It's Bag Day at George R. Brown

Library lifeline: Bargain Book Sale vital to budget-slashed Houston

The Bargain Book Sale puts old-fashioned reading in the spotlight.
Photo courtesy of Oxford
With mayor Annise Parker cutting its budget, the Houston Library needs morefriends than ever.

Recent budget setbacks at the Houston Public Library (HPL) mean that this weekend's 32nd annual Bargain Book Sale is more than just a way to score some hard-to-find books on the cheap.

The nonprofit Friends of the Houston Public Library has, for almost 60 years, provided financial support and resources for HPL programs such as the children's Summer Reading Program, library events and advocacy and recognition for the library system in the community. The Bargain Book Sale (11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the George R. Brown Convention Center) is the organization's largest fundraiser, typically netting more than $150,000 in a single weekend for the library.

Earlier this month HPL announced that, due to budget woes, the library system would be reducing their hours of operations at several locations throughout the city. It's a plight that has affected libraries in other cities too. Last fall, the Philadelphia Free Library system, the oldest and sixth-largest in the United States, considered shutting down operations at its 54 branches until budget woes could be resolved.

The library was eventually saved by funding from a state house bill.

Many of the Houston Library's 45 branches are now only open Monday through Friday. Only 10 branches are still open on the weekends. The Central Library and the Parent Resource Library at the Children's Museum of Houston are the only branches open on Sundays.

The Bargain Book Sale benefits readers too — most books are $2 or less, though hardbacks, best-sellers and specialty or hard-to-find books may be more. The sale includes reference books, kids' books and even CDs and DVDs. By the final day the stacks are often picked through, but Sunday is also "bag day," where shoppers can take home everything they can fit into a provided paper bag, for the price of $10.

Most of the books at the sale are "retired" from the library, though some are donated by local groups or individuals.

If you miss the book sale this weekend you can still become a member of the Friends of HPL. Individual memberships cost $20 a year, which includes a private access to the Friday pre-sale at each year's Bargain Book Sale. The Friends of the HPL also seeks volunteers to help at the Friends' warehouse, where donated books are stored and sorted.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”