Little Walnut Creek Branch – Austin Public Library

Not the best place. There seemed to be a few homeless people in there, which gave the aroma of stale beer breath. Other wise helpful staff.

This is actually the ‘closest’ location for me. The branch staff is really friendly – much more so than the downtown central facility.
And if you need to pop in for computer research, it’s possible to get 60 minutes! Important since everything (including the catalogs) are online now.
I wish there were self-​check out stations, the library does have electronic gates to prevent theft. And when you visit this building for the very first time, trying to figure out how to get inside can be confusing. It should be easy to enter a public building.

Minus one star for being located in an awkward spot whose parking lot is located such that you have to drive further west until you can make a U-​turn on Rundberg. It’s located in a lively part of town where a library is probably well-​used.
The library is an older-​style library – nothing like the eco-​friendly North Village Branch. However, this library is very functional. Space is efficiently used with tables and shelves, unlike the open areas of the North Village Branch. The staff is friendly. The parking lot is big and there are always plenty of parking spaces when I go (unlike the North Village Branch).

I find it really hard to dislike a library. I come here mostly to study away from the distractions at home. This particular branch is LOUD. Really, REALLY LOUD. They try and do their part to keep the phone talkers to a minimum but it just doesn’t seem to do much of anything. I find it difficult to get anything done.
This is a very small branch, which hasn’t been updated in a while and that has everything to do with the City of Austin and funding. The librarians do a good job of keeping the library nice and clean and the stacks are never too unorganized. There isn’t a large selection when it comes to materials but thankfully, you can request items.
I find myself coming back to this branch at least once a week simply because I live in walking distance and its convenient. It’s not my first choice, but a library is a library.

Woefully underfunded I’m sure, but still a great resource. APL has some great services in general, with book holding, online renewals, and e-​books. This location is in a dicey area and could probably use some updates, but it is fully functional and the librarians are friendly and helpful.
Plus, to be perfectly honest, using the library makes me feel super hip and a little bit better than non-​library users. I try to find casual ways to bring it up in conversation when I want to feel superior to others.

This is my home away from home. People always seem to forget the awesome deal that is the public library. I actually log in at home and pick the books I want to read and place them on hold. They then email me when the books are ready and I come in to check them out. Saves a ton of time!
The staff here are always friendly and helpful despite the stresses of dealing with a wide variety of people, including homeless folks. I’ve had some great conversations with them while they checked me out and it keeps me coming back every time.
One thing people may not know that I learned last time I went to the library was that the public libraries do not receive the money from fines. Instead this money goes into a general fund that the police get first dibs on. Personally, I am disappointed by this as I always felt good paying fines knowing it went back to the library. So, now I tell everyone because I don’t think people know this and they should.

While I have not used the services at this library, I feel compelled to just give it as much love as possible because they house the AISD Victory program. The Victory program provides free tutoring to kids in grades 1 – 12 from the Austin Independent School District… and I just love it. There are so many students that don’t learn in the environment we have developed in our school systems — and what better way to help those students than by providing some one-​on-​one learning/​fun?
I feel so lucky to be able to help out. The program has great volunteers (at least the ones that I have met), and the learning aids are great too. We have various materials, and then they even provide laptops. I’m a computer person, and so it was fun to help my student with his math by playing some computer games with him. The volunteer organizer is very friendly and helpful… and of all the places that I have volunteered, I feel like this is the most relaxed and enjoyable. If you feel like you need to give back… this is just a great way to do it. I think that giving one hour of your time, once a week just isn’t that much to ask.
Now, back to the library… it’s always busy, has computers available, and there seems to be a large selection of books (at least larger than the branch near my house). The staff always smiles at me when I walk in too. Yay to the Little Walnut Creek library!

Did you know that wherever you are in Austin, you are never far from one of its public libary branches? I love this!
I was in the area today and sure enough, there was the Little Walnut Creek branch, shining like the proverbial beacon in the night. I found parking easily in its ample parking lot and walked inside into a well-​lit, welcoming space.
I spent awhile in the youth section and encountered Celia, the section librarian there. She is fabulous, simply worth her weight in gold. She knows her section inside out and can answer all your questions. I asked her which shelved books were new and she knew exactly. She bent over backwards to help in other ways — I saw her lead two little girls to a table for an impromptu story session because «let’s give mom a break».
When is this branch going to have a self-​check out console? It’s a great way to avoid the lines. Using it has saved me much time at other branches, so I’ve totally embraced this technology.