Allen's public library temporarily closing for major renovations
ALLEN — Just in time for back to school, the City of Allen's only library is closing, but only temporarily. It's moving to a new short-term home for the next year to make way for major improvements.
The city is one of the few North Texas towns that only has one public library, and now the city is planning on renovating and expanding the library, after facing pressure from a growing population over the last few years.
All four generations of the Walwyn family said they have used the library for decades and are happy to see the city staple flourish.
"We go to all the libraries and all the different counties, but this one just has a wide array of things to do and entertain and stay connected," said Azalia Walwyn.
Her daughter, Iriyel, and grandson now attend the library and enjoy all it has to offer.
"Especially for kids, you don't want to put them in front of his screen all the time, and the library is a perfect place to do that," Iriyel Walwyn said.
Over two decades, the Allen Library hosted nearly 8 million visitors, and that trend is only going up as Collin County's population expands. Allen alone has nearly doubled in size since this library was built, so a year from now, this whole facility is getting a major facelift to cater to its new community.
"Allen was 15,000 people and now we're almost at 120,000 people so we've kind of run out of space," said Claudia Wayland, Allen Library's assistant director. "Libraries are now community centers. They're now a living room, where people come to be in person to hang out, connecting with your neighbors."
The city is adding 19,000 square feet of space to the library.
The project was passed by voters in a 2016 bond and will include more seating and program space, a new children's program room, as well as a drive-up book return area.
The existing library facility closed on Thursday, Aug 1. In the meantime, staff and services will operate at 800 E. Main Street starting in September.