A live virtual celebration was held today for the highly-anticipated reopening of the Houston Public Library’s (HPL) McCrane-Kashmere Neighborhood Library. The library located at 5411 Pardee Street reopened after sustaining damages from Hurricane Harvey and will offer limited services due to COVID-19.
Special virtual guests included: Mayor Sylvester Turner, HPL Library Director Rhea Brown Lawson, District B Council Member Tarsha Jackson, District B Council Member Emeritus Jerry Davis, Houston Public Library Foundation Chair, Licia Green Ellis, and Keith Downey, President, Super Neighborhood Kashmere Gardens #52.
“The reopening of the McCrane-Kashmere Gardens Neighborhood Library has been a long time in the making, and I am thrilled the day finally arrived,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “Libraries enhance the quality of life in neighborhoods and contribute to the vitality of the entire city. The McCrane-Kashmere Library will be an important resource for families during and after the pandemic.”
During post-Harvey reconstruction, the library facility underwent significant transformations and will feature updated finishes, furniture, and community areas and expand access to technology and enhanced resources. HPL is grateful to Houston City Council for supporting the work and vision to upgrade the McCrane-Kashmere Neighborhood Library.
Dr. Lawson, HPL Director shared, “As a cornerstone in the community, we are excited to reopen the McCrane-Kashmere Gardens Neighborhood Library to ensure residents have access to books and technology, resources that are critical, but even more so during the pandemic.”
The community is invited to view the newly renovated library through a virtual tour at https://apps.houstonlibrary.org/virtualtours/kashmere/index.htm.
In the wake of the pandemic, the library was able to ensure that essential library services and resources remained accessible to the public through temporary locations stationed at the Houston Health Department’s Multi-Service Kashmere and Northeast Centers and the HPL Mobile Express technology library on wheels. These temporary library locations have closed now that the library has reopened. As part of the reopening, the library is excited to offer HPL TO GO, a curbside service for available customers to pick up or drop off books and library materials. For more information and details on this service, customers can visit the HPL website at houstonlibrary.org or call 832-393-1313.
About the Eva Alice McCrane Kashmere Gardens Neighborhood Library
Dr. Eva Alice McCrane held both doctor of business education and doctor of education degrees and completed thirty years of service in various schools in the Houston Independent School District between 1945 and 1978. Early in her career she was a reporter for both the Houston Informer and the Labor News. She held leadership positions in professional and civic organizations and served as a library volunteer for several decades, taking a particular interest in the Summer Reading Program.