Central Texas News

The public is invited to join the City of Round Rock for the grand opening of the new Round Rock Public Library building, located at 200 East Liberty Avenue in Downtown Round Rock, from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28.

An outdoor ceremony will be held starting at 2 p.m., followed by the library opening to the public at approximately 2:30 p.m. The event will include family-friendly activities, and residents will be able to learn more about the new facility. This event will be held rain or shine.

The new building, which was designed by PGAL, Inc. and constructed by Hensel Phelps, is approximately 66,000 square feet and three stories, with an adjacent 289-stall parking garage. The entire cost of the new library was $34.7 million, which included construction and furnishings, and the cost of the parking garage was $13.4 million. The library building was funded through the 2013 voter-approved bond package and cash from the City’s General Self Finance Construction fund; the garage was funded by Type B sales tax revenues.

With additional space, the library will expand its core services to children, teens and adults, as well as technology and more types of meeting spaces and program rooms. The new state-of-the-art facility features areas for quiet work/study on the third floor, classrooms on the first floor, outdoor spaces on each level, study rooms on the second and third floors, dedicated children’s story time rooms, early learning areas, space for activities and crafts, space for collaboration and flexible spaces for programs and collections.

Outdoor areas are an integral feature of the new design. A public courtyard on the first level features a flexible artificial turf lawn with festive lighting, lounge furniture, outdoor tables, chairs and benches for visitors to enjoy year-round. The rooftop will feature a discovery garden with wood decking, rubberized play surface tiles and artificial turf featuring a labyrinth. A screen on the parking garage will accommodate movie nights or community gatherings.  

“This is truly a library for the community, intended to serve people from all walks of life,” said Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan. “This building, and the programming that will happen in it, will help shape the future of Round Rock.”

City officials broke ground on the project in June 2021. Voters approved funding for the project during the 2013 bond election. To learn more about other 2013 bond projects, visit roundrocktexas.gov/2013bond.

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