Lindale Library History
The Lindale Library was
formed in 1992 by a group of Lindale area citizens. A local church loaned a
2000 sq. ft. building. Volunteers collected books, built shelves, painted walls,
laid carpet and opened Lindale’s first library in 1993. It quickly became
apparent that we were outgrowing the 2000 sq. ft. area and a building fund was
started. The North East Texas Library System advised that we build for the
future. Challenge grants were met, and after many years of fundraisers,
local donations, foundation support and much work by volunteers, we now have a
library that the community can be proud of for years to come.
We moved into our
beautiful new 10,000 sq. ft. building in July 2002, debt free, and thanks to
the generous support of our community, the surrounding areas and foundation
grants. Since that time we have grown over 300% in all areas: patron visits,
circulation, cards issued, children and adult programs, Internet users and
Internet hours. We issue over 100 new library cards each month.
To date we have issued
over 15,000 free library cards. The Library is fully automated and has nine
computers on the Internet for the use of our patrons at no charge. The Library
has a catalog of over 35,000 items, including reference books, fiction,
Christian fiction, non-fiction, audiocassettes and VCR’s for both adults and
children.
The library offers
programs such as Summer Reading Program, English as a Second Language, GED
instruction, After School Tutoring, Accelerated Reader Program (partnering with
the local schools), Story Time, and others. Over 300 children attend the
annual Summer Reading Program that extends over six weeks.
The City of Lindale
gives some funding to the library, most of its operating funds are raised
directly from the public through donations, fundraising events such as raffles,
car shows, book sales, garage sales, etc. Some funds are granted to the library
by foundations and local service clubs, such as the Lindale Rotary Club,
Hide-A-Way Lake Kiwanis, Hide-A-Way Lake Book Review Club, Lindale Pilot Club
and Lindale Garden Clubs. The library receives no county funds.
The library now employs
a Library Director, an assistant part-time director, two senior citizens and
two part-time student/interns. We are now open 38 hours per week with the help
of many volunteers.
The Lindale Library was
nominated for the Best Small Rural Library in American in 2004.
Recently Northeast
Texas Library System nominated the Lindale Library to the Gates Foundation to
attend a conference before the Public Library Association conference in
In its relatively short existence the Lindale Library has made a great impact on all the citizens of Lindale and the rural community that surrounds it. As the Lindale grows, the demand for our library’s services will also grow.