Hanna and Plaut sponsors Austin Public Library Foundation Gala


November 11th, 2019 By Catherine Hanna

“The library is a gathering pool of narratives and of the people who come to find them. It is where we can glimpse immortality; in the library, we can live forever.”
― Susan Orlean, The Library Book

Lawyers are readers and insurance coverage lawyers read a lot. When we get tired of reading insurance policies (which hardly ever happens, we promise!) most of us enjoy curling up with a good book. You can often find us discussing books we’ve read and books we want to read. Last Friday, Hanna & Plaut celebrated the Austin Public Library, a temple for books and the readers who love them. We sponsored a table at the Stories Gala, to benefit the Austin Public Library Foundation.

The Foundation supports the library by increasing awareness about its importance to the community, and by enhancing library collections, programs, and facilities. We enjoyed hearing from Susan Orlean, author of The Library Book, which is itself a celebration of libraries and their place in our communities. Like Orlean, I have very fond memories of childhood trips to the library with my mother. I also have great memories of taking my own children to the Spicewood Springs Branch of the Austin Public Library. At the Gala, we heard several Austinites tell their Library Love Stories, including one parent whose child discovered a love of opera as a result of a library program.

 

 

The library is not just about books. For the past three years I have had the honor of serving on the City of Austin’s Library Commission and I have been privileged to get to know the staff of the Austin Public Library and to see all of the great work they do. Among other things, the library  is an important partner of the City of Austin as it works to support the people of our community experiencing homelessness. The Austin Public Library will also partner with city and county agencies as they take on the 2020 Census. The library is an important part of our community and especially important to me. I am incredibly proud to be a part of this work and was thrilled on Friday to invite my Hanna & Plaut co-workers to celebrate it with me.