In 2023, over 4 million items were checked out of the Austin Public Library, according to the city’s data service. The number includes books, music, laptops, and more, showcasing that the Austin Public Library has become a crucial resource and a staple destination for residents of the Austin area.
Austin Public Library (APL) has 22 branches across Austin. Any student in the Austin Independent School District is able to get a library card and access its collections. In addition to its vast selection of books, APL provides many events and services at no cost. It hosts cooking classes, loans tools, and renews passports. At the library, users can check out STEM kits for their children or take home plant seeds. These opportunities, along with the many other activities that APL has to offer, allow for a community to grow. Susan Nyfeler, a youth services librarian at the Central Branch, discussed the partnership between the community and the library.
“My absolute favorite part of the library is that it belongs to everyone,” Nyfeler said. “Everybody here is looking to listen to the community, reach out into the community, hear what people want.”
According to Nyfeler, the feedback helps to shape the way APL interacts with its visitors. Through this feedback, she acknowledges how the library’s role in the community has changed over the years.
“We are always trying to fulfill the information needs for our customers, and that doesn’t always look the same,” Nyfeler said. “In the past, it was [just] books. Now it’s books, experiences, collaboration, community partnerships.”
Kathleen Houlihan, one of the Teen Central librarians in a section of the Austin Central Library reserved for teenagers, discussed the many opportunities for youth at APL. She noted that at the Central Library, the staff lets teenagers take a leading role in the Teen Center programming.
“We shifted to that model where our teens are sort of in the driver’s seat,” Houlihan said. “We are there to support, to go and get stuff, and do the purchasing and help them do the planning.”
According to Nyfeler, APL has programs to support artists and authors of all ages. It specifically aims to feature Austinites and promote their work to the community.
“We have an art gallery here, and we’ll partner with local artists on programs and on their art display,” Nyfeler said. “We will work with local musicians, artists, storytellers to provide programs for children and teens.”
The way that programming is done is also reflected in the LASA library through events and available activities. LASA librarian Elizabeth Switek reflected on the ways library programming brings people together.
“There’s all of the programming that libraries do where kids can come together or teens can come together or adults over board game nights, kids over book clubs, little kids, toddler story times, things like that,” Switek said. “They’re all the ways that you can build community.”
According to Jenny Sirrat, the school partnerships librarian, APL keeps all audiences in mind when creating its programs. They provide various resources and put together events that promote different cultures in the Austin area.
“For a while there was a Ukrainian story time,” Stirrat said. “[We also have] books that were originally published in Spanish, from Latin American authors.”
The Austin Public Library’s mission statement is to “inspire all to discover, learn, and create.” According to Nyfeler, the APL team is constantly adapting to fulfill this goal.
“The library is a living organism,” Nyfeler said. “We don’t stay put. We are constantly. We are never perfect at this, everybody here is looking to listen to the community, reach out into the community, and hear what people want.”
