2023 brings all the promise of a new year to the Library Foundation and the celebration of our 40th anniversary, strengthening and enriching the Library in our community. We are proud of our stewardship. In 1983, when we first began, there were only 14 libraries in San Antonio. Today, there are 29 locations and two “portal” locations. Our libraries are treasures in our community, but we must not be satisfied with their mere existence. Our libraries and their services must not be hidden gems, but cultivated and shared with our wider community. To quote Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress: “Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy – where information is free and equally available to everyone. People tend to take that for granted, and they don’t realize what is at stake when that is put at risk.” 2023, our ruby anniversary year, reminds us to renew our commitment to the Library Foundation, to improve our libraries and strive for greater literacy and free information throughout our city.
Support for the Library Foundation has always been important to me and my family, and it is with serendipitous pride and pleasure that I now serve as Board Chair of the San Antonio Public Library Foundation 20 years after my husband, Nick Hollis served.
We have made great strides over the last forty years, opening new branches, updating and renovating older branches, funding important programming and safe spaces for children, teens, adults, job-seekers, and seniors, as well as expanding digital and physical collections. Our libraries are vast and delightful repositories of history, imagination and endless possibility. Join me in our continued commitment as stewards and proponents of San Antonio’s Libraries; the crown jewels of our beautiful city.
– Liecie Hollis, SAPLF Board Chair