DEVELOPMENT New Lake Travis Community Library headed to Spicewood in 2023
DEMAND THE BOOK MOBILE
FEATURES OF THE LIBRARY
The Lake Travis Community Library’s new West location in Spicewood will mirror the district’s Lakeway location in services and amenities o ered. Here is a look at the features that will be available when the library opens later late 2023:
BY TAYLOR CRIPE
a press release issued by the library district. “Much like our bustling Lakeway location, we plan to o er a variety of programs, like our popular one- on-one tech coaching; vibrant live music; exercise classes, such as yoga; [and] social and interactive games, such as chess,” she said. There will also be a notary public and proctor, printing services, tech- nology assistance and interlibrary loans, a service that allows guests to access books not available in the library’s collection. Alongside the main building, there is a 2,400-square-foot building behind the old pizzeria that McMil- lian said the library district would like to make available for community meetings. McMillian said library district o - cials knew they wanted something accessible o Hwy. 71 because they recognized driving into Lakeway to get to the Lake Travis Library is not easy for residents who live farther
Lake Travis Community Library West will open within the year to serve neighborhoods in far western Travis County. Located at the site of the former Spicewood restaurant Pizzeria Casa Nostra at 21209 Hwy. 71, Spicewood, the full-scale library will provide access to materials such as books, audio-books, DVDs, Chromebooks and mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. “We’ve been thinking about doing this for years,” Library Director Morgan McMillian said. “There’s so much growth out here on Hwy. 71, and that’s in our library district.” In addition to traditional materials, the library will also host story times, book clubs, educational lectures and classes, she said. The library district serves the Bee Cave, Lakeway and Spicewood areas. While there is an existing library in Lakeway, the new facility will provide library access for areas farther west such as Rough Hollow and Sweetwater, according to
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One of the reasons the Lake Travis Library District knew it needed a second location was because of the popularity of its mobile library.
N
Chromebook checkouts
WiFi hotspot checkouts
Public computers
Printing services
Audiobooks
DVDs
visitors to the book mobile
60,000
items checked out at the library, including books, audiobooks and movies new library accounts opened at the book mobile
Live music events
One-on-one tech coaching
Yoga classes
Game tournaments
Notary public and proctor
Various clubs
The new Spicewood library will be located in the former Pizzeria Casa Nostra, which closed in 2022.
1,600
SOURCE: LAKE TRAVIS COMMUNITY LIBRARY COMMUNITY IMPACT
TAYLOR CRIPE COMMUNITY IMPACT
out in Spicewood. The opportunity arose when Pizzeria Casa Nostra decided to sell its 5,000-square-foot building at the end of the year, she said. “The location was great. The size was great. We can just about a ord it,” McMillian said. The cost of the new library is uncertain at this time, and McMillian
Lohmans Crossing Road, Lakeway. The library opened in 1985 and was originally part of the Lake Travis High School. In 2004, a library district was created by the voters to give the library sales tax revenue; the 11,000-square-foot Lake Travis library was built in 2013, she said. One signal of rising demand in the area was the success of the
“We are eager to expand our services to the western part of our library district,” she said. “Children and families will now have the opportunity to regularly visit a library close to home. Our hope is that the library’s enriching environ- ment will encourage our youngest generation to become lifelong learners and readers.”
anticipates having to do some fund- ing for the new library, as the library district had to raise $1 million for the Lake Travis Community Library in Lakeway when it was constructed. The community has been very sup- portive, so she anticipates funding being successful, she said. The Lake Travis Community Library has one location at 1938
book mobile, a mobile Lake Travis Community Library o ering books, audiobooks, movies and TV shows for children and adults. The mobile library will still be in service after the new library is built. The book mobile is very popular with preschoolers, and the district still has about 102 miles they will need the mobile library to help cover, she said.
95,000
items available for checkout
3,300+
SOURCE: LAKE TRAVIS COMMUNITY LIBRARY COMMUNITY IMPACT
BEE CAVE 13015 Shops Pkwy (512) 263-9981
BRODIE LANE 4970 Hwy 290 W (512) 366-8260
NORTH 620 10601 N FM 620 (512) 506-8316
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