in West University Place
Spring Branch Memorial Library in Hedwig Village SpringBranchMemorialBranchLibrary.JPG
Spring Branch Memorial Library in Hedwig Village

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harris County, Texas</span> County in Texas, U.S.

Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, the largest city in Texas and fourth largest city in the United States. The county was founded in 1836 and organized in 1837. It is named for John Richardson Harris, who founded the town of Harrisburg on Buffalo Bayou in 1826. According to the July 2022 census estimate, Harris County's population has shifted to 4,780,913 comprising over 16% of Texas's population. Harris County is included in the nine-county Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area, which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atascocita, Texas</span> Census-designated place in Harris County, Texas, United States

Atascocita is a census-designated place (CDP) in Harris County, Texas, United States, within the Houston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 88,174. It is located north and south of Farm to Market Road 1960 about 6 miles (10 km) east of Humble and 18 miles (29 km) northeast of downtown Houston in northeastern Harris County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galena Park, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Galena Park is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 10,740 at the 2020 census. The population is predominantly Hispanic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humble, Texas</span> City in Harris County, Texas, United States

Humble is a city located in the Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing oilfield in Texas. Humble was home of The Humble Oil and Refining Company, a predecessor of Exxon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacinto City, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Jacinto City is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, east of the intersection of Interstate 10 and the East Loop of Interstate 610. Jacinto City is part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and is bordered by the cities of Houston and Galena Park. The population was 9,613 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring, Texas</span> Census-designated place in Texas, U.S.

Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The population was 62,559 at the 2020 census. While the name "Spring" is popularly applied to a large area of northern Harris County and a smaller area of southern Montgomery County, the original town of Spring, now known as Old Town Spring, is located at the intersection of Spring-Cypress and Hardy roads and encompasses a relatively small area of perhaps 1 square kilometer (0.39 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katy, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city of Katy is approximately centered at the tripoint of Harris, Fort Bend, and Waller counties. Katy had a population of 21,894 at the 2020 U.S. census, up from 14,102 in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomball, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Tomball is a city in Harris County in the U.S. state of Texas, a part of the Houston metropolitan area. The population was 12,341 at the 2020 U.S. census. In 1907, the community of Peck was renamed Tomball for local congressman Thomas Henry Ball, who had a major role in the development of the Port of Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring Branch, Houston</span> Neighborhood in Houston, Texas, US

Spring Branch is a district in west-northwest Harris County, Texas, United States, roughly bordered by Tanner Road and Hempstead Road to the north, Beltway 8 to the west, Interstate 10 to the south, and the 610 Loop to the east; it is almost entirely within the city of Houston. Established by the Texas Legislature, the Spring Branch Management District exercises jurisdiction over the area.

Cypress is an unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas, United States, located completely inside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston. The Cypress area is located along U.S. Route 290 is twenty-four miles (35 km) northwest of Downtown Houston. The Cypress urban cluster ranks 50th in the top 100 highest-income urban areas in the United States.

Lone Star College (LSC) is a public community college system serving the northern portions of the Greater Houston, Texas, area. In 2017 it enrolled about 95,000 students. The headquarters of the Lone Star College System are located in The Woodlands and in unincorporated Montgomery County, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galena Park Independent School District</span> School district in Texas

Galena Park Independent School District is a school district based in the Channelview CDP of unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 713, 281, 832, and 346</span> Area codes in the United States

Area codes 713, 281, 832, and 346 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) forming an overlay complex for Houston, Texas and its environs. Area code 713 is one of the original four area codes established for Texas in 1947.

Humble Independent School District is a school district located in Humble, Texas, United States. It serves the city of Humble, small portions of the city of Houston, and portions of unincorporated Harris County. A small section of the district extends into Montgomery County. For the 2018–2019 school year, the district enrolled 43,553 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lone Star College–Tomball</span> Community college in Tomball, Texas, U.S.

Lone Star College–Tomball is one of six colleges in the Lone Star College System (LSCS) in Texas, USA.

Westfield is an unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas, United States, located along Interstate 45 and the Union Pacific Railroad nineteen miles (30 km) north of Downtown Houston.

Greater Katy Area is the term often used to refer to a suburban region on the west side of the Greater Houston metropolitan area roughly corresponding to the boundaries of the Katy Independent School District. Many people and businesses in this area have a Katy address, but are not part of the city of Katy. This area includes the suburbs that surround the Katy city limits west to Pederson road, roughly east to State Highway 6, north to FM 529, and south to FM 1093/ Westpark Tollway Parkway. While these boundaries are not exact, it gives a rough outline of what most people consider Greater Katy, and what the USPS designates as "Katy, Texas" by assigning that city to addresses within zip codes that fall in this region. Most of Greater Katy is to the east of the city of Katy toward Houston and includes surrounding suburban areas and unincorporated areas that are not in the Houston city limits. The region includes parts of Harris County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County much as the City of Katy does. Greater Katy is one of the fastest-growing portions of the Houston metropolitan area and the state of Texas as a whole.

Fairbanks is a community along U.S. Highway 290 and the Southern Pacific Railroad in Western Houston, Texas, United States. At one point it was a distinct unincorporated area within Harris County.

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. 1 2 3 "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. "." Baldwin Boettcher Branch Library. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  11. "." Barbara Bush Branch Library. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  12. "." Katy Library. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  13. "" Maud Smith Marks Branch Library. Retrieved on March 9, 2018.
  14. "." LSC - Tomball Community Library. Retrieved on March 9, 2018.