Room full of smiles at the new Family Place Library in Kingsville

KINGSVILLE, Texas — “3,2,1…”

After a year of construction, the Robert J. Kleberg Public Library in Kingsville celebrated the grand opening of its new Family Place Library on Friday, May 31.

The library received a grant from the Barbara Bush Foundation and was sponsored by 1PointFive to transform the old resource center into a new space for children.

The region will hold workshops for parents and their children twice a year for six weeks at a time.

These workshops will have presenters and free resources to help alleviate the stress of finding access, especially for new parents.

“We will use community members, such as social workers and nutritionists, to work with children and their parents to ensure they are progressing to where they are supposed to be,” said the director of services. library, Krystin. » said Gamez.

First-time mother Victoria Longoria said she grew up in the area and regularly took her daughter, Grace, there. She said she was excited to see the change for her daughter just in time for summer.

“It’s really cool to see how, over the last 30 years, it’s gone from what it was to what it is today.” I was impressed to see this space,” Longoria said.

The new Family Place Library also helps parents and their children get socially involved with others who might be in the same boat. It’s something mom Heather Fortmeyer said she and her two-year-old daughter could really use after moving to the area just six months ago.

“For us, especially since we just got here, we moved from California, so we didn’t know anyone here. Not only me, but Leilani is making new friends here and loves socializing with kids her age,” Fortmeyer said.

Many Kingsville residents live in poverty, with 80% of the area’s students considered economically disadvantaged. Gamez said that was one of the main reasons they offered to help the community.

“We actually started a community food pantry with the family library to have these opportunities because the poverty rate is so high here in Kingsville. We want the public to know that we have these resources and they don’t have to pay anything to get them,” Gamez said.

The first six-week course will begin in September.

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