1904 Train Depot - Kingsville Texas

Book Showers

A request for books to be donated to the Robert J. Kleberg Public Library was made in a recent edition of the Kingsville Record newspaper.  Such requests to the community are nothing new for Kingsville.  The community has always stepped forward to help the library.

It was the Woman’s Club of Kingsville that first formed the public library.  The Woman’s Club of Kingsville was established in 1909 under the title of “The Woman’s Literary Club”.  One of their first goals was the establishment of a free public library.  Their first meeting was a "book shower".  That netted the fledgling public library a grand total of 28 books, 1 dictionary and $55.00 according to the “Kleberg County Texas” history book.

An article in the October 19, 1914, issue of the Kingsville Record reports the need for a “good dictionary”.  Another article in the January 29, 1915, issue described the library improvements spearheaded by the Woman’s Club.  In February of 1915 it was reported that the library hours had been extended.

When the 1925 fire destroyed the community’s high school it was a huge shock to Kingsville.  Fire fighters could not bring the fire under control before the building was gutted.  The estimated cost to replace the building was $100,000.  A stunning sum of money in that age!  Along with the loss of the school building was the loss of the school books and library books.  The book loss alone was estimated at $5,000.   

The February 25, 1925, issue of the Kingsville Record reports that the Woman’s Club was having a "book shower" for the benefit of the library and the additional goal of a separate building to house the library. 

The free public library would now be bounced from place to place in the community.  It was housed for a while in the General Offices of the Gulf Coast Lines, then in a room in the Commercial Club facility.  A 12 x 18 foot room in the new City Hall would be the new home of the library.

Progress was being made by May when a list of the new library’s books was published in the newspaper.  September 23 of that same year saw the library move into its new accommodations and a large article in the newspaper invited the community and students and faculty of the brand new South Texas State Teachers College to come to view and enjoy the new library facilities.  By December of 1925 the newspaper reported that the library had 5,000 books available for the community to enjoy.  The library would soon have its own building.  Ground was broken in September of 1926 for the library’s own building on Yoakum and Second St.  It all started with a book shower.

If you stop to visit the 1904 Kingsville Train Depot Museum, be sure to ask the volunteer on duty about the old public library.