{"id":431073,"date":"2026-09-09T22:36:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T22:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/431073\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T22:36:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T22:36:26","slug":"austin-becomes-a-book-safe-harbor-during-library-centennial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/431073\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin becomes a Book Safe Harbor during library centennial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Public Library\u2019s<\/a> yearlong centennial celebration now includes a Book Safe Harbor<\/a> designation from the City Council and a six-floor birthday party at the Central Library on October 17.<\/p>\n

The Austin City Council approved the designation August 27, committing the city to equitable access to library materials, the freedom to read, and established procedures for considering challenges to books and other materials. Austin joins a Book Sanctuary<\/a> movement that began in Chicago, with Harris County establishing the first such sanctuary in Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we\u2019re building on an Austin tradition of being on the right side of history by standing up for intellectual freedom,\u201d council member Krista Laine said at a press conference announcing the measure. \u201cIn 2022, when attacks on libraries were beginning to intensify, Austin City Council took a stand and passed the Freedom to Read Resolution<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The resolution comes in the midst of ongoing effort by conservative leaders in Texas to ban books in various settings; most recently, a pledge by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to lower the ratings of school districts that put what some parents consider to be sexually explicit books on school library shelves.<\/p>\n

Laine sponsored the resolution with Council Members Vanessa Fuentes, Jos\u00e9 Vel\u00e1squez, Mike Siegel, and Paige Ellis. The resolution was drafted and presented to coincide<\/a> with the library system’s October centennial celebration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During the press conference, city and library officials displayed books that have faced challenges elsewhere, including Jerry Craft\u2019s New Kid <\/a>and The Autobiography of Malcolm X<\/a>. Speakers said the designation was intended to affirm access to materials representing different histories, experiences, and viewpoints.<\/p>\n

The vote comes during Austin Public Library\u2019s centennial year. The city\u2019s first public library opened in 1926 with 500 donated books, but its first permanent Central Library was completed in 1933 at West Ninth and Guadalupe streets. Austin architect Hugo Kuehne,<\/a> a founder of the University of Texas architecture program, designed the Italian Renaissance Revival building using local Cordova cream limestone.<\/p>\n

\"Edwin A circa-1860 photo of Edwin Waller, the first mayor of Austin. Part of one of the many photography collections of the Austin Public Library.Austin History Center Collection<\/a><\/p>\n

A larger Central Library opened next door in 1979 and served the city until 2017. That year, APL moved into its current six-story Central Library <\/a>at 710 W. C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez St., where the centennial party will be held. Centennial programs are also planned across the library system. September events<\/a> include a Roaring \u201920s quilting session at Pleasant Hill, 1920s music at Spicewood Springs, a stained-glass activity at Hampton at Oak Hill, \u201c100 Years of Coffee\u201d at Twin Oaks, and a 1920s murder mystery at Pleasant Hill.<\/p>\n

The Austin History Center is also presenting In Circulation: A Century of the Austin Public Library<\/a>. The exhibition uses archival photographs, timelines, architectural history, and stories about public access and civic change to trace the library\u2019s development from a small reading room into a citywide system.<\/p>\n

The celebration\u2019s signature event is the free Centennial Party<\/a> at Central on Saturday, October 17, from 10 am to 5 pm. Activities will take place across all six floors of the Central Library at 710 W. C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez St.<\/p>\n

Scheduled attractions include:<\/p>\n

Austin PBS Family Fest and KUT\u2019s ATXplained projectLive music from Blue Dot Swing<\/a>, Blowcomotion<\/a>, Giulia Millanta<\/a>, Casen Hutton<\/a>, and Sriyam<\/a>A cooking demonstration by chef Jess Maher of L\u2019Oca d\u2019Oro<\/a>Live painting, digital illustration, printing-press projects, and caricaturesAn Austin History Center project recreating downtown\u2019s historic Block 101A teen film and band showcase, birthday-crown decorating, and \u201cAsk a Monster Anything\u201d<\/p>\n

Austin’s first-ever Poet Laureate Zell Miller III<\/a> will also appear. The party is open to all ages, and no admission is required.<\/p>\n