Our mission is “to expand Houston Independent School District libraries’ capacity through funding and volunteer support, and to advocate for HISD’s libraries as essential centers for student learning.”
Donations enable us to help support school libraries throughout the district.
Resources for Campus Libraries
We invest in individual campus libraries by supplying books, technology, and other resources that the library staff and principal identify as priorities.
These enhancements could include resources in languages other than English; college and career materials; extra copies of very popular books; furnishings that make the library more inviting and comfortable; and materials for literacy-related craft activities, maker spaces, and meetings.
During the 2023-24 school year we provided new reading rugs for four libraries, selections of new high-interest books for library use, hundreds of new and like-new books for students to take home, and a professional-grade library cart, and co-sponsored the free district-wide Library Program of the Year celebration in May. We also established a program through which library staff members could apply for small grants ($200-500) to fund library projects on individual HISD campuses.
The resource grant form is here.
Exciting Educational Events
We support events that generate interest in literacy and academic achievement, such as book fairs, author visits, district-wide competitions, literacy-related awards, and other educational celebrations.
Professional Development
We help sponsor professional development opportunities for campus library staff, such as assistance with conference attendance, support for teachers seeking state librarian certification, access to experienced mentors, and recognition of successful programs and activities.
Advocacy and Volunteer Support
We share information about opportunities to assist libraries, and provide outreach to leaders within HISD and to the Houston community about HISD libraries’ successful activities and the importance of literacy and school libraries in general. We are now working to create a group of trained volunteers to help individual campus libraries with shelving, collection weeding, and other necessary tasks.
Why Was Friends of HISD Founded?
Modern school libraries are lively academic hubs, stocked with digital research resources, exciting new print and e-books, study centers, and other resources. In today’s libraries students gather to collaborate on projects, and creative librarians use technology to teach them vital research and critical thinking skills.
But, until 2022, more than 95 Houston Independent School District campuses had no functioning libraries. These schools were mostly in underserved neighborhoods, where students have few books or other resources at home.
When he joined HISD in 2021, Superintendent Millard House announced that “providing equitable opportunities and resources at every school” was one of his five main priorities, and in 2022 he announced that every HISD campus would be required to have a library and full-time librarian or media specialist.
As of spring 2023, most of these libraries had opened, and most received a one-time, federally-funded shipment of books.
However, many schools, especially those in which almost every student is economically disadvantaged, still lack funding for new materials or resources, events like literacy nights, and other important initiatives.
A group of school library supporters recognized that enhanced library resources would benefit HISD students in many ways. We founded the Friends of HISD Libraries in May 2023 to help provide funding, volunteer support, and advocacy.
In June 2023, the Texas Education Agency assumed control of HISD and immediately began closing libraries. As of October 2024, libraries have been closed in 166 HISD schools, almost all of which are in high-poverty areas, where students have few, if any, reading resources at home.
The Friends of HISD Libraries’ advocacy is more important than ever. We hope to work in partnership with the new HISD administration and the Houston community to keep them informed about the importance of school libraries and to seek more investment in these learning centers.