Austin PL Gets Endowment

$20 million expected to help fund operating costs

By Lynn Blumenstein -- Library Journal, 6/1/2007

The Austin, TX, city council has approved a resolution that enables almost $9.9 million from the sale of city property to be used toward operating costs for the new central library, scheduled for completion in 2012. Last November, Austin voters okayed $90 million to build a 250,000 square foot library.

Operational costs are expected to increase by $1 million a year. The Austin Public Library Foundation (APLF) will establish a special fund from the proceeds of the sale of a downtown city block. The total amount will be approximately $20 million, which includes the land sale, $5 million raised by the foundation, and $5 million anticipated from interest, according to APLF executive director Mary Beth Harrington.

The APLF got the idea for an operational endowment after Austin city leaders and library advocates visited the new Seattle Public Library in 2005. There they learned about the increased costs of running a larger facility.