Austin Public Library

Austin has a new library that goes far beyond a mere collection of books. A collection of gathering places and opportunities–indoors and out, it is the centerpiece of a 20-branch city-wide system serving this state capitol. Like Austin, the library is full of light, color and energy.

Texas Monthly provides details:

The 200,000-square-foot building, which opened October 28, 2017, boasts six floors of natural lighting, a view over the tree-lined waters of Lady Bird Lake, fourteen learning rooms, over 100 computers, 150 self-checkout machines, an innovation lab, a 37-foot-tall sculpture inspired by the city’s grackle population, a rooftop garden, and enough space for half a million books—not to mention the Cookbook Bar and Cafe, where every item on the menu is from a recipe in a cookbook.

On October 23, eight members of my family spent two full hours exploring this exciting place. From one room we looked out on inspiring quotations.

We found a Technology Petting Zoo, lots of comfy seats and many places to play.

From the rooftop garden, we could see a regatta in progress on Lady Bird Lake.

On the other side of the library is Austin Energy’s large power plant, clearly visible through large windows printed with facts about Austin’s growth. When I first visited Austin in 1954, the city had about 150,000 residents. My brother Harry attended the University in the late 50s. I was at Girls State there in 1961. In the 80s and 90s, when we visited Karen, it had grown to half a million. Now its population is almost a million. Through these windows the library connects electrical power with the power of reading. It is very proud of its LEED-Certified Platinum rating. On the sixth floor, we found a charging station supplying USB ports and cords and a clever dispenser of short stories to recharge the mind.

Susan Orleans’ The Library Book about the Los Angeles County Library had prepared me to look for evidence of how libraries are creating new roles in their communities. As I chatted with some friendly staff members, I could see that Austin, like LA, is finding new ways to foster community engagement. This library seemed like an ideal place for entrepreneurs to start new ventures. On a Saturday morning we saw hundreds of people of all ages.

A helpful guide pointed out that the large artwork, CAW, by Christian Moeller, may resemble a giant cuckoo clock, but there’s no clock, only a pendulum. “Reading is timeless,” she observed.  The work was inspired by Austin’s lively grackles and by the strong presence of blackbirds in mythology and literature.

Moeller also created a video animation of a black bird, displayed on the wall behind my family in the picture above. The bird’s gestures are generated by a computer program with an external sensor. Now if I could just figure out how to show the bird’s movements. How I would love to go back and spend hours in such a stimulating place and dine at the Cookbook Cafe.