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PAST NEWS ARCHIVE
October 2, 2001
Contact: Patricia Fraga, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442

Little Walnut Creek Branch Holds Jubilee Celebration on October 13

The Little Walnut Creek Branch of the Austin Public Library, 835 West Rundberg Lane, will celebrate the 75th anniversary of APL on Saturday, October 13, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

At 10:00 a.m. in the meeting room, "Tex-Mex Tales," a bilingual Spanish/English storytime with Irene Gonzales, will be featured. Ms. Gonzales has an impressive list of credits as a storyteller. She told Indian Tales for the Witte Museum in San Antonio and was artist-in-residence with La Casa de la Cultura in Del Rio. Closer to home, Irene was voted favorite storyteller by the children of Travis Elementary School. She has practiced her craft at the Austin Children's Museum, Book People, Las Manitas, the Dougherty Arts Center, ACTV, and at the Cepeda and Terrazas Branches of Austin Public Library.

Refreshments will be served from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There will be party favors for all who attend Tex-Mex Tales and the puppet show.

At 1:00 p.m., Puppeteer Natasha La Gitana will present African and Vietnamese Folk Tales.

From 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the public area, Photo Heritage Day will be held. Preserve your community's history! Austin residents, especially those living in the Quail Creek neighborhood, are invited to share their family photographs and photos of community (businesses, organizations, entertainment) with the City of Austin. Staff from the Austin History Center will make photographic negatives of your unframed photos at no charge and then return your original photos to you while you wait. These negatives and the prints produced from the negatives will become part of the Austin History Center's collection. No matter how commonplace the subject of the photo may seem to you, it is part of the collective identity of this community.

The North Austin Civic Association will conduct a membership drive from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

A poetry reading with Art Lopez and the members of the PoetTree will be featured from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. The Coocs will provide a musical accompaniment.

All events are free and the public is invited to attend.

About Little Walnut Creek Branch
The Little Walnut Creek Branch of the Austin Public Library first opened its doors to the public on February 9, 1979-with a dedication ceremony following on May 17, 1979. Designed by architect James M. Patterson, the new 11,000 square-foot facility was built to serve the rapidly growing needs of North Austin and North Travis County. Funding for the branch was made possible through the 1972 city bond issue, which also financed the construction of the Manchaca Road Branch (1974) and downtown Central Library (1979).

While rapid growth in North Austin brought a variety of challenges to Little Walnut in the late 1980s-'90s, the branch continued to expand its role in the community through its programs and services. Currently, Little Walnut serves as a host site for the Austin Independent School District's VICTORY Program (an after-school tutoring program) and for ACC courses in Adult Basic Education and ESL. A Computer Learning Center was added to the branch in 1999, and in June 2000, the branch opened a New Immigrants Project Center to provide helpful resources to individuals who are new to this country.

Over the years, the branch's collections have also grown significantly-from 40,000 volumes in 1979 to over 70,000 volumes today. And while a great deal has certainly changed since the Little Walnut Creek Branch opened over 22 years ago, the branch today continues to provide the citizens of North Austin with varied collections, helpful resources, wonderful programs, and good old-fashioned personal service.

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