The Kinder Morgan Foundation recently donated $5,000 to the Friends of the Library-Kingwood (FOLK) to purchase downloadable digital media children’s books, targeting the pre-school/kindergarten through fifth grade ages.  Specifically, FOLK will purchase a combination of audio and eBook formats of classics, award winners, fiction and picture books for the juvenile book collection.

“We are proud to be a member of your community and we believe in providing assistance whenever possible to organizations in your area,” said Kinder Morgan Foundation’s Maureen A. Bulkley, who presented the check.

Christi Whittington, Kingwood Branch Librarian and Mike Saperstein, Harris County Multimedia Selection Librarian are already busy ordering and selecting books.

The Kingwood Branch Library works closely with local teachers and school librarians to complement their curricula and continues to add titles of books that are on school reading lists and that are used in the classroom. In addition, the library supports the Lone Star and Texas Bluebonnet Award books for the annual reading programs sponsored by the Texas Library Association. Many of the schools also use the Reading Counts or Accelerated Reading programs and the library helps the students and parents in choosing titles to read in these lists.

The Harris County Library system offers the Overdrive Downloadable Digital Media service to its customers, with titles available in audio or eBook format. Within HCPL, the circulation of juvenile fiction titles, combined audio and eBooks, increased 125.5% from 8,117 in 2010 to 18,305 in 2011.  The Kingwood Branch Library customers have consistently been fourth in use of this service.  Demand for this format will continue to grow especially as new devices are introduced to the public and as prices come down for these devices.  The library had a noticeable increase last year and expects another one, as the Kindle is now compatible with the Overdrive system.

The reality of today’s economy is that the budget for library materials is significantly smaller than in previous years, while the demand for libraries has increased. The goal of FOLK is to support the Kingwood Branch Library when their budget is tight. In addition to seeking foundation grants, FOLK operates a used bookstore, selling books donated by members of the community and using the proceeds to support the library. For information about joining FOLK for as little as $20 per year, visit www.kingwoodfolk.org/membership.