Alejandra Wagnon, Class of ’23
Brief Summary: In this paper, a magnifying glass is taken to the literary infrastructures of San Antonio, Texas. Through research and interviews, this paper first examines the existing programs in San Antonio and then provides suggestions for improvements to these systems.
Infrastructure is defined as “a collective term for the subordinate parts of an undertaking.” (OED Online) Most commonly, infrastructure is discussed in the context of societies or enterprises, constituting everything from the aqueducts in ancient Rome to the skyscrapers in New York City. Infrastructure, such as buildings, roads, and energy supplies, are integral to the organization and operation of society. However, infrastructure is not confined to the physical landscapes of countries and states and cities. Intangible entities, such as science and art, need infrastructure to operate as well.
If infrastructure is fundamental to the function of a society, literary infrastructure is fundamental to the function of spreading knowledge. This infrastructure provides access to literature, acting as a roadway for readers and writers alike to travel on. For readers, literary infrastructure provides a community of other readers and allows a broadening of their literary and intellectual horizon. For writers, it also provides them with a community of other writers to strengthen their work and gives them a platform to share their work. However, a group of readers and writers that are often ignored in literary organizations are young readers and writers. In this paper, I will be focusing on literary infrastructure in my hometown San Antonio, how it serves youth, and where it can improve.
In San Antonio, Gemini Ink is the most prototypical example of literary infrastructure. As an organization, it aims to show residents of San Antonio the transformative powers of creative writing in all aspects of life. Although the organization has an office located in the center of downtown San Antonio, it hosts its readings in a variety of locations in order to make its literary events more accessible to residents across the greater San Antonio area. Currently, Gemini Ink directly serves around 3,000 residents and “engages many more through print and digital outreach.”
However, out of all of Gemini Ink’s programs, the only one aimed at youth is Writers in Communities. According to the website, “Writers in Communities (WIC) sends professional writers into diverse community settings to work alongside students of all ages, needs, interests and abilities for free. With an average ratio of 10 to 1, our writers-in-residence work closely with students to create dynamic writing projects that challenge, often reflecting their own lives, and build critical reading and writing skills in the process.” Fifty percent of these workshops take place in public schools and they serve approximately 1,300 students. That said, there are approximately 273,000 San Antonians between the age of 5 and 18, meaning that Gemini Ink’s program serves less than half a percent of the city’s student aged population.
The only other literary infrastructure in San Antonio that serves youth is the San Antonio Public Library. SAPL consists of 30 locations spanning across the entire city, with 28 full-service neighborhood branch libraries, the Pruitt Library at Roosevelt High School in partnership with Northeast Independent School District, and the Library Portal at the Briscoe Western Art Museum. These branch libraries serve as “vital center[s] for free learning, knowledge, communication, culture, and enjoyment within the City of San Antonio and for all Bexar County residents,” contributing to the San Antonio Public Library’s mission to “[change] lives through the transformative power of information, imagination, and ideas.” A variety of programs and events are hosted at the library, ranging from education for seniors to literacy programs for young children. In this paper, I will be focusing on children services and teen services.
Fortunately, SAPL has an easy to navigate website and a lot of the information I will be discussing in this paper can be found online. On the website, both the children’s and teen services pages include a calendar of programs and events, recommended reading, and a collection of databases and guides for “Research & Help.” Additionally, the children’s services page has a dedicated “News & Announcements” section.
While these sections were useful, I found they did not contain all the information I desired regarding specific programs within children’s/teen services and the growth of such programs. Luckily, the contact info for the program coordinators was on the SAPL website I was able to get in contact with two members of the San Antonio Public Library: Cresencia Huff, coordinator of children’s services, and Jennifer Velasquez, coordinator of teen services. Ms. Huff and I exchanged emails while Ms. Velasquez and I called on the phone. Though the format of the interviews were different, the questions I asked were the same. The questions I asked the coordinators are as follows:
- What are some of the most successful children’s/teen programs at SAPL?
- How is information about children’s/teen services most commonly disseminated (flyers, emails, website, etc.)?
- Does SAPL children’s/teen services actively reach out to public schools to spread awareness about their services? If so, how often? Are these outreach measures successful in increasing participation in SAPL children’s/teen programs?
- What improvements would you like to see for children’s/teen services (whether that be new programs, revamping of pre-existing ones, etc.)? What measures are currently being taken to improve children’s/teen services, if any?
- What major changes to children’s/teen services have occurred in the past few years?
- How do you foresee children’s/teen services growing in the upcoming future?
Although I will not be going in-depth into the answers to each question, this provides the context in which I received the information. I formulated these questions with the intention of covering my informational bases but there are, of course, things I probably missed.
Children’s services focus primarily on early literacy programs. These programs are both stationary, taking place in each SAPL branch multiple times per week, and mobile, occasionally occurring in public schools and neighborhood parks. Through story times and the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club, these programs aim to provide children and their caregivers with high-quality children’s literature and to encourage reading and learning for pleasure. Some changes that have occurred within children’s services include an increase in the number of infants and toddlers attending story times (due to the increased availability of free or low-cost Pre-K programs) and a restructuring of story time programming approaches so that librarians don’t need to sacrifice the quality of the books they read to conform to a specific theme.
As the demographic the library serves changes from children to teens, the philosophy of the library programs change as well. Teen services, unlike children’s services, focus on enabling the teen to make their own decisions and grow as a reader and a leader. When I asked Ms. Velasquez which teen programs were the most popular, she told me they were the ones that the teens had created themselves and oversaw. The library hosts a “Teen Library Leadership Council” for leadership-inclined teenagers who are interested in helping plan teen programs. Not only does this program philosophy instill a sense of responsibility and leadership in teens, it also allows teens to find their own community of readers and leaders.
The biggest change that has occurred to teen services is the establishment of teen spaces within the libraries. This change can be seen most clearly in the San Antonio Central Library, where the third floor is a dedicated teen space that includes not only books but a video game corner, a recording studio, and more. Not every library branch can have this extravagant of a teen space, but they are all working to distinguish the teen section from the rest of the library. According to Ms. Velasquez, the establishment of a dedicated teen space is not meant to segregate teenagers from the rest of the library. Rather, it is meant to give teens a space wherein they can mingle with other teens without worrying about younger kids or adults.
One change that is occurring in both children’s and teen services is trying to make programs more accessible. The conversation around literary infrastructure and accessibility is even more important now in the times of COVID-19, where organizations must adapt their programs to an online format. The SAPL already has a large catalog of online books, movies, etc., but there is still an issue with translating certain events, such as teen hangout times or video game/anime/chess/etc. clubs, to the computer. There is also an issue of whether kids and teens will have access to a computer, as many may rely on public library computers for internet access. Before COVID-19, however, the SAPL made a large stride towards accessibility by removing late fees from books for children and young adults. By doing this, the library hopes that people who are not in a financial position to pay late fees can still check out books for their kids.
While the San Antonio Public Library has very strong children and teen programs, there is always room for improvement. I would like to preface the following suggestions by emphasizing that they are merely suggestions or brainstorms of possible ways to improve already good programs. One possibility is an increase in outreach. Both Ms. Huff and Ms. Velasquez said the public library reaches out to public schools between two and four times a year. It would be beneficial to establish consistent mobile SAPL programs within school libraries to strengthen the student populations literacy and to encourage involvement at the public library. However, I acknowledge that this idea could only work if the school librarians reciprocate the contact with SAPL. A second potential program is the establishment of teenage liaisons. When I talked with Ms. Velasquez, she mentioned that a big issue with creating teen programming is not knowing what the teens want. To alleviate this issue, SAPL could reach out to students who actively participate in library programs and ask them to act as connections to their high school peers as a sort of “literary liaison.” The student could work with teen librarians to try and engage their peers with SAPL events. (This idea would not directly translate to children’s services, as it would be difficult for young children to act as a bridge between their peers and the library. In this case, perhaps elementary school teachers could be the “literary liasions?”) Lastly, the SAPL should try and partner with local literary organizations, namely Gemini Ink, to extend resources for young readers and writers beyond the public library system. While SAPL partners with Gemini Ink on a few programs, to my knowledge none of these partnerships deal with programs for children or teens. By aiding Gemini Ink in the creation of programs for children and teens, SAPL would be strengthening literary structures in San Antonio and cultivating a new generation of readers and writers.
Although no two literary organizations are the same, I believe the information included about the San Antonio Public library and other literary organizations in San Antonio can translate to similar structures in Houston and beyond. In the same way that Gemini Ink parallels Inprint, the San Antonio Public Library parallels the Houston Public Library. While there are differences between the organizations, both have a need to strengthen their focus on children and teen literacy. This focus will help foster a growing community of young readers and writers and ensure that our literary infrastructure will always have a group of people to support and be supported by.
Work Cited
Huff, Cresencia and Alejandra Wagnon. “Email Correspondence with Cresencia Huff.” Apr. 2020.
Velasquez, Jennifer and Alejandra Wagnon. “Phone Interview with Jennifer Velasquez.” Apr. 2020.
“About.” San Antonio Public Library, www.mysapl.org/About.
“Services for Children.” San Antonio Public Library, www.mysapl.org/Services/For-/Services-for-Children#186061967-news–announcements.
“Teen Services.” San Antonio Public Library, www.mysapl.org/Services/For-/Teen-Services#186161968-reading.
