Austin Central Library Reviews

Such a beautiful library! Love the design and flow of it. The outdoor terrace on the 4th floor gives you an awesome view of the river and city. They also have a gift shop that sell trinkets/souvenirs made by local artisans.

Exquisite building, but this library does not focus on books, and their teen area librarian is very condescending. What a shame. Won t be visiting again.

I love this place. Modern layout with an endless selection of books and a gallery of views of downtown Austin.

Our diamond of a city just became even more bright and shiny with our new Central Library. This six-story library is filled with natural light that pours through gigantic windows and well-placed clerestories, beaming sunshine into every floor. This makes it a joyous adventure to climb upward, experiencing every level of our library, from the ground floor amphitheater to the rooftop garden.

In addition to the books, this library's many treasures include: circular windows that invite the kids to imagine they're in a submarine or a spaceship, a sunny "Reading Porch" on the third floor where families enjoy some luxurious RR&R (rest, relaxation, and reading), artful angles in the architecture that feels like we're inside of an M.C. Escher artwork, a rooftop garden vibrant with native plants and butterflies...

As others have mentioned, the parking can be problematic. This week, we got stuck in a 30-minute traffic jam around the noon hour, after parking on the 2nd level. Super annoying issue with the ticket payment process! I mention it here just so you don't make the mistake of getting "stuck" with a bad final impression after your otherwise glorious library experience. :)

Apart from being a beautiful library with a star view from the sixth floor patio, the Austin Central Library has spacious study/meeting rooms and an awesome non fiction collection (there's really everything but I was mostly impressed by their non fiction collection). Staff is really helpful and friendly as well!

Great quiet space to work with pretty fast internet! You don't need a library card to just use the space if you're visiting.

The teens section excludes any children of the age of 12 that made my experience a 1 star review.

Loved the architecture of the library - reminded me of Harry Potter ;) There were so many places to sit, relax and read. They have digital content and board games as well. We were able to find parking spot easily. It had a lot of people but it wasn't noisy.

Located in probably one of the most beautiful blocks of downtown Austin, this library is a masterpiece of engineering. It houses 6 levels with expansive windows on all sides. It has large skylights with tons of natural light. Each story contains aisles and aisles of books. There are over 300,000 books. As I took the steps up to the top level (elevators are available) I noticed that each level had some kind of event going on. There s a technology area on the 5th level that has 3D printing, virtual reality headsets, and literally every device you could think of. On the 2nd level there s an art gallery that I made sure to check out. There s self check out on each level, which makes it a breeze to check out a book. You can book meetings, workshops, and study-groups all of the offices on each level are equipped with videoconferencing. Computers are also provided on each level. At the entry, there s a cafe shop to stop at and grab a bite to eat. At the top level you can sit back and read a book while looking out the window that overlooks Lady Bird Lake. It sucks that I can t visit this library as often as I would like. I live so far from this area. I would comment on the customer service, but I never saw any staff walking around I didn t mind, I was busy taking in all of the beauty.

Why would you charge the public for parking?! Your mission is to educate & motivate the public to read and learn. So you should make yourself as accessible as possible, not charge for parking and basically tell people they have 30 minutes to get out of the library or pay up. It's reprehensible! Once again Austin lives up to its reputation as a greedy town. Shame.

What a beautiful place / invention !! Totally different than any other library around the world. Very entertaining place full of natural light and a wierd design that represents Austin. Not the traditional library that we are all used to. Many public spaces to hang out meet with friend or even for families to spend a Sunday over there. Sections for everything and an amazing garden on the rooftop with a great view over the lady bird lake and Austin down town.
I highly recommend visiting this library if you are visiting Austin .

One of the most beautiful buildings in Austin. So many books, floors, zines, computers, etc. And easy to check out/in. Helpful staff when you can find them. Best library in town.

Beware double booking of Event Center and one-sided contract



In the interim, I had invited guests, selected a hotel near the Library (booked and paid for rooms) booked two musical acts and one theatrical act for that night, hence there was no flexibility with dates. Booking the library was foundational to all these other bookings based on my budget. I also incurred other expenses as the event coordinator scrambled to find an alternate venue. Since our options were narrowed after a 2 month time lapse, I had to book a more expensive venue. When I asked the Library to pay the difference, they said they voided the contract under its terms and the answer was no . I was just asking them to do the right thing. When I reached out to the Director of the Library to see if he concurred with the decision, he refused to even call me back and after 2 weeks I gave up.

Bottomline: incompetence, one-sided contract, poor customer responsiveness all on their side. What if I had not made the inquiry, when would they have discovered the double booking? Maybe the month before the celebration? While I operated in good faith, I m the only one suffering adverse consequences. There are no do overs for 80th Birthday Celebrations.

The library is full of places to study. I was amazed by the varieties of the chairs and tables the library provides. The library, by itself, deserves to be a tourist destination.

However, I only gave four stars for the vacuum of relevant, up-to-date collection in Science and Technology. Since Austin has a good amount of tech scene, people would naturally come to the city library looking for tech related books.

I love this library, huge selections of books, with restricted areas only for a select age group. Fun activites, cool rooftop tarrance and garden with a nice veiw of the river. It's everything a bookworm, such as myself, could ever want.

Nice library, too many people always there. Weird to say the least, scary raven silhouette, huge bird clock, big library but one can barely find a place to sit. Too many folks engaged in conversation to be able to study. Librarians focus on patrolling like cops and so do the security guards. They will harass you until no end if you eat or drink or casually pass out. I had one robocop harass me nearly three times already, tried telling me how to sit and calling me baby and honey. Threatened to kixk me out for eating a piece of candy downstairs on the ground floor. Ridiculous, nothing more than a retreat for the elite to make themselves comfortable. Anyone who looks poor or different they will harass. I hate this library but ita the closest and coolest library in Texas im sure.

Engineering marvel. Beautiful place I could spend days here!

One of the beautiful and best libraries I have been to. Definitely would recommend. Worth checking out.

Absolutely breathtaking in every aspect. The architectural design of this place is cool and the vibes are peaceful.

If you need to use a restroom, do so before visiting the library. The homeless people have pretty much taken over the bathrooms on every floor.

Other than that, the library is a great spot for game nights, hanging out with study buddies, and finding resources for your next big adventure.

Beautiful library with a rooftop garden area for reading. The layout of the library is amazing. The best public library I've ever been to.

One of the prettiest libraries I have ever visited.

Totally Awesome! Every encounter I have had with the library has been great. The staff is so friendly, very helpful and patient and very nice. I could go on and on.

What an amazing place! Best library I ve ever been to, kids loved it too!

Very nice high tech Library with a view, an icon for Austin. No free parking, not able to use it to its fullest potential unless you are willing to pay $3 an hour. Last visit was $9. Parking should be validated with library use. Our taxes did pay for this by the way.

What a waste of taxpayer money. Was the old library broken? Couldn t they have updated the old 1 for a 1/4 of the cost? The total waste of space was that monstrous stair case. Also a giant waste of space planning. Couldnt they have used that as floor space and make the garage bigger and without as many reserved parking spaces? Another waste. Couldn t we have spent the money on the traffic problem or more police to take care of the stupid drivers in austin?

This is a new modern library in central Austin. There are 6 floors with loads of space to read and study. The roof top garden was beautiful with seating and a view of the water. I don t have a library card here so I can t comment on that aspect of the library. There is free parking in the parking garage for up to 30 minutes. The lot does get busy so you may not be able to find a spot.

An incredible space that went above and beyond my expectations. Ample seating, bright light and beautiful architecture. The outdoor garden area with a view of the water and downtown is fantastic.

The parking garage is a pain but it's still less expensive then some parking in the surrounding area. Although I wish it wasn't so tight to navigate. Especially at the entrance/exit.

I'm very excited for the cafe to open.

This is the most perfect piece of architecture I have seen internationally. Great job!

World class facility!! That rivals the library in Seattle, Washington.

What a wonderful place to spend the day with the Kiddo's. Totally a must do for any mommy and daddy.

This place is overwhelming, powerful, empowering presence in the community and so worth every penny spent on it.

This is one of my favorite places on Earth.

locked down without notice. they sent me an email yesterday to come get my books.

An amazing state of the art library! The only bad reviews are about parking. Take the bus! Ride a bike!

That's why mindless parking that cost taxpayers millions isn't free for you.

Gorgeous. Spacious. And there are so many reading and work nooks that anyone can find a quiet spot to sit even on a busy Saturday.

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!!! My only gripe is that parking sucks and is expensive... but that's more of an Austin problem than anything. I wish that this place had existed when I was a kid.

Excellent place, the bookstore is giant, super organized and very nice atmosphere. It has an impressive variety of genres that can be read and offer a variety of events to attend either to meet people or just get out of the routine. Going through this place from time to time is completely worth it.

Madly in love with this library. I am used to old buildings (from the XVIII or XIX century, and I also love them) but this modern 6 story building, by the lake in downtown Austin is my new affair.
They have a rooftop (the view!) where you can just work, read or hang out. Sharing "learning spaces" (basically small offices, some with computers, others not where you can work). Take up to 50 books at the time (yes, it's not a typo). I dare you to experience it yourself.

Note: I heard parking is pretty bad, I ride my bike there.

The architecture of this building and layout is a work of beauty! Only back draw is tourists tend not to be quite in the library. This is definitely a place I would love to visit again.

Amazing building and library. A must see if you are visiting the area. This is a Texas size library. There is a parking garage and there is no charge for the first 30 minutes. There are of cool spots and places for people to hand out and study or relax. It looks like they have a lot of meeting rooms that students and the like can reserve. Amazing views from just about everywhere but the best for me was the top floor outdoor patio area.

I really love looking at libraries in other cities but I was honestly not that impressed with this one. I thought the book selection was lacking and they had too many copies of the same book. The staff was also unprofessional and rude. The only thing this library really has going for them is that it's big and it's nice looking. But overall it's not anything special.

I like visiting libraries in big cities. This is by far the nicest modern construction I ve seen. Super impressive.

Visited APL as a tourist so I cannot review the staff but the facilities look amazing with something to offer any age or interest. There are fiction books, non-fiction books, graphic novels, children's section, teen's section, computers/printing, technology petting zoo, and so much more!

Check the Austin Public Central Library website for schedulealso included in photos.

This library is truly an architectural wonder. When you walk inside, you just get a happy sense of openness and easy discovery. There are fun and interesting places to sit everywhere, meeting rooms for public events, art everywhere, and a million features that feel like a new brand of library, like the ability to check out laptops for use, or try out new technology on display.

It's always in use!!!

This is the most beautiful library I have ever seen. The rooftop has the best free view of Austin in the whole city.

The coolest library I have ever been to. They have a huge selection of books, movies, music, graphic novels, and even board games to play. There are a large number of computers available le to use, even laptops that can be checked out. The patio garden is a great place to read a book with fantastic views of Austin. There are also rooms available to check out for meetings.

New favorite weekend spot to hangout and get work done. They have a great selection of cook books. I ve saved so much money coming here to work instead of a coffee shop and borrowing books rather than buying on Amazon. I m more than happy for my tax dollars to go to this place.

A municipal masterpiece. The nicest library I have ever seen, and right in the heart of downtown. Truly a downtown destination for residents and visitors. I love it.

Library perks: Check-out books and eBooks, read magazines, listen to music, plenty of meeting rooms bookable to groups, and space to lounge & read/study/do homework. Kids and teens can play with tech devices, puzzles, and video games. There are indoor and outdoor reading spaces, including a beautiful garden on the rooftop.

Cafe will open about March- will have recipe-cooked dishes, wine, and beer.

You can borrow a laptop (Chromebooks and Macbooks) for 2-hours as often as you like, and install any apps you want. Library staff told me the checkout kiosk will wipe the laptop and load a fresh image for the next person, so your app store login will stay secure. Be sure to return laptops within 2 hours to avoid a strict late-fee.

great place, unfortunately you hear sreaming kids throughout the entire building.

I personally really the like Austin library. I guess it can technically still be considered new since it hasnt been around for too long but its a really nice place that definitely looks like it took its budget and ran with it. The parking garage is convenient, especially since I am bad at street parking and hate looking for it. The place was huge and honestly very beautiful. I held a meeting here before and it was great. Also, they have such a large selection for everyone! I am an anime fan so I was super excited to see that they have a pretty well-stocked anime and manga section. The seating and multiple outlets also make it a great place to study. It was pretty quiet when I went and everyone was minding their own business so I never really felt like I was going to get distracted by outside factors while there. I never interacted with their staff so I can't really comment about that, but they had computers all around to help with looking up books so I never really had to talk with a staff member. The only thing would probably be if you are checking out a book, but the place is so cozy the I recommend just sitting down there with a good book and really just cranking it out then.

One of the most wonderful things to check out in Austin - check out this wonderful building, then head up to the rooftop to hang out in an amazing garden with a fabulous view.

Our new favorite library. You can seriously see your tax dollars at work here. Proud to be an Austinite

Stunning institution! The fact that there are maps at the entrance should tell you how expansive this library is. The architecture and design are thoughtfully executed. There are tons of communal seating options from quiet nooks for reading or studying to large tables for playing board games or chatting with friends. Towering six floors tall, be sure to check out the beautiful roof garden that overlooks the cityscape and Colorado River. There's also a coffee shop and cafe on the premises. One could easily camp out at this library for hours on end. A public space definitely worth a visit. Well done, Austin!

This library is pretty modern and spacious. I recommend going to the rooftop for view if you have time

I wish I lived closer to this library! I live in Minnesota and ours is so boring compared to this!! It is such a peaceful place.

Amazing place for children and adults. My kids and I can spend hours in the kids section especially the outdoor patio area. Makes Austin an even better city!

Views are breathtaking, however, for a brand new facility, I expected better attention to the details.

They have 3 elevators, one of which is a separately operated staff one that's nonetheless open to the public. The problem is that it has separate buttons to operate on each floor, so, anyone who knows their way around calls both the right two and the left elevator to see which comes fastest. This obviously results in a lot of phantom stops once you do get onto one.

Bathrooms they have doors with mechanical locking handles. Who does that? They also don't have any paper towels (or any accessible or unisex bathrooms), so you can't get out without getting your hands dirty after having to turn the door handle to open the door.

I am also honestly surprised by the doors for the balcony they're supposedly handicapped accessible, but it says push to operate. You basically have to have quite a bit of muscular strength to operate those doors it's just ridiculous! Why not a proper button or sensor that anyone would be capable of using?

Study rooms they call them shared learning, and the smallest one is for 4 people. They don't restrict minimum group size, which is helpful, but it's still disappointing to see that they don't have a plethora of smaller rooms where phone interviews could be conducted. They limit reservations to max 2h, max 1 a day, and max 5 a month, which limits the ability to use these rooms for phone interviews how can you possibly find a job with only one 2h slot for interviews each week on average?! At least the shared learning rooms do have reasonable sound isolation unlike some other libraries.

One nice thing is they do have the patrol enforcing the rules they tell folks not to nap, not to have food, not to put shoes off etc.

Amazing in every way. I thought I could run up all the steps. I was wrong. Someone help me train!!!

So incredible. Even if you don t go for the library, go for the architecture and amenities.

Of all of the libraries we have loved, we love this one the most. The librarians are friendly, helpful and enthusiastic, especially in encouraging young readers in the children and teen sections. The adult collections are impressive and the nonfiction area takes up an entire floor. The most delightful surprise, however, is the beautiful rooftop garden where you can read, eat and put your feet up all while taking in the gorgeous views of the city. It s pretty amazing.

Literally the best library ever. Tons of books. Tons of computers. Tons of chairs and tables. Tons of space to just read, browse the web, or just do anything.

Austin s New Main Library is a marvel of engineering and represents the Library of the future. A winner of multiple nationals and international design awards, this City facility is built to serve the citizens of Austin for the next 100-years. Plan plenty of time for your visit, there is a lot to see! Fun for every age. Ride up to the front door right off the hike and bike trail. Enjoy this jewel of literacy, architecture, and a gathering place for the community.

Placed down by the river bank lays Austin Central Library. Great place to hang out.

Absolutely amazing library. An inspiration among libraries and a destination in Austin.

Amazing and beautiful building! The outdoor terrace on the last floor is beautiful with amazing views.

Love the details this uniquely designed work of art is. This is my favorite library that I ve ever been to. Been there several times, and, staff was helpful and very pleasant. Agreed, parking is a bear & I def wouldn t trust my teen driver to make the sharp exit turn! So, I just park a street or two away and walk. I m thinking of riding public transportation so I don t have to pay to park:)

I love the new library! The cafe was unfortunately understaffed. I stood at the counter for 10 minutes. No service. They were too busy at the to go window. I look forward to dining there sometime. The menu looked good.

The New Central Library is an amazing place. It's more than a library, with access to the latest technology, exhibits, huge kids area, outdoor seating, and private meetings rooms that can be reserved. A fantastic place to relax and enjoy a good read or get some work done.
The architectural work is beautiful inside and out.

A fantastic addition to our library system! I was stunned by how pretty the building was both inside and out! I'm very glad to see public libraries transitioning from simple libraries to these fantastic mixed use spaces. The government could have sold off this land for a small fortune for more condos or office buildings, but instead they put the time and effort into such a wonderful project.

This is the library that the residences of the surrounding condos and apartments are waiting for. The Austin Central Public Library in Cesar Chavez is modern and full of upgraded amenities. Parking can be a hassle though as the spots got filled so quickly.

Gorgeous building, lots of amenities for visitors and locals

I am tired of trying to beat the timer and parking meter. Today the lazy man with a beard spent time deflecting as i was trying to pay upstairs and give myself 15 minutes to go downstairs and not rush out. Rather than help or admit he didn't know he deflected and was trying to send me downstairs to the parking garage to pay. The very thing i was trying to avoid. Thanks for nothing lazy skinny beard man. Not coming back ever. Kudos to the young man who stepped in and helped me. By then it was a minute too late. Can someone educate this lazy servant of knowledge.....with some knowledge?.

This is truly a fantastic Library and worth visiting. I plan on going back the next chance I get to look around and use some of the offerings.

Beautiful outdoor spaces to work or host events. Great collections

What a beautiful library. Highly recommend it. Great place to do some work as well.

Stairs and hardwood floor make too much noise- way TOO LOUD! Whoever built the stairs and floor needs to return the money back to the city or fix the noise asap. Other than that, the library is nice/modern and i like the rooftop.