What you need to know
San Antonio Public Library officials said the anniversary event at 11441 Vance Jackson Road featured crafts and activities for people of all ages, including a selfie photo booth for commemorative keepsake pictures, light refreshments, and a presentation of music and board games that were popular in 1984. Attendees got a limited-edition commemorative button.
The event included brief comments from San Antonio Public Library board Vice Chair Jo Ann Harris, Assistant City Manager David McCary, and interim library director Kathy Donellan.
The background
According to a news release, SAPL opened the Edmund Cody Branch Library on April 29, 1984, on a piece of land donated by the Northside ISD in the Vance Jackson Road neighborhood. The library was named after a retired NISD educator who remains active in the community.
SAPL officials said Cody was instrumental in promoting the need for a public library in the Vance Jackson neighborhood. Cody Library was renovated and expanded between 1998 and 1999, when the facility’s meeting and study rooms were added.
Upon its opening, the Friends of Cody Branch Library group bought furniture and items for the library’s collection. The current Friends of Cody group members will be at the anniversary celebration hosting a used book sale and recruiting new members to support the library.
Cody Library staff recorded nearly 160,000 visits in 2023, placing it regularly among SAPL’s top five most visited branch library locations.
