New Westbury-, Meyerland-area library name down to 5 choices; citywide poll now open

A total of 352 submissions has been narrowed down to five for the name that will adorn a new regional library that will serve the Westbury, Meyerland, Brays Oaks and Hiram Clarke communities.

The name for the new library, which will sit on 2.5 acres at 5505 Belrose Drive, Houston, can be selected through an online citywide poll over the next two weeks until July 14. The options are:

• Belrose Library;
• Donald Perkins Library, in honor of the late chief of staff for District K City Council office who served the city for years and advocated for the library;
• Shannon Walker, Ph.D. Library, in honor of the astronaut, a second-generation Westbury former resident currently serving as commander of the International Space Station;
• Westbury Community Library; and
• Willow Waterhole Library.

Construction of the library, which will serve as a replacement for the Meyer Neighborhood Public Library, which flooded during Hurricane Harvey, is slated to begin in the third quarter of this year and will be completed by the end of 2022 at a cost of $14.3 million, said Martha Castex-Tatum, the Houston vice mayor pro tem, who represents the district where the library will be built, during a June 30 community meeting that saw residents share their desires for the use of the library space.

One of the ideas raised during that meeting was to build a recording studio in the library to help supplement nearby Houston ISD music magnet schools such as Parker Elementary School, which is located a mile north of the future library.

Having a library to help other nearby schools that do not have their own, such as Anderson Elementary School, would also be a boon, some residents said.

“We’re working with the school to see what we can do,” Westbury resident Becky Edmondson said. “Having a library within walking distance is just so important.”

Other ideas included adding meeting rooms, a craft room, and a computer lab to serve children with no access to their own computer and older adults.

Geographically, the library will have entries and exits at two locations: Belrose Drive to the north and Chimney Rock Road to the south.

Once the polling period has ended, the top three choices will be gathered and submitted to the library board of directors, which will make a final decision on the new name for the library.