The Dr. Shannon Walker Neighborhood Library received official approval from Houston City Council during its meeting Oct. 20, named after the NASA astronaut who is a native Houstonian and who attended District K’s Parker Elementary School, Johnston Middle School and Westbury High School.
“Naming the library after Dr. Walker is fitting for a number of reasons,” Vice Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castex-Tatum said in an Oct. 20 news release. “Her roots run deep in the District K Westbury community. The naming of a library is important to defining its personality and character.”
The process to name the library, which will occupy 2.5 acres at 5505 Belrose Drive, Houston, and will serve the Westbury, Meyerland, Brays Oaks and Hiram Clarke communities, began in February with an eight-member library naming committee, which narrowed down more than 300 name submissions it received from the public to the top five. From there, polls were opened for a citywide vote to select the winner. From that poll, Walker received 40% of the 788 responses.
Prior to council approval, the name was unanimously passed through resolution by the Houston Public Library Foundation and Houston Public Library staff, according to the news release.
According to Castex-Tatum, the construction of the new library is slated to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022.
