The library has won the award for seven consecutive years, library director Gretchen Pruett said.
The Texas Municipal Library Directors Association awarded the honor to 59 of 565 public libraries across the state in 2021, all of which had demonstrated excellence in 10 service areas.
Libraries must provide services to underserved populations, provide enhanced service to the public during the past year through an increase in services, provide literacy support for all ages and more to be eligible for recognition.
“The No. 1 criteria is services to underserved populations, including outreach and programming. And that's something that we at the library do really well,” Pruett said.
Pruett highlighted the work of Jennifer Hernandez, the Westside Community Center’s outreach coordinator, and her team as critical to the success of the library system as a whole.
The community center is part of the library system and hosts educational and recreational activities, and the city is in the process of building a new library that will be connected to the center.
“Many would consider those nontraditional library services, but what this community has come to realize is those are essential library services that we provide there,” Pruett said. “Among other things we support literacy in all its forms; workforce development; digital inclusion; staff professional development; and, of course, summer reading programs for all ages.”
