photo by: Journal-World File

Watson Library, 1425 Jayhawk Blvd., on the University of Kansas campus.

The main library at the University of Kansas will be party central during the upcoming school year, as leaders are inviting campus and community members to celebrate the building’s 100th anniversary.

KU’s Watson Library — the big library along Jayhawk Boulevard — opened its doors in September 1924. KU plans to host a multitude of events to mark the anniversary, with many of them highlighting the 1920s period.

Here’s a look at several of the planned events:

• 1920s dance lessons: Free dance lessons will teach people the Charleston and the foxtrot. At 6 p.m. Aug. 27 and 10 a.m. Sept. 10 instructors will teach the Charleston at the library building. At 6 p.m. Aug. 28 and 10 a.m. Sept. 12, instructors will teach the foxtrot at the library building. Lessons are free, but registration through the library is required.

• “Chicago,” an Academy Award-winning musical comedy set in 1924, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at Watson Library.

• Birthday cake will be served while it lasts to patrons at 11 a.m. on Sept. 19 inside Anschutz Library on the Lawrence campus.

• An outdoor festival featuring food trucks and live music will be on the front lawn of Watson Library from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 23.

• Inspiring artists can try their hand at creating an acrylic painting on canvas at an event on the front lawn of Watson Library at 3 p.m. on Nov. 6. The event is free and art supplies are provided, however, registration through the library is required.

• The classic tale of 1920s partying — “The Great Gatsby” — will be shown on the lawn of Watson Library at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 12. The 2013 film version of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic will be shown.

• A 2024 time capsule will be filled and turned over to the University Archives for safekeeping at 3 p.m. on Nov. 20 during an event at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library.

In addition to the events, KU leaders are working to help people better understand the history of Watson Library. The Spencer Research Library will host throughout the fall semester an exhibit titled “Watson Library’s First 100 Years: Impacts, Innovations and Renovations.”

The library is named after longtime librarian Carrie Watson. A survivor of Quantrill’s Raid in Lawrence, she went on to become a member of the university’s fifth graduating class. She began working for KU’s library — when it was in a corner of Old Fraser Hall — in 1878. She later became KU’s first full-time university librarian and served as librarian emerita through 65 years of service.