On February 16, 192
6, the first public library in Austin opened its doors in a small rented space at 819 Congress Avenue. The idea for a free public library began in 1913 when Mayor A. P. Wooldridge began championing for a library. He convinced the State Legislature to pass a bill deeding the state land across 9th Street from Wooldridge Park for municipal library use and employed architect Hugo Kuehne to design a library. Kuehne traveled the country looking at other public libraries, but the project faltered when the US entered World War I and was left unfunded. But the idea of a public library never faltered, and a group of citizens, led by members of the local chapter of the Association of University Women (AUW), started a drive to raise funds, via subscriptions, to fund and open a library.
Their efforts came to fruition when the doors to the Austin Public Library were “thrown open” at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16. The library was located on the second floor above the offices of Garrett & Ziller (the picture, taken in 1936, shows the space as occupied by the Home Loan & Realty Co.). The collection started with 1,700 volumes, but grew to 2,000 almost immediately after opening as interested citizens and local organizations made donations during the opening. Hazel Hurst, who lived nearby on Colorado Street, received the first library card. Volunteers from the AUW ran the library, and its hours were Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 3:00 – 6:00, and Wednesday and Saturday nights 7:00 - 9:00.
By April, the AUW committee running the library invited others to help, creating the Austin Public Library Association. The Association worked with the city in securing permission to use the site allotted by Mayor Wooldridge in 1913 and secured private donations to build a temporary structure, one of the earliest public-private partnerships in Austin. The library moved to its new location in December. By 1928, APL firmly established itself as an Austin institution when citizens approved a bond package to construct a permanent Public Library facility and the city committed funds to operate the library.
