Brittany Kelley
KYLE — Residents may have the opportunity to receive what they have been asking for — an upgraded library, with a satellite location on the eastside — with Kyle’s Library Master Plan.
The initial presentation was given to Kyle City Council at its Feb. 17 meeting, prior to a final vote, which will occur later in the spring.
“We’re excited to share with you the results of a years-long work with the community, with library staff [and] with the city staff to come up with a master plan,” said Maureen Arndt, principal for 720 Designs.
The process for the design had first begun with a kickoff meeting with library and city staff about the goals for the project. The result was a roadmap for the future of library services for Kyle that was community driven, data rich and innovative. City leadership also stated that the library is “critically undersized [and] that geography and equity of access are a major issue.”
After this, the current facility was evaluated, discovery tours were conducted at the Cedar Park and Round Rock public libraries and community members were asked to weigh in on what was important to them.
There was an in-person open house in May 2025, where 128 participants placed tickets in their top amenity wants and 628 participated online, including 20 Spanish-language responses. Of these responses, 74% were library users and 26% are nonusers, which provided insight to barriers to participation, said Arndt.
With these responses was feedback as to why an individual may not use the library. The biggest reason was that the children’s area is too small. The presentation stated that families instead often traveled to Buda or San Marcos to use their libraries for children’s areas.
“What do they want? A separate, more spacious children’s zone, interactive play, [science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics] elements, more program rooms and indoor and outdoor spaces,” said Arndt. “As children take over all the space in the existing library, quiet spaces and study spaces have become more important.”
Additional comments stated that there are frustrations with crowding, low collection depth, unclear communication and a need for more diverse programming. Other high priorities were early literacy learning, story/arts and crafts, teaching/learning kitchen, community gathering and a music garden.
While creating the plan, the library has already begun implementing changes, such as cultivating its physical collection to include more items community members want, expanding its digital collection and installing new computers.
The presentation shared several recommendations with different timelines:
12 months
• Prepare for new integrated library system implementation
• Explore book lockers and vending machines or a hub on the east side of Kyle
• Complete the concept design of the master plan
• Research funding sources
• Research potential sites for new buildings
1-3 years
• Select option for expanding library services
• Identify and finalize funding
• 12-16 months for the design process for a new building
• 12-20 months for bidding and construction
“[In] the very first option, we wanted to explore the potential for the existing site. So, we did a new layout. Understand that we can expand the existing building by a little over 16,000 [square] feet and still have enough parking to support a building of that size,” said Arndt, for approximately $21 million. “We would recommend, at the same time, doing about a 10,000 square foot storefront [on the east side], so there is a presence over there.”
Option two is to be a library system that has multiple branches throughout the city. Potential site locations included the new City Pointe Development off of FM 150, Kyle Vista Park, Lake Kyle Park and more. The estimated cost is $62.5 million.
Another option is build a new, centrally-located library, as well as a branch on the east side for a price range of $130 to $160 million, depending on the size of the facility.
Finally, the fourth option is the one that community members asked for, said Arndt and is one large full-service library for a projected population of 200,000. This would be approximately $110 to $130 million, with the final total, again, subject to square footage.
During discussion, council members Lauralee Harris and Michael Tobias shared their ideal locations, as Harris stated that the Word Place development offered to use their land for a branch and Tobias noting that he was always interested in bringing a location to Kyle Vista Park, due to its centrality on the east side.
“I just want to make sure that the methodology that we’re using to determine sites takes a variety of things into consideration. So, for example, I just want to ensure that we’re not unintentionally reinforcing geographic inequities and that future library access aligns with where families actually live today and where growth is projected,” said council member Claudia Zapata. “I know that we’re planning out for 200,000 [people], but, in the presentation, we weren’t given any maps showcasing where that projected growth is actually planned to happen. So, I would appreciate us getting that information.”
She also stated that creating libraries could affect land values — market drive displacement — therefore, she would like to have a map that shows the property value impact around each proposed location.
Continuing on the growth conversation was Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale by asking whether the library could expand vertically, since there are limitations to expanding the footprint.
In response, Arndt stated that, yes, this is a possibility, but it would be a challenge to fit the minimum code ordinance parking.
Harris did comment on the kids area, stating that it needs to be structured in a way that doesn’t allow parents to bring children in as a daycare, but actual learning. This suggestion is because there was another library, she recalled, that librarians were not pleased with, since kids were running around and climbing on things.
Council member Courtney Goza asked where the funding for these would come from.
“[That’s] coming to a Saturday near you, or multiple Saturdays near you,” said city manager Bryan Langley, jokingly referring to upcoming budget meetings. “But, it’s not budgeted. This would be a new capital project and we would have to look at this in context of the overall capital plan to see what it’s all about.”
Langley stated that this item was simply a presentation and that the final Library Master Plan will come back for approval in March or April.
