Community Library

Rural East Texas

Books are “the precious treasures of knowledge and imagination”, a quotation attributed to Andrew Carnegie, immigrant, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who funded the construction of over 2,500 free public libraries across the world. Carnegie considered libraries to be community-based, “ladders upon which the aspiring will climb”.

As public libraries continue to evolve and adapt to remain vital, their foundations remain constant – storehouses of knowledge and hubs for community. It is our smaller, rural communities that these libraries are most critical, offering knowledge of the world beyond, ‘ladders for the aspiring’.

Designed for a small, unincorporated rural community in East Texas, Upchurch Architects worked with community leaders to design a new public library fitting their needs and reflecting their heritage. Accordingly, the building design is inspired by the traditional timber construction historically common to this area of East Texas, including a welcoming front porch.

The covered porch runs along the length of the simple trapezoidal volume, wrapping around the thinner end of the building at the highway-facing south end. This solution provides a highly visible and welcoming presence along the farm-to- market road. The porch also creates a shaded deck that can be used for performances, library events, and supports community gatherings. 

Abundant glass under the porch roof passes natural light to the interior book stacks and reading spaces placed at the front, allowing the building’s function to be clearly visible to drivers along the road. At night, the library will glow like a lantern when lit up. Administrative offices and other back-of-house functions are tucked into the north end of the building with sight lines to the parking lot.

The library is designed to provide valuable community services, including meeting space, access to computers and the internet, a place for young people to gather and study, and a home for artifacts of local heritage. Sited close to the existing community center, the library allows site area for a future replacement community center building which can connect to the library directly, via a porch, or other walkway.