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PAST NEWS ARCHIVE
October 26, 2001
Contact: Patricia Fraga, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442

First Annual Holiday Book Festival

Books, books, and books—over 40 Texas authors will be at the Milwood Branch of the Austin Public Library, 12500 Amherst Drive located in north Austin—off Parmer Lane, on Saturday, December 1, 2001 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you missed your favorite writers at the Texas Book Festival, you will have the opportunity to visit them at the Milwood Branch Holiday Book Festival. This event is sponsored by the Texas Coalition of Authors and is seen as an opportunity to connect the writers with the readers. The money raised from the event will directly benefit the Milwood Branch. Books ranging in topics from fiction to nonfiction to cookbooks and children's books will be featured at the festival. This will be an early and great opportunity to pick up some wonderful books for the holiday season. The event will include music and activities for children of all ages.

For additional information call (512) 974-7400.

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

About the Milwood Branch
When the Milwood Branch of the Austin Public Library celebrated its grand opening on July 26, 1997, the event was not only considered a triumph, but also the end of a long road-for both the Milwood community and the Austin Public Library.

Back in the mid-1980s, concerned citizens and neighborhood organizations began lobbying for the much-needed branch in central far North Austin. Their campaign continued into the 1990s until voters finally approved funds for the branch in the 1992 bond election. Ground was broken on the branch in July 1996, and a year later, the splendid new facility, designed by The Austin Group of Architects, officially opened its doors to the public.

The 8,266 square-foot facility (designed with the potential to expand to 15,000 square feet) is situated on a beautiful wooded site of 7.5 acres. Milwood is strategically located between the Spicewood Springs and Little Walnut Creek branches—and together, the three facilities create a service triangle for meeting the informational needs of far North Austin.

Currently, the Milwood Branch houses a collection of over 60,000 items and is equipped with six public access computer-Internet stations. It is a modern, service-oriented facility with a large and loyal neighborhood following. The branch also stands as living proof of what a community can accomplish when it sets its "collective mind" to it.

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