Library Connection

History

On November 13, 1925, Grace Delano Clark persuaded the Austin Branch of the American Association of University Women to take on the project of establishing a library for Austin. On February 16, 1926, the Austin Public Library opened in a rented room at 819 Congress with 500 donated volumes. Grace Delano Clark served as volunteer Librarian. On December 23, 1926, the first Austin Public Library building opened at West 9th and Guadalupe, with 1,800 square feet, at a cost of $4,190 (since moved to become the first branch library and currently the Carver Museum).

In 1933, a second 26,000 square-foot structure replaced the building at 9th and Guadalupe at a cost of $145,000 (currently the Austin History Center). Miss Darthula Wilcox was appointed the first Library Director. In 1944, Mary Rice became the second Director, in 1967 David Earl Holt the third, and in 1991 Brenda Branch the fourth. In 1979, the current Central Library opened adjacent to the 1933 structure with 110,000 square feet at a cost of $6 million. In 1995, the City Council voted to rename the Central Library after John Henry Faulk, well-known Austin writer and humorist. In 2001 the Austin Public Library celebrated 75 years of service to the Austin community.

Statistics

• The Austin Public Library has 20 branches, the John Henry Faulk Central Library, and the Austin History Center.
• The Library's current budget is $19.5 million, with 322 FTE staff members employed throughout the System.
• 420,461 were registered card holders in 2004/2005.
• Systemwide holdings are 1,652,303.
• Customers visited the Austin Public Library 3,184,799 times last fiscal year and checked out a total of 3,355,351 items.
• 15,789 volunteer hours were donated in 2004/2005.
• 799,481 customers used the public Internet computers in 2004/2005.

Awards

2000

Highsmith, Hotho, and Mora Awards for Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros Program.

2000

Austin Collaboration Award for Star Card Outreach Project, and Cepeda Hands on Science.

2000

L. PeRCy Award for Web Page design.

2000

Giant Step Award for Youth Star Card outreach.

2003

Wired for Youth selected by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) as an Excellence in Library Service to Young Adults Project.

2004

Texas Library Association Project of the Year for “The Blue Bellies are in Austin: Readings from the Travis County Slave Narratives”

2005

Texas Library Association Hotho Award for Second Chance Books: Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center Outreach Program

 

For additional information about the Library visit the Austin Public Library main site.