About the Manchaca Road Branch
The Manchaca Road Branch was originally built in 1974-not as a neighborhood branch, but as a city-owned regional branch for South Austin and Southwest Travis County.
Initial funding for the branch was provided through a 1960 city bond election that approved $350,000 for the Library. These funds were then earmarked in the City's Capital Improvements Program for the purchase of land for a regional branch in South Austin. In 1963, the site at Manchaca Road and Stassney Lane was purchased, and although construction didn't begin until 1973, once underway, the Manchaca Road Branch was completed in only a year. Opening ceremonies for the branch were held on September 5, 1974.
The branch's "regional identity" was eventually dropped in the late 1980s as the Austin Public Library moved towards equalizing services among all branches. Since then, the branch has expanded and deepened its role within the South Austin community through its programs for youth, its educational courses for adults, and its ever-growing public access computer services.
Today, although the size of the branch has remained the same, the population of the branch's service area has grown from around 35,000 residents in 1974 to over 45,000 today. Likewise, the branch's collections have grown from around 45,000 volumes in 1974 to over 80,000 volumes today.
