As parents looking for fun, free entertainment for our kids, we have relied on the Austin Public Library countless times. In fact, when our babies were just itty bitty, the library served as a hub for us to meet other mamas at storytimes and engage our children in some stimulating social time.

The Austin community will soon get to experience a New Central Library downtown, and we are so excited! Billed as a “library of the future” this location is set to have:

  • reading porches & an indoor reading room overlooking Shoal Creek and Lady Bird Lake
  • Library café with outdoor dining
  • Recycled Reads gift boutique
  • Gallery space featuring local and national artists
  • A permanent exhibit of beloved puppets created by the Austin Public Library
  • Abundant bicycle parking

Please take note that this super library finally has a grand opening date — Saturday, October 28 at 10 a.m.

This anticipated project has been in the works for almost 10 years. We’re excited that it will feature a dining option called Cookbook from the Elm Restaurant Group (Easy Tiger, Italic, and Irene’s), providing cafe offerings inspired from the library’s cookbook collection.

Faulk Location Closure: The entire Faulk location will close Saturday, Sept. 16. Through mid-September, customers will have limited access to the books at Faulk Central Library. Customers will only be able to access the 1st and 2nd floors of the collection, pick up holds and use the public computers/WiFi. The entire 3rd floor will not be accessible until everything is moved over to the new Central Library.

For interim services during the brief closure of the Central Library, you can use any of the 20 branches located across town. For more information, visit library.austintexas.gov.