The city of Garland is showcasing the work of local authors through a new collection launching next week at the Central Library. The permanent collection includes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry from writers in and around Garland.
“We want to celebrate the creativity that they have and showcase that creativity, but also build a community around it,” said Karen Archibald, director of Garland Public Libraries. “We've been able to reach out and started asking local authors would they be interested, and the response has been fantastic.”
So far more than70 authors have donated books--anything from picture books to graphic novels to local histories. Archibald said there’s one author as young as 10.
While Garland is primarily focusing on authors who live there, they are open to receiving work from authors in other North Texas cities.
"Garland residents are really who we're trying to target, but really anyone in Dallas County,” Archibald said. The city will make an exception if someone has authored a work that has a connection to Garland, she said.
Tiffany Veno, the chief communications officer for the city, said the local author collection is one way the city tries to elevate the multiple talents in the community. The libraries also have maker spaces, 3D printers and a podcast studio, and the city hosts live concerts featuring local musicians.
“It's really important to the city to support our residents and to really help showcase their talents and set them up for success,” Veno said.
“Whether we're giving them a platform to a stage for their songs to perform, or whether we are hosting this exhibit here to expose people to their books, or whether we are giving them the tools in our makerspaces in the libraries to create their products or to try a new idea before they launch a business,” Veno said.
The local author collection will launch with a community celebration on April 23 at Garland’s Central Library.
Archibald anticipates adding more books to the collection as the word gets out, and she hopes to add audio and video from local creatives to the collection in the future.
Authors can still submit their books by contacting the Central Library, one of four libraries in Garland. Books in foreign languages such as Spanish or Vietnamese are also welcomed.
“Garland just has this really creative, innovative maker vibe to it, "Archibald said. “So there's always someone doing something.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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