SAN ANTONIO – Literacy and access to books is a known problem in rural communities south of Loop 410, where wireless internet is limited and no public libraries or community centers are available.
This summer, KSAT reported on a Department of Education map that tracked the annual circulation of children’s library materials.
The many districts highlighted in dark purple had zero, which includes big districts south of Loop 410, such as East Central ISD, Southside ISD, Southwest ISD and Somerset ISD.
These students and communities depend on little libraries, which advocates are working to multiply.
“This is our new little library!” said April Monterrosa, standing in a park in the East Central area.
Monterrosa is the publisher of Live from the Southside magazine, which celebrates South Side culture and identifies community needs.
The little libraries scattered around the area are helping fulfill those needs. They’re small sets of bookshelves that look like little mailboxes, but they have a big impact.
“In the rural part of South San Antonio because we have no libraries or community centers this far out,” Monterrosa said.
There are both children’s and adult books on the shelves.
“The community can come and leave books. They can come take a book, and it’s just for everyone to enjoy and share,” Monterrosa said.
During the summer when KSAT went around to find each of the little libraries south of Loop 410, Monterrosa was working to set up more.
But the setup is not cheap.
“It’s about $700 to purchase the kits. That’s not including installation,” Monterrosa said, which is why she’s touched to see local businesses step up to sponsor them.
The brand new little library in the East Central area is from Lone Star National Bank with the support of the San Antonio River Authority at the authority’s new True Heart Ranch Park.
“They’ve seen people sit out and read around here before this. So, they were like, ‘We know the perfect place,’” Monterrosa said.
Monterrosa said she could tell people had already taken books from the new library.
“I stock about 12 of them throughout the South Side. My business partners, my friends, my family, my little team — we come, and we keep these full with books,” she said.
The team is working to put up more little libraries around the rural parts of South San Antonio and a couple of school districts.
Monterrosa hopes the community will help sponsor the libraries or keep them stocked.
“The more that we inspire our kids to read, the more education and opportunity,” Monterrosa said.
The San Antonio Public Library System has confirmed to KSAT that new library locations are based on population and need, and there are no active plans to build one south of Loop 410.
For example, the new Shaefer Branch Library was built on the Southeast Side below Loop 410 because of population increases in areas such as China Grove.
Williams said the idea of a far South Side library has been discussed before. As of now, there are no active plans to build a full library south of Loop 410.
Where you can find free books in South San Antonio
Inside Loop 410, there are two libraries.
Bibliotech South specializes in digital books and also offers 48 computers, specialized software, printing, faxing and scanning services. The library also has two study rooms, a children’s room and a community room with programming.
The Cortez Library is also filled with physical books of all kinds and offers digital services and programming.
However, south of Loop 410, the only official library is the small Elmendorf Community Library, which is run entirely by volunteers.
There are about six little libraries around the area south of Loop 410 in addition to seven outside Somerset ISD campuses.
Those locations include:
- Red Velvet Cafe and Bakery: 2275 Old Pleasanton Road, San Antonio, TX 78264
- La Cabana Mexican Restaurant: 23425 U.S. Highway 281, San Antonio, TX 78264
- Everybody Loves Raymond: 18600 Pleasanton Road, San Antonio, TX 78221
- J & S Smokehouse: 3710 Waterwood Pass Drive, Elmendorf, TX 78112
- Gracie’s Tacos and Snacks: 19392 U.S. Highway 281 South / 1408 Janet Gale St, San Antonio, TX 78221
- House of Jesus Ministry: 22835 Hickory Shadow, San Antonio, TX
Anyone who would like to help with the little libraries can reach out to Monterrosa at (210) 896-4445 or livefromthesouthside@gmail.com.
More coverage of this story on KSAT: