About Us
With great ceremonial fanfare, the Hampton Branch of the Austin Public Library opened its doors to the communities of Southwest Austin on April 26, 1997.
The branch was named in honor of Austin civic leader Will Hampton, who died on September 24, 1996. Built with Capital Improvement Project funds approved by voters in the 1992 bond election, the 8,400 square-foot facility was designed with the potential to expand to 15,000 square feet as demands grew. A colorful relief painting of water birds in flight currently surrounds a large round window in the branch lobby. The painting, created by artist David Everett as part of the City's Art and Public Places program, is set against a pitched ceiling of skylights to give the lobby an atrium quality.
Today, the Hampton Branch is one of the busiest branches in the Austin Public Library system with an average monthly circulation of 30,000 items. The branch also sponsors about twenty programs for children each month, and its two public meeting rooms continue to be well used by community groups of all kinds. In addition to its growing book collection, the Hampton Branch at Oak Hill maintains a nice selection of books on tape, CDs, CD-ROMs, and a variety of foreign language materials. It is a modern, thriving, people-oriented, facility with a large neighborhood following...and a good old "neighborly feeling."
