Recycled Reads, the Austin Public Library used bookstore on Burnet Road, will close by next spring if the proposed city budget is approved. The store opened in 2009 as a way to help raise money for Austin’s library system. Anna Paola Ferate-Soto has worked at the store since 2021. She said the concept has also […]
Austin Public Library
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Posted inBonds & Propositions
New libraries, parks, health centers among facilities eyed for 2026 bond proposal
Up to four new libraries, more neighborhood health centers, and a host of new park properties and recreation centers are among the facilities being considered for the city’s next bond election that will likely take place in 2026. Representatives from three city departments presented their bond project goals and plans this week to the city’s […]
Posted inPlanning
Downtown Commission gets preview of next chapter for John Henry Faulk Building and Austin History Center
With the Austin History Center “busting at the seams” with, well, history, city library officials have been preparing the John Henry Faulk Building next door to house the History Center’s vast collection of archives. Both the History Center and the Faulk Building, formerly Austin’s Central Library, are undergoing a rebranding of sorts as the two […]
Posted inCity Council
Austin makes library cards free to people outside the city
People who live in unincorporated areas outside the city no longer have to pay $120 for an Austin Public Library card. In December, City Council voted to remove the fees after the Library Commission recommended the change. In their recommendation, commissioners said Austin Public Library is committed to equity, which includes removing barriers that prevent […]
Posted inEducation
Austin to offer free library cards to people outside the city
People who live outside the city will soon no longer have to pay $120 for an Austin public library card. City Council voted to remove the fees last week after the Library Commission recommended the change. In their recommendation, commissioners said Austin Public Library is committed to equity, which includes removing barriers that prevent access […]
Posted inCity Council
Council to consider eliminating nonresident library card fees
City Council will consider an item this week directing the city manager to amend the fee and fine ordinance to do away with the nonresident library card fee for residents of the city’s limited-purpose and extraterritorial jurisdictions. Currently, Austin residents can get a free library card only if they live within what’s called the full-purpose […]
Posted inAustin
The sun is so bright, you gotta wear safe solar shades (for this weekend’s annular eclipse)
Now’s the time to get proper glasses to view the annular eclipse Saturday and be prepared for the big one next spring. This time around, the sun will be about 89 percent obscured from our view in Austin, so long as the weather works out. So far, forecasts are looking good. But even if the […]
Posted inAustin
Austin Public Library prepares for First Amendment auditors
The Austin Public Library is busy with summer reading programs, passport services and book ban resistance. Newer to the list? Trying not to go viral. Library staff recently received a briefing on First Amendment audits, in which citizen journalists and activists film government employees in public spaces as a test of their constitutional rights – […]
Posted inCity Council
A new plan for libraries calls for expansion
City Council approved a plan for Austin Public Library last Thursday that features a new set of strategic goals and calls for the expansion of libraries across the fast-growing city. In early 2022, a Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) started assessing both external and internal factors affecting Austin’s library community. “It was a process that involved […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Library legislative working group gets update on ‘bills of concern’
The Library Commission spent the majority of its regular meeting on Monday discussing proposed legislation viewed as potentially harmful to the mission of libraries in Austin and statewide. Commissioner Courtney Rosenthal, who is leading the commission’s legislative working group that was formed a week earlier, brought the commission a list of bills of concern for […]
Posted inEducation
Austin leaders brace for state lawmakers to take up bills restricting library content and resources
After Texas lawmakers placed limitations on how Texas teachers approach lessons on history and racism and passed anti-trans legislation in recent sessions, Austin leaders are preparing for further action on these fronts when the Legislature convenes for its 88th session in January. During a Monday meeting at the Windsor Park Branch in East Austin, the […]
Posted inCity Council
Council opposes book banning, adopts Freedom to Read resolution
Council unanimously adopted a resolution Thursday promoting the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read declaration and opposing book banning. According to the resolution, the city supports the Austin Public Library’s materials selection process, recognizing the work of the library and the city’s Library Commission in their work to protect the right to read. “The freedom to […]