Cedar Park Public Library — Attraction in Cedar Park

There's no lie, this place is beautiful. You can tell they really wanted to attract families with kids. I have 4 kids and was very excited to take the family. First if all while it has lots of cool things for kids to play INSIDE the children's book area. It is pure chaos. There were kids running everywhere, screaming and yelling because it's basically a playground inside. It is definitely not easy to get kids to focus on books when there's a huge slide inside. It's super cool, but it should he in a separate room from the books so you can take your kids to read still. They even have a water table right outside the doors so make sure not to go out the backdoor if you don't want wet children. Then there's an absolutely gorgeous outdoor playground. My understanding is that it's eventually going to be the older kids playground. I don't think that will help how unsafe it is. There's like a steep 6 foot rubber hill the kids have to go up to climb a straight ladder up into the giant wooden bird. Once inside....you can no longer see what's going on. Just a ton of kids that no one can see. If they happen to slip off the ladder they are gonna fall 8 feet into the wooden beam flowers at the bottom of the steep hill. I watched as grandparents stool at the bottom willing kids to come down bc they could get to the top of the hill. I watched toddlers screaming at the top of the hill bc they couldn't get down. At the other end of the bird they want you to go out a hole on to ropes... if your kid doesn't make it they will fall about 8 ft on top a hard rubber surface. If you are on one side of the hill it's so tall you can't see the other side. If you have little kids do not take them here. It's super busy bc of the opening. Tons of kids and adults surrounding that bird trying to safely monitor their kids. It's a breeding ground for lost kids or injured kids. There were so many announcements of lost kids over the intercom while I was there. We lasted 30 minutes before we left bc it was so chaotic. I really hope that they are willing to take a breath and maybe shut down for a bit and fix some of the issues after seeing an influx of people and what can happen. Like I said it's beautiful and I think it will be amazing, but it really needs some changes to make it safe and to breed an enjoyable experience for those trying to...

Absolutely love the new library! As a frequenter of the old library, definitely an improvement. It’s not only beautiful but so many different spaces to hang out, read, etc. and also lots of outdoor space for those things to happen when the weather is nice. I’m looking forward to all of the landscaping around it being done as I’m sure it’ll be a lovely place to spend time outside.

The kids’ area is beautiful and huge. Yes, it is loud and crowded in the play area, but I’m not sure why people have complained about there not being quiet areas to read books with kids. First of all, there is way more seating in the kids’ area than the old library. Usually we’d have one-two chairs maybe free in the old children’s area or we’d have to sit on the floor and read books. Also, it was a smaller space so even a small amount of kids playing was noisy. When I took my 2 and 4 year old last week, we just moved to the tables on the far side of the room near the nonfiction books and it was plenty quiet enough. I even saw a man working on his laptop and he didn’t seem to be bothered by the noise. Also, so many more books and I found they were way easier to view as they were more spread out. My daughter did miss the coloring pages though :).

People who complain about parking and walking—- this is just an example of being way too car-centric. Plenty of people in other countries walk more than a few feet to get to the locations they want and they do that with kids as well. The parking lots are not so far that I’m walking miles to get there— I might have to walk 4 minutes, which would be the case in most downtown areas. We’re just too used to the convenience of massive parking lots that go unused half the time. I’d much rather park farther and have beautiful walking paths and trees near the library!

Also, the playground is beautiful and while the kids have to take risks on it, I think that’s great. If it feels too difficult for my toddler then I’ll just skip it, but I don’t feel like it’s “unsafe” as some people have said. Kids need to be challenged and independent.

All in all, I’m very much looking forward to frequenting this space with and without my kiddos! I think it was fantastically designed and some people are just...

I have a long list of things I love about the Cedar Park Library. I've been going there for more than two years and I've never had a negative experience. Wall of text warning.. --Kids story times: Miss Jane is wonderful. There are a lot of kids that go and it's really loud, but she handles it well. It's interactive with movement and singing and the books that are chosen are great. --Book clubs: I've been a regular attendee of more than one book club (mostly the YA at Heart book club) and they're fantastic. The librarians running them, like Marjory and Becca, are well-informed, ask thoughtful questions about the material, and offer suggestions for other books so you leave with new to-read lists, which is awesome. --Convenient features: Self check-out is easy and gets you out fast if you need to make a quick trip. They have a drive-through option for returning books at any hour of the day so it's easy to get your books returned on time. --Staff: Every person I've spoken with is helpful in every department. Great experiences with friendly ladies at the front desk, like Jennifer, who always smiles when I walk in. It's nice to feel welcome. I've had general questions like books about stranger danger and potty training for kids and not only did the children's librarians, Kit and Alexandra, come up with a list, they both went around and found all of them for me. I've asked vague questions like "I'm looking for something kinda magical, kinda sci-fi" and been given great suggestions. If they don't have a book, you can make requests. Asking for information accomplishes a lot more than giving up and leaving. They genuinely want to help.

Love this place. Support your...