Austin Public Library

Austin Public Library
Central Library viewed from the south
30°15′57″N 97°45′06″W / 30.26583°N 97.75167°W / 30.26583; -97.75167
LocationAustin, Texas
TypeLibrary system
EstablishedFebruary 1926 (1926-02)
Branches20
Access and use
Circulation7,730,000 items (FY 2025)
Members333,328 Cardholders (FY 2025)
Other information
Budget$83,535,435 (FY 2027)
DirectorHannah Terrell
Employees451.55 (on an FTE basis) (FY 2027)
Websitelibrary.austintexas.gov

Austin Public Library is a public library system serving Austin, Texas, United States. It is operated by the City of Austin and consists of the Central Library on Cesar Chavez Street (which replaced the old Faulk Central Library in 2017), the Austin History Center, and 20 branches.

History

On November 13, 1925, Grace Delano Clark persuaded the Austin Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to initiate a project to establish the Austin Public Library.

Austin History Center

AAUW organized a house-to-house campaign to solicit book donations and money for a dedicated building. On February 16, 1926, at 3:00 in the afternoon, the Austin Public Library opened at 819 Congress Avenue in a rented room above the office of newspaper Pressler & Ziller, and Mrs. W. A. Cocke served as the first librarian. The library held 500 donated volumes, and Grace Delano Clark served as Volunteer Librarian. In December of the same year, Austin's first library building, an 1,800 square feet (170 m2) wood-frame structure, opened at West 9th and Guadalupe Streets.

In 1928, Austin voters approved $150,000 in bonds for a permanent building, and the temporary building was moved to Angelina Street, resurfaced with brick, and opened as the library's first branch, the George Washington Carver Branch. The building is now part of the George Washington Carver Museum, adjacent to the current Carver Branch.

From 1933 until 1951 library services were provided on a racially segregated basis. The small George Washington Carver branch was designated as the facility to serve Blacks. They were not welcome at any other library facility, although they could request library materials to be sent to Carver. William Astor Kirk, a professor at Huston–Tillotson University, challenged this arrangement. By the end of 1951 the segregation policy was ended.

Faulk Central Library

The new, permanent building was to be designed by Austin architect Hugo Kuehne, and construction began in 1932. The building took advantage of local materials and craftsmen. Texas "Cordova" cream limestone was selected to achieve the Italian Renaissance Revival style of the building. Ornamental wrought iron work was created by Fortunat Weigl to enhance the balconies, doors and windows. Peter Mansbendel, a Swiss master woodcarver who immigrated to Texas in 1911, carved much of the interior woodwork. Bubi Jessen and Peter Alidi painted the tracery frescoes on the ceiling of the arched loggia on the north side of the building.

In March 1933, the new building opened at West 9th and Guadalupe. This building served as the main library from 1933 until 1979, when construction of the John Henry Faulk Central Library next door was complete. At that time, the newly formed Austin History Center Association consolidated community support to renovate the old central library building to house the expanding Austin-Travis County Collection. In 1983, the Austin-Travis County Collection formally became the Austin History Center.

In 2009, the library opened Recycled Reads, a used bookstore in Northwest Austin, as part of the city's zero waste initiatives. The store sold materials weeded from the library, as well as donations from community members with funds supporting the library system. The store closed in January 2026 due to city budget pressures, with donations and used library books to be sold at individual branches instead of a central location. The library noted that the costs to operate the bookstore, including its lease and operations, resulted in over $400,000 in losses annually.

The library began offering a variant of library cards with photo ID in 2023. While traditional cards are still offered, the "enhanced" library card's photo ID would be accepted by select City of Austin departments and community agencies as a valid form of identification.

Central Library

View from Central Library rooftop garden.

In 1972, Austin voters passed a $6 million bond for a new central library to be built on an adjacent site at West 8th and Guadalupe. Jessen Associates, founded by Bubi Jessen and Wolf Juessen, designed this central library in the New Formalist style under the direction of architect Fred Day. Construction began in 1976, and the building opened to the public on April 11, 1979. John Henry Faulk, a local writer and free speech advocate who would be the building's namesake, was the keynote speaker at the dedication ceremony on August 26, 1979.

The Faulk Central Library was 110,000 square feet (10,000 m2) on five stories (the first three open to the public, with the fourth floor reserved for the administrative offices, and the basement reserved for storage/utilities).

The new central library (opened on October 28th 2017), showing the interior from the 6th floor.

In May 2013, the City of Austin broke ground on a 6-story central library overlooking Shoal Creek and Lady Bird Lake, funded in large part by a bond program approved by Austin voters in 2006, to replace the Faulk Central Library. The building is part of the city's extensive redevelopment of the former Seaholm Power Plant site, east of the intersection of Lamar Boulevard and Cesar Chavez Street. It opened to the public on Saturday October 28, 2017. The building was designed by a joint venture of San Antonio-based Lake Flato Architects and Boston-based Shepley Bulfinch. The new central library offers a living rooftop garden, reading porches, an indoor reading room and a bicycle corral, large indoor and outdoor event spaces, a gift shop, an art gallery and a café.

The design was awarded the American Institute of Architects' COTE Top Ten Award in 2020, for which winners are recognized for setting the standard in sustainable design excellence. The library was honored for its use of features such as the reduction of water use through rainwater harvesting, an in-ground cistern, and the building's vegetated roof; and a photovoltaic cell that generates 13% of the building's power and shades the rooftop garden. The library uses 40% less energy than a building of comparable size.

The Austin Central Library was one of six recipients of the 2018 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards.

In 2026, the library was featured in TIME Magazine's article, "A Portrait of America in 25 Buildings and Monuments."

Branch Libraries

In addition to the Central Library and the Austin History Center, the Austin Public Library has 20 branch locations. The APL library system also has mobile libraries, including bookmobile buses and a human-powered trike and trailer named "Unbound: Sin Fronteras".

References

  1. 1 2 "About the Library". library.austintexas.gov. Retrieved October 8, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "City of Austin Approved 2027-27 Budget". City of Austin, Texas. pp. 422–423. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  3. ↑ Ellett, Joe (December 18, 2025). "Hannah Terrell Named Austin Public Library Director". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 8, 2026.
  4. ↑ Mclaren, Jessica (July 10, 2026). "Austin Public Library celebrates 100 years of service". Community Impact. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  5. ↑ "TEXAS HONORS MRS. CLARK.; Former Brooklyn Woman Gets Trophy as "Most Worthy Citizen."". The New York Times. January 8, 1929. p. 5. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "HERstory of the Austin Branch: 1923 – present". AAUW Austin (TX) Branch. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  7. ↑ Public Library to Open Doors Today at 3 P.M.— Approximately 1,700 Volumes of Fiction, History and Classics on Shelves", The Austin (TX) American, February 16, 1926, p.1
  8. ↑ "Fact Sheet". Austin Public Library. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  9. ↑ Moreno-Lozano, Luz (October 22, 2020). "Austin's Carver Museum turns 40 in year of racial reckoning". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  10. ↑ Kirk, W. Astor (March 24, 2008). One Life - Three Professional Careers. Publisher: Magic Valley Publishers. pp. 86–95. ISBN 978-0980087970.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  11. ↑ "Austin Public Library Historical Facts Summary" (PDF).
  12. ↑ "Details for 1933 Austin Public Library (Atlas Number 5453006425)". Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  13. ↑ "History of Our Building". Austin Public Library. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  14. ↑ Ellett, Joe (December 31, 2025). "Austin's New Home for History • The Austin Chronicle". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Leases". Austin American-Statesman. April 17, 2008. pp. B08.
  16. ↑ Cha, Jessica (July 31, 2025). "Budget cuts could force closure of Austin's Recycled Reads". KVUE. Retrieved October 2, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ↑ Chew, Alex (September 8, 2025). "Turning the page: Austin's Recycled Reads loses Burnet Road storefront". Austin Free Press. Retrieved October 2, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ↑ Jones, Abigail (November 18, 2025). "Recycled Reads to close Jan. 17, transition to citywide format by February". KXAN.
  19. ↑ Hunt, Kailey (May 3, 2023). "Austin Public Library offers 'enhanced' library cards for Austinites who need photo IDs". KUT News. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  20. ↑ "National Register Statement of Significance for Faulk Central Library by Hannah Simonson". issuu. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  21. 1 2 Coppola, Sarah (September 9, 2016). "Construction of new central library to start in June". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  22. ↑ Goudeau, Ashley (May 30, 2013). "Austin city leaders break ground on new Central Public Library". KVUE. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  23. ↑ Novak, Shonda (April 16, 2013). "Seaholm redevelopment ready to break ground at last". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  24. ↑ Oyeniyi, Doyin (June 29, 2018). "Austin Central Library Named Finalist for Public Library of the Year". Texas Monthly. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  25. ↑ Pacheco, Antonio (January 8, 2020). "Porch, Atrium, Terrace: A Deeper Look At Lake | Flato's Austin Central Library". Archinect. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  26. ↑ Chaudhury, Nadia (December 16, 2016). "Austin Central Library's Cookbook Cafe Will Patch Together Recipes". Eater Austin. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  27. ↑ "COTE Top Ten Award 2020". The American Institute of Architects. Archived from the original on December 6, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
  28. ↑ "2020 AIA COTE Top Ten: Austin Central Library". Shepley Bulfinch. January 15, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
  29. ↑ "LLAMA ALA/AIA Library Building Awards | Core". www.ala.org. Retrieved September 14, 2026.
  30. ↑ "A Portrait of America in 25 Buildings and Monuments". TIME. June 2, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
  31. ↑ Bennett, Adam (October 17, 2026). "Austin Public Library celebrates 100 years serving the community". KVUE. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  32. ↑ ""Neighborhood Bound: Austin's Mobile Libraries" & Unbound: Sin Fronteras". The Austin Chronicle. July 9, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  33. ↑ McLeod, Haley; Thompson, Ben; Bent, Elle; Hernandez, Sarah (September 5, 2024). "From furniture to Mexican cuisine: 10 business updates impacting North Austin". Community Impact. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  34. ↑ Saldana, Sean (June 19, 2023). "Attendees reflect on Juneteenth during jubilee at Austin's Willie Mae Kirk Library". KUT News. Retrieved October 24, 2026.