News and Information

New dual library: Check it out!
Midlothian: City-school facility thinks reading, fun both fundamental
Dallas Morning News, September 22, 2006
By JACKIE LARSON

School and city officials in Midlothian are getting more bang for their books.

'I feel like this can be the hub of the community,' says librarian Susie Yarbro at the new A.H. Meadows Library at Midlothian High School.
The city's high school and public library are one and the same. In a shared system that's increasing in popularity, the A.H. Meadows Library on the Midlothian High School campus will be the new star of a decades-old arrangement that saves taxpayer money.

"The school library is often the hub of the school," said Midlothian librarian Susie Yarbro. "I feel like this can be the hub of the community. Where else can a family go and there's something for everyone, but it doesn't cost anything?"

The new library will open Oct. 2 with about 16,500 square feet and can grow with the community to up to 54,000 books.

"We're looking forward to filling it up – it will be a long process," Ms. Yarbro said.

Funded by both the school district and the city, the Meadows Library has a governing board with nine appointed members. The superintendent, high school principal and city manager are all permanent members of the board.

State grants have allowed the library to double its number of computers. The state library provided a die-cut machine, and the National Endowment for the Humanities supplied a "We the People" bookshelf, stocked with 15 patriotic books.

The local tax board provided a $6,000 grant to start a family literacy center with basic education materials, including GED prep and ESL items. Navarro College will provide instructors and materials for classes at the library.

There are human touches that make the facility even more welcoming. The Midlothian Education Fund provided a grant to create a coffee bar to be run by students. Artist Tony William did a Western mural in the children's area, and Donna Smith's AP art students are working on a mural concept.

Library board president Beverly Rury has been a director for more than 20 years at the city-school library.

"When I moved here in 1977, we had a room in the old civic center – it was like an oversized closet, almost – and that was our library," she said. "To go from that to this library is just so wonderful."

Ms. Rury remembers when the idea of sharing facilities was an outright oddity.

"Now we have had several districts visit us as more areas are attempting this," she said. "I think it's a very positive thing for our community, for the city and for all the students."

Of the 106 member libraries in the Northeast Library System, nine are joint efforts between a school district and city. Northeast system coordinator Debra Rhodes Gibson said that's the highest percentage of shared systems in any of Texas' 10 public library regions.

Most shared facilities are in rural areas, but Dallas has been eyeing the concept and recently opened a shared branch at Hampton Road and Illinois Avenue.

The advantages of a shared library are simple, Ms. Gibson said.

"Dollars. In rural communities, if you have limited funding, this is a way to meet needs with one facility instead of two."

Midlothian security issues have been addressed with a V-soft security system, which will scan driver's licenses and alert school authorities to suspicious individuals.

MHS junior David Atherton likes the plans for a coffee bar and having a library that's a one-stop entertainment headquarters.

"There's a lot of interaction. And it's convenient – your family can come with you," he said.

Jackie Larson is an Ennis-based freelance writer.

E-mail jackielarsonwrites@gmail.com