The Corpus Christi City Council received an update Tuesday on efforts to restore public access to the Janet F. Harte Library, which has seen its hours significantly reduced due to state-mandated school safety requirements enacted in the wake of the Uvalde school massacre.
The library is located on the campus of Flour Bluff High School and opened in August 2000 as a joint-use facility serving both the school and the public.
In early 2025, Flour Bluff ISD notified the city that state-mandated school safety requirements obligated the district to secure entry points and limit public access during school hours. As a result, public access to the library was cut from 44 hours a week to 28 hours last August. Currently public access to the library has increased to 40 hours.
The council received an update Tuesday on plans to build a partition wall that would allow the library to operate more independently from the school. A pre-design assessment is 90% complete, and Engineering Services is currently working with the architecture firm to finalize a pre-design and cost estimate.
City Manager Peter Zanoni told the council the ultimate solution would be to build a new public library.
Zanoni said that may be a 2028 bond item.
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