Friends of Victoria Public Library honored; parents group urges policy change for juvenile collection

Mayor Dwayne Crocker proclaimed October 2025 as Friends of the Victoria Public Library Week and thanked the Friends group for support; a Friends representative told the council the group donated nearly $40,000 this year, including about $26,000 for summer programming, $11,000 for children’s shelving and $1,600 for the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program.

During citizens communication, Mackenzie Baca, speaking for the Victoria Parents Book Coalition, urged the council to update the juvenile collection-development policy to exclude what the speaker described as “radical gender ideology,” same-sex relationships and critical race theory from children’s materials. Baca cited state statutes and recent Texas bills (identified in public comment as SB 8, SB 12 and HB 229) and argued local policy should reflect “prevailing standards of the community.” The council did not act on the request during the meeting; the remarks were recorded as public comment only.

Other public commenters included Alejandro Gonzalez, who raised concerns about code-enforcement follow-up and professionalism, and Tabri(e) Houston, who announced a free homework club for middle- and high-school students and provided volunteer contact information. Those items were presented during the citizens-communication portion of the meeting and did not prompt immediate council action.

No formal motions or votes related to library policy were taken during the meeting. The proclamation and the Friends’ donation figures were presented by the mayor and a Friends representative and are part of the public record from the Oct. 21 meeting.