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About Us
The library has always been of great importance in Seguin. The first Seguin Library was located at the Municipal Building on North Camp. In 1930, during the Depression, Mayor Max Starcke gave permission to place a bookcase "in a city office for a lending library." The bookcase was a second-hand china cabinet with glass doors. The bookcase contained books from the Texas State Library for a "traveling library" that supplemented the gift of books that had been collected from townspeople.
The traveling library was loaned for a period of 2 or 3 weeks and consisted of approximately 25 books. At the end of the loan period, the books were boxed and shipped back to Austin, and another shipment of 25 books were sent to Seguin. After a few months, the china closet was disposed of and shelves were built to house the many books that were contributed. Mayor Max Starcke suggested that the City's "office force act as librarians."
Later on, when the new Municipal Building was being built a request was made that a room be set aside for the library. The facilities for the community's first library were as humble as the founding of Seguin. "The room was a 14 1/2 feet by 21-foot room in the Municipal building." Through funds available by the WPA, Mrs. Agnes Koch was employed as Librarian. Mrs. Koch was employed as a part-time employee who kept the library open from 1 pm to 5 pm, Monday through Friday, and 9 am to noon on Saturdays. In 1954, the collection consisted of 3,079 volumes. At least 98% of the collection had been donated by individuals and women's study clubs.
The Library at Bauer Park - 707 E. College St.
On the evening of March 1, 1957, a Friends of the Library was organized. The organization would function as a catalyst to promote the interest and welfare of the library. In 1964 a contract was awarded to construct the Seguin-Guadalupe County Library on the donated Bauer land. In January 1965, there were approximately 3,500 volumes on the shelves, none of which had been cataloged.
Within 20 years, the library needed to be expanded. Construction and renovation began in the fall of 1985 and was completed in July 1986. The size of the library was increased to 15,000 square feet. The library was open Monday thru Friday 9 am to 9 pm and Saturday 9 am to 5 pm. The library owned 52,964 items before the move to the new library in 2016.
Source: "The Friends of the Seguin-Guadalupe County Public Library: History and Analysis, 1954-66 by Iris P. Jeffress.
The Library today at Walnut Creek - 313 W. Nolte St.
On November 5, 2013, Seguin voter's approved Proposition Number 1 of the City of Seguin Bond Elections. The proposition called for $14.8 million in bonds to cover estimated costs for property, construction, collection materials, furniture and signage, technology and computers for a new library. The groundbreaking ceremony was on April 23, 2015. The new library opened on September 8, 2016.
The Seguin Public Library is a 43,000 square feet, two-story state-of-the-art facility, housed on West Nolte Street along Walnut Creek and the city's hike and bike trail. The library was voter-approved for a $14.8 million bond by election in 2013. 720 Design and PGAL created the floorplan with Byrne Construction Services leading the project.