In honor of the Harris County Public Library’s 100th anniversary, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and the Harris County Commissioners approved a resolution this week declaring 2021 the Year of the Library “in celebration of a century of learning, literacy, and growth.” The Harris County Law Library applauds this well-deserved recognition.
In 1921, “the Harris County Commissioners Court established the Harris County Public Library [HCPL] with a budget of $6,500, with which native Texan and first Head Librarian Lucy Fuller set up twenty-six library stations in schools, businesses, and private homes.” Today, “the HCPL collection now totals over 1.8 million physical and digital titles.” During 2018, HCPL reported that 3,426,600 people entered their libraries and they had 1,706,396 library card holders. It’s easy to become one of these library card holders, with many options available here.
For its 100th anniversary, the HCPL Blog featured a post called, “HCPL Centennial: 1920s History, Music, Movies & Books!” According to the blog post, “Very soon you'll be able to learn more about the early days of the library through a digital exhibit that will showcase photos and records from the Harris County Archives.” We at the Harris County Law Library are very much looking forward to that!