Editing Houston Public Library (section)

==History==
===Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library===
[[File:Sanborn1907 McK Travis Hou.png|thumb|1907 Sanborn map showing the location of the Carnegie Library and Houston Lyceum.]]
[[File:HPLIdesonBuilding0.JPG|thumb|[[Julia Ideson Building]] in Downtown]]
The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston [[Lyceum]] in 1854.<ref name="chapmanvii">{{cite book|last=Chapman|first=Betty T.|title=100 Years-100 Stories: Houston Public Library 1904–2004|location=Houston|year=2004|publisher=Houston Public Library|page=vii}} {{ISBN|0-9753242-0-9}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lch02|title=Houston Public Library|last=Kleiner|first=Diana J.|date=2010-06-15|website=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=2017-03-04}}</ref>  The lyceum was preceded by a [[Debate|debating society]], a special-interest mechanics' lyceum, and a [[circulating library]]. The lyceum's library eventually split into a separate institution at the end of the 19th century.<ref name=":0" />

In 1892, [[William Marsh Rice]], a Houston businessman and [[Philanthropy|philanthropist]] who later chartered [[Rice University]], donated $200,000 for the construction of a free public library.<ref name=":0" /> The facility opened in 1895 and obtained its own building in 1904 with financial assistance from [[Andrew Carnegie]].<ref>Chapman, Betty T. "[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27941445_ITM Story of public libraries took long time to write in Houston]." ''[[Houston Business Journal]]''. June 2, 2000. Retrieved on January 27, 2009.</ref> Betty Trapp Chapman wrote in ''The Houston Review'' that the city's women "were instrumental" in the library's establishment and that the educated women "had long recognized the need for a library to serve the community."<ref>{{cite web|author=Chapman, Betty Trapp|url=https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/walking-in-the-footsteps-of-houst-women-historic-tour-of-down.pdf|title=Walking in the Footsteps of Houston Women: A Historic Tour of Downtown Houston|work=The Houston Review|volume=1|issue=1|pages=59–62}} - Cited: p. 59 (PDF p. 1/4)</ref> [[Julia Ideson]] was named its first [[librarian]] and she hired one employee. Located at the corner of Travis and McKinney in what is now known as Downtown Houston, it originally housed 10,000 volumes. By 1907, 10,000 Houstonians held accounts at the library. By 1913, the library counted seven persons on its payroll.<ref>Chapman (2004), pp. 6{{endash}}9.</ref> The city changed the name from Carnegie Library to Houston Public Library in 1921. By this time, they had outgrown their space and relocated several staff members to the Harris County Courthouse. A few years later, the library sold its property to raise money for a larger facility.<ref>Chapman (2004), pp. 14{{endash}}15.</ref>

===Julia Ideson Library===
The library board selected a lot once occupied by [[Thomas M. Bagby]], a co-founder of the 1848 Houston Lyceum. They commissioned Cram and Ferguson as design architects, in consultation with [[William Ward Watkin]] and Louis A. Glover. The building was completed in two years and at a cost of $500,000. The Spanish Renaissance design draws from regional history, and includes carvings of explorers and missionaries of Texas. The second floor hall lay under a rotunda, fronted by an interior oaken gate with carved columns and entablatures. The new building opened with a collection of more than thirty thousand volumes.<ref>Chapman (2004), pp. 21{{endash}}25.</ref> The building constructed as Houston's Central Library in 1926 was later named the [[Julia Ideson Building]] in her honor.<ref name=":0" />

===Carnegie Colored Library===
The board for the Houston Carnegie Library had planned for universal access to the facilities. However, those working at the library turned away African-Americans educators who visited in 1907, while ostensibly referring the matter to the trustees. A group of African-American educators led by [[Ernest O. Smith]] lobbied local white leaders and the Carnegie Foundation for a library to serve the black community. The [[Colored Carnegie Library of Houston]] opened in 1913 with an African American board of trustees and management. It was transferred to the management as a branch library of Houston Public Library in 1921.<ref name="malone">{{cite journal|journal=Libraries & Culture|volume=34|issue=2|year=1999|pages=95–112|title=Autonomy and Accommodation: Houston's Colored Carnegie Library, 1907–1922|jstor=25548712|last1=Malone|first1=Cheryl Knott}}</ref>

On July 31, 1961, the Carnegie Colored Library closed.<ref name="Malonep673">{{Cite journal |at=p. 673 |doi=10.1353/lib.2007.0015|title=Unannounced and Unexpected: The Desegregation of Houston Public Library in the Early 1950s|journal=Library Trends|volume=55|issue=3|year=2007|last1=Malone|first1=Cheryl Knott|hdl=2142/3712|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The library facility required extensive repairs and it was in the path of the Clay Avenue extension project.<ref name="Malonep671">{{Cite journal |at=p. 671 |doi=10.1353/lib.2007.0015|title=Unannounced and Unexpected: The Desegregation of Houston Public Library in the Early 1950s|journal=Library Trends|volume=55|issue=3|year=2007|last1=Malone|first1=Cheryl Knott|hdl=2142/3712|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The branch, auctioned in February 1962 and shortly afterward demolished except for the cornerstone, was replaced by the W. L. D. Johnson Library in [[Sunnyside, Houston|Sunnyside]], dedicated on June 16, 1964.<ref name="Malonep673" />{{dubious|date=July 2018}}

===Expansion and branch libraries===
The library system racially [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregated]] in 1953.{{dubious|date=July 2018}}<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Malonep666">{{cite journal|last=Malone|first=Cheryl Knott|title=Unannounced and Unexpected: The Desegregation of Houston Public Library in the Early 1950s|journal=Library Trends|volume=55|issue=3|date=Winter 2007|pages=665{{endash}}674|doi=10.1353/lib.2007.0015|hdl=2142/3712|hdl-access=free}} Alternative method: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254956573_Cheryl_Knott_Malone_-_Unannounced_and_Unexpected_The_Desegregation_of_Houston_Public_Library_in_the_Early_1950s_-_Library_Trends_553, registration required.</ref>{{failed verification|date=July 2018}} Beforehand, blacks were permitted use of the Colored Carnegie Branch and deposit stations located at a park, a high school, and an elementary school; whites were permitted use of the main library, six branches, two bookmobiles, and several deposit stations.<ref name="Malonep666" /> Desegregation occurred after a letter printed in the ''Houston Informer'' from several prominent black Houstonians, including ''[[Smith v. Allwright]]'' plaintiff Lonnie E. Smith, stated they would prefer a voluntary desegregation program despite their likelihood of winning a lawsuit; shortly before the letter was printed, ''[[Sweatt v. Painter]]'' was decided by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]], which challenged the "[[separate but equal]]" legal doctrine.<ref name="Malonep667">{{Cite journal |at=p. 667 |doi=10.1353/lib.2007.0015|title=Unannounced and Unexpected: The Desegregation of Houston Public Library in the Early 1950s|journal=Library Trends|volume=55|issue=3|year=2007|last1=Malone|first1=Cheryl Knott|hdl=2142/3712|hdl-access=free}}</ref> In June 1953, [[Mayor of Houston]] [[Roy Hofheinz]] told the HPL board that library facilities should no longer be segregated. On August 21, 1953, library facilities for high school students and adults were desegregated – without public announcement to the black community.<ref name="Malonep670">{{Cite journal |at=p. 670 |doi=10.1353/lib.2007.0015|title=Unannounced and Unexpected: The Desegregation of Houston Public Library in the Early 1950s|journal=Library Trends|volume=55|issue=3|year=2007|last1=Malone|first1=Cheryl Knott|hdl=2142/3712|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

The library system now consists of 35 neighborhood libraries, including four regional libraries, the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in the [[Houston Museum District|Museum District]], and the Central Library in [[Downtown Houston|Downtown]]. Central Library consists of the Julia Ideson Building and the [[Jesse Holman Jones|Jesse H. Jones]] Building, constructed in 1976.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20071026025832/http://www.hpl.lib.tx.us/about/news/20060802-morris.html In Memory of Mr. Seth Irvin Morris]" (). ''Houston Public Library''. August 2, 2006. Retrieved on January 27, 2009.</ref> Out-of-state users are entitled to access to the Library's resources, after paying a $40 annual fee.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tibken |first1=Shara |title=The Money-Saving Power of Your Library Card |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-money-saving-power-of-your-library-card-8f490455 |access-date=9 April 2023 |publisher=Wall Street Journal |date=April 9, 2023}}</ref>

The HPL administrative offices were moved out of the Jones Building, freeing {{convert|12600|sqft|sqm}} of space. Lisa Gray, of the ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'', said the renovation made the Jones Building "less of a public space devoted to reading, and more of a public space, period."<ref>Gray, Lisa. "[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/arts/gray/5847086.html Beyond books]." ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. June 20, 2008. Retrieved on March 11, 2010.</ref> The offices moved to the Marston Building.<ref name="CentrallibrenovmoveMarston">"[https://web.archive.org/web/20080416180814/http://www.houstonlibrary.org/about/pressreleases/20060223-central.html It's Worth the Wait Exciting New Renovation for the Central Library]" (). Houston Public Library. Thursday February 23, 2006. Retrieved on June 30, 2010.</ref> In 2012, the Marston Building was sold by the City of Houston, and the HPL administrative office moved to the recently restored Julia Ideson Building while other staff offices moved back to the Jones Building.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

Additions in the 2000s include McGovern-Stella Link Neighborhood Library (2005), HPL Express Southwest (2008),<ref>"[http://www.houstonlibrary.org/about/news/20080101_hplxsw.html HPL Express Southwest Grand Opening] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216141737/http://www.houstonlibrary.org/about/news/20080101_hplxsw.html |date=2008-12-16 }}." ''Houston Public Library''. January 1, 2008. Retrieved on December 13, 2008.</ref> and HPL Express Discovery Green (2008).<ref>"[http://www.azstarnet.com/business/244262 Take to the air for short trips from Tucson] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217220121/http://www.azstarnet.com/business/244262 |date=2009-02-17 }}." ''[[Arizona Daily Star]]''. June 19, 2008. Retrieved on January 27, 2009.</ref> A new building for Looscan Neighborhood Library opened in 2007, replacing a 1956 structure.<ref name="Adele B. Looscan Branch Replacement">"[https://web.archive.org/web/20070812014546/http://www.houstonlibrary.org/planning/looscan_ren.html Adele B. Looscan Branch Replacement]," () ''Houston Public Library''. Retrieved May 23, 2008.</ref>

The Jones Building closed for renovations in 2006 and reopened in 2008.<ref name="CentrallibrenovmoveMarston" /><ref>"[http://www.houstonlibrary.org/about/news/20080531_central.html Central Library Grand Re-Opening Celebration May 31 & June 1, 2008]" ([http://web.archive.org/web/20080724075628/http://www.houstonlibrary.org/about/news/20080531_central.html Archive]). Houston Public Library. Retrieved on January 27, 2009.</ref> That same year, the ''[[Houston Press]]'' heralded the project as Houston's best renovation in its annual awards.<ref>"[http://www.houstonpress.com/best-of/2008/people-and-places/best-renovation-6606267 Best Renovation (2008) Downtown Library]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150928122214/http://www.houstonpress.com/best-of/2008/people-and-places/best-renovation-6606267 Archive]). ''[[Houston Press]]''. Retrieved on September 28, 2015.</ref>

In 2010, due to a budget shortfall, the library system reduced its hours.<ref>Turner, Allan. "[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6948886.html Budget forcing cuts in library hours]." ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. April 7, 2010. Retrieved on April 7, 2010.</ref> During the same year the system put its decades-old city directories online.<ref>Gonzalez, J.R. "[http://blogs.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2010/04/houston_public_library_puts_decadesold_directories_1.html Houston Public Library puts decades-old directories online]." ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. April 13, 2010. Retrieved on May 11, 2010.</ref>
[[File:Clayton House Houston's Genealogy Library.jpg|thumb|Clayton House of the Clayton Library, Center for Genealogical Research in the [[Houston Museum District]]]]