Isbell, Frances W.

Biography

Frances "Fran" Isbell, by Dorothy McCoy (One Hundred Women of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, 1983)

"When Weslaco’s librarian, Fran Isbell, retired with the rank of Major from the Air Force, she had a bachelor’s degree with a major in English literature from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and a master’s degree in American history from Trinity University in San Antonio. But she wasn’t qualified for the job she had always wanted to do, so, she went back to school and earned a master’s degree in library science from the University of Texas.

Besides her experience in library science, Fran brought to her job 20 years of experience as a staff officer in the Air Force Security Service. She has written training manuals and regulations for her command and headed an office that did research work.

Fran also brought her own special love of people to her job. Many patrons had never used a library before she implemented programs that offered something for them and made them aware of what the library had.

Two months prior to coming to work at the Weslaco library, Fran lived in Cuernavaca, Mexico learning to speak Spanish. It has been invaluable in her work. She had already studied French, Russian, German and Latin.

One of the first changes Fran made at the library was to make a turnaround from serving the traditional middle class only. She made a concentrated effort to get the Spanish-speaking public to use the library. She started out by adding Spanish-language books and began buying material that reflects the Mexican American culture.

Soon after she came to the Valley, the Hidalgo County Library System was established. Fran was one of two in the county who were professional librarians at the time. Members work together to share procedures and resources.

Fran feels that even though Weslaco is a small community, its citizens are entitled to everything that larger cities offer and can be accomplished through inter-library loan sharing. The librarians of South Texas instigated the film library loan at Corpus Christi. Hidalgo County librarians to take a very active part in this and Fran is presently serving on the planning and the continuing education committees.

Appointed to the Hidalgo County Historical Commission five years ago, Fran has assisted in the placement of a number of markers in the area by writing the narratives. She is a past secretary and president of the Hidalgo County Historical Society. She is secretary of the Valley By-Liners and wrote a number of chapters in the last of the trilogy, Rio Grande Round-Up.

Fran’s parents moved to the Valley in 1948, about a year before she went into the Air Force. She herself was an “army brat” born at Scofield Barracks in Hawaii. At the time of his retirement, her father was the commandant for the Pentagon with a rank of Colonel.

After graduation from William and Mary College, Fran lived with her parents in Washington and worked for the Department of the Army before joining the Air Force. While in the service, she did two tours of duty in Germany, one in Japan, one in the Philippines and part of one tour in Hawaii.

Fran lived with er parents in Mercedes. Her father purchased a citrus orchard when he came to the Valley. This was home to Fran while in the service and she accepted the library job in Weslaco to be near her mother. Her father had died a few months earlier.

Ever since she first came to work at the library, Fran has been working toward expansion of the library’s space. With the Valley’s continuing growth, Fran feels that a good library is a very important resource. She is active in a movement aimed at voting bonds for a new, larger building. If approved, the proposed new library will quadruple the present size. “If it doesn’t pass this time, we will keep trying,” Fran said.

The library has grown in every way expect space. When Fran came there were only two other employees. Now, there are eight, counting her."

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