Join a Reading Challenge
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
Start your child’s reading journey by aiming to read 1,000 books together before kindergarten! Every book counts—whether read to your child by you, family members, friends, or caregivers. Celebrate milestones with rewards at 250, 500, and 750 books, and complete the program to receive a backpack with school supplies. It’s a fun way to foster a love of reading and build early literacy skills.
Other Challenges
LONE STAR STATE
May 17, 2024 - Dec 31, 2026
Join your community in celebrating books set in the great state of Texas.
HPL RESOURCES
May 31, 2024 - Dec 31, 2025
Explore some of the various resources that the Houston Public Library has to offer.
BASEBALL
Aug 26, 2024 - May 31, 2026
Read 24 of the highest rated baseball books of all time.
YOUR NEXT CHAPTER
Jan 1, 2025 - Dec 31, 2025
Challenge yourself to go on new adventure experience and deepen your love of reading.
I READ BANNED BOOKS
Sep 22, 2024 - Sep 30, 2025
Celebrate the freedom to read books that have been challenged throughout the years.
Subscribe to Us
HPL offers many ways to connect with your favorite genres and authors as well as explore new reading interests. Never miss a new title from your favorite author with Author Alerts, fill out a form and get a custom reading list created by our expert librarians, explore titles in a variety of genres, or get HPL news in your inbox so you know when and where we are doing fun things in the community!
No library card required!
These offerings are free as always and do not require a MYLink card. If you'd like to join our MYLink family, apply today for immediate access to digital books, music, movies, and much more.
No library card required!
These offerings are free as always and do not require a MYLink card. If you'd like to join our MYLink family, apply today for immediate access to digital books, music, movies, and much more.
Rare & Special Collections
Houston Public Library's Notable Collections, housed at the Central Library in the Jesse H. Jones Building, are composed of items that have stood the test of time and current items that have left a mark in literary history. Titles are often added due to widespread and varied accolades; thus, the collections provide a snapshot of literary and cultural history. Items in the Notable Collections include books for different audiences, and the collections include the categories described below.
Greenberg
In 1977, Jacob Greenberg endowed the Houston Public Library with a trust established in memory of his spouse, Lurine Karon Greenberg. This fund supports the collection of non-fiction books on music, art, antiques, architecture, cooking, and travel, including the history of any of these subjects and biographies of persons connected with any of these subjects.
Notable Biography
The Notable Biography collection comprises a curated selection of biographical and autobiographical works about historically important figures. Subjects of these titles made contributions to a gamut of fields such as Art & Music, Civil Rights, Science & Medicine, Journalism, Athletics, and more. More than 12,000 biographies can be found in this collection, many of them difficult to find or out of print.
Notable Fiction
The Notable Fiction Collection houses more than 23,000 specialized, unique, or hard to find, fiction titles by over 400 authors. Featured titles include, but are not limited to, award winners, early volumes by popular authors, out of print titles, full series, and Texas authors. From Butler and Christie, Lee and Roberts there’s something for all fiction lovers in Notable Fiction.
Notable Non-Fiction
Consisting of more than 12,000 non-fiction titles, the Notable Non-Fiction Collection includes, but is not limited to award winning non-fiction, historically significant titles, and works that prominently feature Texas or the Greater Houston Area. The Houston Public Library has strong Folklore & Fairytale holdings located within Notable Non-Fiction. Notable Graphic Novels and Manga are also housed in the Notable Non-Fiction Collection.
Notable Picturebooks
One of the most unique collections in Houston Public Library’s holdings, the Notable Picture Books Collection contains many titles that are older or out of print and offers a remarkable historical perspective on the evolution of Picture Books as a format. This collection of more than 13,000 titles includes winners of notable children’s book awards, such as the Caldecott, titles from the Texas Library Association’s Reading Lists, books by Texas authors or about Texas, and many more subjects.
Author Talks & Book Clubs
Build Writing Skills
WRITING COURSES
Create an account in Universal Class with your library card and take self-paced courses on writing humor, basics of grammar, proofreading and copyediting, creative workshops and more.
FOR TEENS
No library card required. Register to explore creative writing, poetry, character development, and short stories. The Write On! program also features open mic sessions.
LEARN FROM THE GREATS
With your MYLink card, watch Great Courses on Kanopy to learn how great literature is created. Courses about all different genres, as well as writing practices can be explored.
BOOKS ABOUT WRITING
Check out titles that will guide you on your writing journey, written by experts. Sign in to Libby with your library card to borrow eBooks, eAudiobooks, and magazines.