Matt Largey | KUT

Libraries can be many things. A place of learning. Of relaxation. Of belonging.

We teamed up with Austin's Library Foundation to collect people's stories about what libraries mean to them for a series called Library Love Stories.

In our last story, Kalena Powell tells the story of finding support throughout her life at her local library.

Earlier this year, KUT partnered with Austin's Library Foundation to gather your stories about what the public library means to you. We selected a few of the writers to come record their essays at KUT.

Today, we hear from Austinite Pat Sartor.

At the intersection of Palo Blanco and Pleasant Valley, near Mendez Middle School, there’s a makeshift memorial: Signs, balloons, candles and handwritten notes have been hung to pay homage to the man who guided school kids to safety at that intersection for the past 15 years.

A while ago, we teamed up with Austin’s Library Foundation to collect stories about what your public library means to you.

A while ago, we teamed up with Austin’s Library Foundation to collect stories about what your public library means to you. 

What do libraries mean to you? Are they places of learning or imagination? Or maybe a place of belonging? 

We partnered with Austin’s Library Foundation to collect your stories about what libraries mean to you. 

Today, we hear a Library Love Story from Austinite Avani Chhaya.

Earlier this year, KUT partnered with Austin's Library Foundation to gather your stories about what the public library means to you. We selected a few of the writers to come record their essays at KUT. Over the next few weeks, you'll hear more of those. 

Kent Cummins has been doing magic for 70 years. He got his start as a kid growing up in Del Rio, Texas.

The Arctic is warming faster than any other place on Earth. Twice as fast.

That’s not easy to grasp when you’re thousands of miles away. But over the summer, one Austin high school teacher went to see it firsthand.

Earlier this month, KUT hosted the Transom Traveling Workshop, a weeklong training program for up-and-coming audio producers from all over the country. It was the workshop's first time ever in Austin, and the 10 participants were given a simple task: profile an Austinite – any Austinite – who they thought were interesting.

We had a wide range of stories that came out of that assignment. Take a listen to each of the students' stories below.

Many Austin pools close this weekend, ahead of school re-opening next week. But there are still a few more days to get in a swim at your neighborhood pool. And while you're there, maybe you'll hear what Madeline Fening hears when it's time for people to get out of the pool for a five-minute break:

Priscila Vega came to the U.S. as a child from her native El Salvador. Her family fled that country's civil war.

She spent 21 years in the U.S. without documentation.

Now a teacher in Austin, Vega talks about voting for the first time and the need to give back.

We're highlighting the voices of people who came to the U.S. from another country in celebration of Immigrant Heritage Month. We want to hear your story! Tell us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #ATXImmigrants.

Diana Nguyen left her native Vietnam after her father was threatened with prison for serving in the South Vietnamese army.

She talks about encountering pirates in the Pacific Ocean, seeing snow for the first time and not taking anything for granted.

Ronald Muljadi is a mortgage broker in Austin. He moved to the U.S. with his parents and sister when he was 5 years old. 

Growing up, he never felt like he got the "full experience" of his Indonesian heritage until he got older.

Ximena Cardoso-Sloane, a math teacher in Round Rock, never planned to move to the U.S. She left her native Ecuador in 2000 to visit a friend in America — and ended up staying.

"In my heart," she says, "I always was a citizen of the world."

Monica Caivano came to Austin from Argentina in 1994. She co-founded Esquina Tango, a "mini cultural center" that teaches language and dance in East Austin.

We're celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month by highlighting people who have moved to Austin from all over the world.

Anna Katrina Davey is originally from Italy, but spent time in Germany and Vietnam before moving to Austin. She owns a company that trains businesspeople to recognize and understand cultural differences with people they do business with in other countries.