McAllen Public Library, or MPL, is the

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

system serving McAllen, Texas, United States.

Overview

McAllen Public Library (MPL) serves the community of McAllen and the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

through three branch libraries. The library system's collection includes audiobooks on CD, Blu-Rays, books, DVDs, eBooks, eMagazines, music CDs, and magazine and newspaper subscriptions. With a valid McAllen Public Library card, or a valid card from any participating library in the Hidalgo County Library System, patrons may borrow and request items. Other services provided by MPL include Ask a Librarian, interlibrary loan, obituary requests, services for patrons with disabilities, study rooms, test proctoring, and tours. In 2014, McAllen Public Library launched its eBranch.McAllen Public Library's eBranch
Retrieved February 16, 2015 The eBranch is a collection of free digital resources, some requiring a valid MPL card, categorized into the following topics: eBooks, Audiobooks, Newsstand, Research, eLearning, College & Career, and en Español. The Library Board holds meetings that are open to the public and makes recommendations to the City Commission concerning operating policy of McAllen Public Library and long-range capital improvement planning.

History

McAllen Public Library's beginnings can be traced back to 1932, when the McAllen Study Club opened a one-room library at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. The new library was open on Saturdays and the first librarian was Miss Elinor Hambrick. In 1934, the library relocated to First Baptist Church before being relocated again in 1936 to the basement of the Archer Park Bandstand. In 1944, the library was granted municipal status and embarked on a fund drive for a new building. In 1949, construction begins after the site at the corner of Main Street and Fir Street are chosen for a new building. On May 28, 1950, the McAllen Memorial Library opened for business and was dedicated as a memorial to McAllen residents who died in World War II. Mrs. Ruth Abbott became the first librarian at McAllen Memorial Library. Additions were made to the structure in 1957 and included an auditorium, youth room, and a periodical room. Expansion continued in 1967 with a new wing that included the circulation desk and a second floor

mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian language, Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft ...

. By 1976, complete second and third floors had been added to the north side of the building. McAllen citizens elected to implement a half-cent sales tax for economic development in May 1997, which led to the construction of two new library branches. During the fall of 1999, construction began on the two branch libraries in the north and south areas of McAllen. On January 18, 2001, the Lark Branch Library and the Palm View Branch Library opened their doors to the public. MPL celebrated its 75th anniversary on November 12, 2007 and prepared for construction of a new building at the intersection of Nolana Avenue and 23rd Street. After serving the public for 61 years, the Old Main Library (McAllen Memorial Library) closed on November 23, 2011. On December 10, 2011, the New Main Library opened.

Locations

Headquarters

Main Library exists inside a former

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big box store. Opened in December 2011, it is the largest single-floor library in the United States, occupying , or two and a half times the area of a standard US football playing field. The design, by Meyer Scherer & Rockcastle Ltd. (MSR) of

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, won the

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(IIDA) 2012 Library Interior Design Competition. In 2013, the design also won the Honor Award for Interior Architecture, which is the highest honor for interior design awarded by the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

(AIA). The awards selection jury noted that "The interior spaces have been dramatically transformed from a warehouse to a place with a sense of intimacy." The building addresses

sustainable design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...

, including careful materials selection for optimal indoor air quality, use of

recycled materials Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

, energy and water conservation, and ease of community access. The new library has a spacious layout featuring an art gallery, 16 public meeting spaces, 14 public study rooms, a quiet reading room, 64 computers in the general computer lab, a computer lab for

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s, a children’s computer lab, and two

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

computers. The building also includes self check-out units for borrowers, an

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

, an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

, a

used bookstore Used bookstores (usually called "second-hand bookshops" in Great Britain) buy and sell used books and out-of-print books. A range of titles is available in used bookstores, including in print and out-of-print books. Book collectors tend to frequent ...

, an outdoor Dewey Decimal Learning Trail, and a

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

. The new library appears to be popular; new user registrations increased by 23 percent in the first month since its opening.

Branch libraries

In addition to the Main Library, there are two branch libraries. The Lark Branch Library is the north branch located at 2601 Lark Avenue and the Palm View Branch is the south branch located at 3401 Jordan Avenue.

Former locations

McAllen Memorial Library (Old Main Library) was located at 601 North Main Street and closed on November 23, 2011.

Partnership libraries

MPL forms part of the Hidalgo County Library System. The Hidalgo County Library System also includes the libraries from the following cities: Alamo, Donna, Edinburg, Elsa, Hidalgo, La Joya, Mercedes, Mission, Penitas, Pharr, San Juan and Weslaco.

Awards

Awards that MPL has won include: Texas Municipal Library Directors Association Award for Library Excellence 2014, 2015, and 2016, AIA Honor Award for Interior Architecture, ALA/IIDA Library Interior Design Awards for Best Overall and Best of Category (Public Libraries Over 30,000 SF), AIA Minnesota Honor Award, and the IIDA Northland Chapter FAB Award.

References

External links

McAllen Public Library Web siteMcAllen Public Library on TwitterMcAllen Public Library on FacebookMcAllen Public Library on InstagramArchDailyarticle, including floorplan and many photos
{{Authority control Public libraries in Texas McAllen, Texas Libraries in Hidalgo County, Texas Libraries participating in TexShare