Serving the Community for Five Decades

In April 1960, Haltom City resident Shirley Thompson presented the city council with a 700-signature petition supporting a library. In July the council voted to give two months of their council pay to a library fund. Then, in the fall of 1960, the council approved the new library, to be located in rent-free, temporary quarters in the Haltom Plaza Arcade.

The library opened in February 1961 during interesting times in America: the Civil Rights Movement, the Space Race with the Soviet Union, the new age of OPEC and the Berlin Wall, and the brief “Camelot” presidency of John F. Kennedy.

In 1961 gasoline cost 27 cents a gallon, Perry Mason was coaxing witness-stand confessions on TV, and Ernest Evans (aka Chubby Checker) was popularizing a new dance called The Twist. Country and western singer Toby Keith and President Barack Obama were born within one month of each other in the summer of ’61.

The history of the Haltom City Public Library has been about growth: in its collection, circulation, budget, facilities and staff. The first collection of just 4,000 books has grown to over 115,000 items. An annual circulation of 20,000 is now over 415,000. A staff of one-part time “city librarian” has expanded to 16 professional and support members. The library has been housed in four facilities, growing from a single room in 1961 to a 30,000 square feet building constructed in 2008. The first meager budget of $2,000 annually has grown to over $1 million.

The current library budget supports a variety of programming. The largest and most popular annual program is Summer Reading Club, tracing its history to the mid-1960s. Initially serving about 100 students, the program is now open to children and adults and participation in 2010 set an all-time record of over 900 readers. This year, to celebrate the 50th birthday, Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Friends of the Haltom City Public Library co-sponsor the Summer Reading Program

The Texas Writer’s Contest sponsored by Friends of the Haltom City Public Library traces its roots back to 1967 when the library held an essay contest for National Children’s Book Week. Currently, the Texas Writer’s Contest is seeking entries of short stories or poetry. The deadline is 5/31/11.

The popular “Images of Haltom City” Photo Contest began at the library in 1985 as part of an American Library Association contest. The City of Haltom City took over sponsorship of the contest in 1989. The City honors the library’s 50th birthday this year by adding a new photo category, “A City of Readers.” The deadline is 3/29/11. All entries will be on display at the library in April, 2011.

For thirty years the library has hosted Adult Education (GED, math and reading) sponsored by FWISD/North Texas Consortium and ESL classes offered by BISD. Each April since 1990, the library has offered free tax help through a partnership with AARP. And every Christmas since the 1980s, children have come to the library in their PJs to hear bedtime stories and visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Today, the library’s 500-plus annual programs, both inside the library and through community outreach, serve over 40,000 citizens.

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