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dedicated source of funding, the collection moved from the Casino Hall to the
Masonic Temple, to storage, until local philanthropist and book-lover Henry
Rosenberg funded the construction of a permanent facility. The Rosenberg
Library, designed by noted Texas architect Nicholas Clayton, opened its doors
in 1904, as part of the rebuilding of Galveston after the Great Storm of 1900.
Clayton also designed the city’s Rosenberg Library Colored Branch, believed
to be the 昀椀rst public library for Black people in the southern United States.
Between 1898 and 1917, the Carnegie Corporation funded the construction of 32 libraries in Texas. Here, again, buildings were only part of the
equation: According to the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), a 1916
report to the Carnegie Corporation stated that “Texas libraries were poorly
stocked and badly run and suggested that funds might better have been used
for both books and buildings, with a provision for competent librarians for the
initial period.” But TSHA goes on to note: “Although the libraries were not
successful in some small communities because of the lack of 昀椀nancial support,
the building program was a worthy experiment. It stimulated interest in the
public library movement and supplied the only means by which many library
buildings could have been built.”
This is good news for community resilience. Today, there are almost 500
central libraries in Texas and as many branches, and — still thanks to community e昀昀orts, philanthropy, and some strong-willed individuals — there are
more coming. Some communities, like Frisco, are moving their old libraries
into new facilities. In January 2023, Round Rock moved its collection into an
expansive new building designed by PGAL with 720 Design (Austin 昀椀rm McKinney York will remodel the former library building into an arts and culture
center). Others, like Anna, Texas, are getting a library for the 昀椀rst time (and
including dedicated plugs for mobile generators as part of the design). And just
as the 昀椀rst Galveston libraries responded to the demands of the community at
the time, these new libraries are responding to our current demands — from
climate change to Comic-Con.
When the Seguin Public Library hired 720 Design with PGAL to design
a new facility for the library, the collective motivation was primarily demographic. Town leaders saw a library as an important part of an attractive
community for young, educated people. “It hit Seguin at a really interesting
time,” says Arndt. “They were trying to get their young people who were
going o昀昀 to college to come back. And one of the ways they saw to do that
was to start being more in tune with environmental issues.” The library, which
is LEED Gold certi昀椀ed, opened in 2016, and Seguin also started a city-wide
recycling program. The library designers were beginning to explore the library
as a multiuse space. “We were just starting to think about keeping buildings
昀氀exible,” says Arndt. “Beyond just looking at the structural grid and minimizing walls, we were thinking about how walls and shelving could be movable.”
Rooms are separated with moveable glass partitions that can be opened to
combine spaces, and about half of the collection is on casters. When Arndt
talked to the library sta昀昀 after the opening, they said they wished they’d put
all the shelving on casters. The library hosts a team lock-in for Comic-Con,
and moving the books out would let them expand that event into the rest of
the library for an evening or a weekend. “That 昀氀exibility is really important
in terms of the library’s ability to be an e昀昀ective community space in the long
term,” says Arndt.
The Seguin library opened just before another major shift in library usage
and programming. Prior to the pandemic, libraries were designed with banks
of computers, according to library standards. But post-pandemic, libraries
like Seguin started to see more people coming to the libraries with their own
devices, looking not for a seat at a computer, but for internet service and a
place to plug in. Increasingly, too, people were looking for privacy: Telemedicine was suddenly available and in high demand, creating the need for private
Below top In Seguin, the 43,000-sf library was designed to miminize impact on the site.
Below bottom Heritage trees, ample glazing, and warm materials create a treehouse e昀昀ect.
Facing Books — and cozy places to read them — are still central to the library experience.
Round Rock’s new 65,000-sf library, organized around a public courtyard, o昀昀ers technology
classrooms, study areas, and a cafe. “We have our own goals as architects and designers,”
says architect Scott Smith of PGAL, “but ultimately it’s the community’s building.”
LEFT PHOTO BY CHAD M. DAVIS, AIA ; RIGHT TOP AND BOTTOM PHOTOS BY DANA HOFF
60 Texas Architect
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