A McAllen teen is working to make books more accessible to children around the Rio Grande Valley with his own community library.

Cindy Miller says her 13-year-old son — Liam Toledo — has a passion for reading.

“From a very young age, we thought it was important that Liam learned his ABC's, learned how to count,” Miller said. “By the age of 2 he was reading books, and it just blew up from there."

Liam says his favorite spot is the library.

“I was going to the McAllen Public Library one day, I realized it took a very long time for me to get there from my house," Liam said. “And I didn't want any other kid in this community to have to go so far to get a book."

That's what sparked Liam to create Liam’s Community Library, which aims to make books more accessible to kids.

“I hope to instill a life-long love of learning in these kids, and to replace a phone in their hands with books,” Liam said.

Miller said she supported the idea.

“Most of the books came from Liam’s collection that he had at home, and then we advertised on the Facebook page for Tres Lagos and had donations from a lot of the neighbors,” Miller said.

After gathering over 1,000 books, Liam launched his community library in August 2023 at the Tres Lagos Community Center.

Liam's Community Library hosts a book event every month in north McAllen. Last spring, Liam donated over 200 books to kids at the South Texas Health System's Children's Hospital, and the Edinburg Police Department.

Liam is planning to donate more books and stuffed bears to the hospital.

Watch the video above for the full story.