Public libraries have made a resurgence in the past decade, with cities like Vancouver, Wash., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Billings, Mon, Lawrence, Kans., and Minneapolis, Minn. building new libraries to inspire learning and to encourage creativity in each respective city.

Austin, like many other cities, has realized the importance of learning. The Austin Public Library’s new Central Library was opened on Saturday, October 28 in promotion of academic excelling and creativitiy of all ages.

“I was in awe at how big the library and how sleek it was,” junior Emily Breach said. “Most of the libraries in Austin are older and don’t have good book selections.”

Austin residents voted to pass a $90 million bond in 2006 towards the construction of a new central library. By 2010, the design for the library changed and as a result the Austin City Council approved an additional $30 million towards the the construction of the library and later the council again approved an additional $5 million. The library finally opened in October 2017.

“Libraries are great equalizers,” Persyn said. “Libraries bridge the divide of people who do and people who don’t have access to ideas and resources.”

The new central library is a six story 198,000 square foot building and serves as the center of Austin Public Library’s operations. The library has capacity for up to 600 thousand books and is arranged into specific sections based on book selection and intended audience, this way the library is able to accommodate a wide variety of people.

“I really like the abundance of study spaces, they have a nice rooftop garden study space,” Breach said.

With twelve shared study spaces that can be reserved, groups are able to collaborate in a private room that encourages productivity. The rooms accommodate up to eight people featuring a television that can connect devices to as well as a whiteboard and video calling through google hangouts to help connect to others who can’t be there in person.

“The atmosphere is calming,” sophomore Lily Lee said. “At the same time it is exciting and upbeat.”

In additon, 37-foot-tall sculpture that resembles a cuckoo clock, with a swinging pendulum is part of the library now, too, which can be viewed from about every floor.

“The clock was cool,” Breach said. “It is a statement piece, I’ve never seen anything like that at a library.”

People can choose whether they want to work in a dynamic environment or in a quiet environment while being able to find books by age group.

“My favorite part of the library was how the books were separated by age group, it made it easy to find a book,” Lee said. “I liked how each section accommodated to the intended reader.”

The children’s section on the third floor is tailored to children, with shelves at the right height, seating accommodative of children and parents, and interactive toys and even high-end gadgets just within reach to attract the bright minds of little ones.

“I think the library is an investment in the community and in our citizens.” librarian Steffanie Persyn said. “An informed and educated populace is needed in a democracy.”

Austin Public library is endorsing technology for the 21st century with a petting zoo to introduce people to technology otherwise mostly unattainable by the average person. The technology petting zoo has the likes of virtual reality headsets, 3D printers and other high tech gadgets.

“There was so much cool technology that I wanted to try,” Lee said. “I was impressed with the 3D printer and the virtual reality headsets.”

Some updates Persyn wants to do includes updating the technology, introduce natural light, collaborative workspaces, individual spaces, and dynamic spaces. The Bowie library itself is an evolving space and Persyn wants to make it better suit the 21st century students of Bowie.

“The Bowie library has lots of potential, I want to help people view it as a living breathing creative space,” Persyn said. “I want to implement some changes inspired by the new Central Library.”