PHOTO COURTESY BROWNSVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM
Through crafting activities, story times and summer literacy program events, the public library offers a wide range of events for the children in Brownsville.
The Brownsville Public Library offers a space for children to learn, explore their creativity and develop socially, outside of school.
Behind the scenes, the library and its staff ensure activities are not only engaging, but also beneficial for the children who participate, according to the children’s librarian.
Lazaro Castro, children’s librarian for the Brownsville Public Library, said the library wants to make sure participants learn simple skills, such as how to hold a pencil or crayon through coloring activities to more advanced ones that involve reading as they craft.
Bianca Nathaly, a mother of seven, has visited the library with her children for seven years. Nathaly said she goes not only because she receives a break, but her children get to participate in engaging activities and improve their literacy skills and vocabulary.
PHOTO COURTESY BROWNSVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM
Reading is not the only skill children learn through the library environment.
Natalia Alvarez, a pre-K teacher at Judge Oscar de la Fuente Elementary in San Benito, said the library as a free-and-safe space for children is important not just for educational purposes but for social reasons as well.
“They get to communicate in a different way than in school,” Alvarez said.
She said she has had students who told her they went to the library and enjoyed it.
She added students who visit the library are usually able to converse more than others, use broader vocabulary and use words correctly without mispronunciation.
The library seeks to expand further, according to Castro.
“There [are] different ways we’re constantly trying to build up and provide a different type of service,” he said.
Castro said the library is working to establish sensory rooms for children with sensory needs while planning new events for next year’s summer reading program.
To learn more about the library services, visit brownsvilletx.gov/2421/Library.
