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The Libraries Welcome ‘Aggies by the Sea’

Nestled between palm trees, near beach waters where dolphins swim, is the latest addition to the Texas A&M University Libraries family. 

The Jack K. Williams Library on the Texas A&M University at Galveston campus officially became the sixth Texas A&M University library in September 2024. The one-story building filled with natural light is a central part of student life, serving nearly 2,300 students.

“I think because we create a welcoming atmosphere, our library is the central meeting hub on campus,” said Kerri Foley, student services assistant librarian.

This sentiment is shared by students. Diego Martinez ’24, a marine biology major, was a student worker at Williams Library. He helped fellow students discover many library resources.

“I feel like we interact with everyone,” Martinez said. “You get to know the community. I feel like we are key to campus.” 

Community is foundational to Williams Library. When construction began in the mid-1980s, the campus library was split across several locations. 

When the new building was ready, the campus faced a challenge — how to move thousands of books to the new facility mid-semester with minimal disruption to students.

The solution? A campuswide book brigade. 

“We decided to move the books ourselves and have a party that afternoon,” said Bill Hearn, vice president for student services in a university press release. “A plan was set into action to recruit volunteers from the students, faculty and staff. Trucks were rented and 1,000 boxes were purchased, assembled and numbered.”

At 10:30 a.m., Oct. 23, 1986, volunteers gathered, boxed up books shelf by shelf, and then passed them via a human chain to their new home in Williams Library.  

Williams Library was open for business the next day.

Now, 38 years later, students using the library have access to many new services from the Libraries. 

These services include a full slate of online workshops, which cover an extensive range of topics such as database searches, dissecting dense scholarly articles, academic applications software training, and much more.

Students in Galveston also gained access to the Libraries’ Suggest a Purchase service, which helps the Libraries build a collection responsive to student needs. 

“Everything is going to be streamlined,” Kerri Foley said.

Like many other Libraries locations, Williams Library has agreements with local campus partners to enhance and support the student experience.

“From the writing lab to the studio to tutors, we have good cooperation and really good partnerships on this campus,” Foley said. “We’re all working toward this common goal of making things equal for all the students.”