Fort Worth’s temporary downtown library location will be housed in a familiar space — the current City Hall, at 200 Texas St.
The Fort Worth Public Library announced the interim location this week after the City Council voted to add $17 million in revenue from the sale of the former downtown location to the city’s general fund.
The library expects to open the interim location this spring, depending on staff relocations and minor renovations. The library will occupy the building after most city staff move to the former Pier 1 Imports headquarters. Staff began moving to the new City Hall this month. Renovations to the former headquarters will continue while all city staff move in by the end of 2024.
The city announced in June it was considering two new uses for the current City Hall — a base of operations for the police department’s central patrol and a new library for downtown residents, according to previous reporting.
The interim location will be used until a more permanent location becomes available, said Theresa Davis, a library spokesperson. The location will have 800 items available to check out, Wi-Fi, a catalog computer and a self-checkout station. The city’s downtown library location permanently closed in June.
The space will not include public computers or a lounge area.
“This interim library will be open to the public like all library locations, and our standard rules of behavior will be in place,” Davis said.
The City Council also recently approved an agreement to lease space for a library in a strip mall at 9336 Clifford St., in far west Fort Worth. Some of the proceeds from the sale of the former Central Library will be used to fund improvements at the new location, according to a city news release.
Rachel Behrndt is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at rachel.behrndt@fortworthreport.org or via X.
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