catalog | locations | reference | youth | news | links

PAST NEWS ARCHIVE
July 17, 2001
Contact: Patricia Fraga, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442

Little Walnut Creek Branch to Close on August 5 for Relabeling

The Little Walnut Creek Branch of the Austin Public Library located in Northeast Austin, 835 West Rundberg Lane, will close on Sunday, August 5, to complete their barcode relabeling project. The reopening date is Sunday, August 12, 2001. APL branch libraries have closed at various times throughout the year to do relabeling.

Relabeling will allow customers to use self-checkout stations-currently the Austin Public Library has one self-checkout machine at the Will Hampton Branch at Oak Hill. The Library Foundation and Library are looking for possible grants or donors so other library locations will be equipped with this new technology. Self-checkout machines provide an easy and convenient way for customers to check out items from the library.

Additionally, the new labels will allow the Library to use new scanning technology. This will allow the Library to efficiently and effectively track and inventory the entire collection of the APL system. At Little Walnut Creek Branch the closing will allow them to complete this timely project-with over 30,000 items to relabel. Once completed, the Library will have an easy way to inventory and track books, videos, tapes, and CDs/CD-ROMs.

If you have items that need to be returned during this timeframe, they may be returned to any Austin Public Library location. Please call (512) 836-8975 with questions regarding the labeling project.

About Little Walnut Creek
One of the 19 branch libraries of the Austin Public Library, Little Walnut Creek is one of the larger branches in the North Austin area. First opened in 1979, it now is a very busy branch serving a diverse cultural clientele. Little Walnut is open seven days a week and averages 16,000 customers a month; circulates 14,000 individual items per month; signs up over 2,400 users of the Internet computer stations, and issues over 350 library cards to new users of the Library. The meeting room is occupied and in use most of the branch's operating hours.

The branch has a unique collection of Vietnamese books and videos for its many Vietnamese customers. This year the branch received a $10,000 grant from the North Austin Civic Association to build its English as a Second Language collection. This collection will be in addition to the New Immigrants Center, a Library service that provides tools to learn English. The Center has Internet computer stations, TV/VCR, CDs, and audiocassettes to work from.

In 1999 Little Walnut received a grant from the Austin Community Foundation to open a computer-training center and offer free introductory computer classes to the community. The center operates with volunteer tutors and offers 15 computer classes per month to the public. Instruction is offered to seniors, Spanish- and Vietnamese-speaking audiences, and the instruction ranges from learning computer basics to Web design.

Visit our Web site at http://www.cityofaustin.org/library/ for additional information about APL services.

###