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George W. Hawkes Downtown Library
Thursday: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
East Library and Recreation Center
Thursday: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Ron Wright Lake Arlington Branch Library
Thursday: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Northeast Branch Library
Thursday: Temporarily Closed
Southeast Branch Library
Thursday: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Southwest Branch Library
Thursday: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Woodland West Branch Library
Thursday: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
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Downtown Library Grand Opening

The Arlington Public Library is excited to announce Discover Your Story, the grand opening of the George W. Hawkes Downtown Library this June 16. The 80,000 square-foot, state of the art building will open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and multiple days of celebration this summer. The celebration will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, free tours, demonstrations, performances and more.

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Three floors of community areas include multiple meeting rooms and small study spaces; sections for children and teens; a quiet reading room; and a rooftop garden. Library workshops and other events will take place in a range of programming areas. Children and teens can enjoy separate spaces designed with their needs in mind. On the first floor, children can climb into the DISCOVER wall’s reading nooks while playing or enjoying a book. Teens will hang out or play video games in the teen section on the second floor. Adult learners can study for literacy, English as a second language, or citizenship classes in the Arlington Reads workspaces. Patrons can get creative in traditional and digital arts labs on the second floor, which will offer 3D printing technology, fiber crafts and more with tech demonstrations will be happening throughout the day.


Schedule of Events

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 10:30, followed by dessert in the plaza. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the library will open its doors to the public for the first time! Special events, the imagination playground, technology demonstrations, tween writing workshop with Kimberly Willis Holt, and other activities will be taking place throughout the day. As you enter the light-filled lobby you can strike a pose at our selfie-station, or head over to the Grand Opening photobooth for a keepsake photo. Free face painting will be available from 12:30-2:30 p.m., provided by Faces by Chelsea Keesler.

Interested in a tour? In addition to a limited number of staff run tours, you can also tour the building at your leisure, and learn more about the various sustainable aspects of the library by using our new self-guided tour smartphone app! Inside the app you can find building maps, information, and even receive text notifications about upcoming events that you are interested in.

You can find a full list of the day's activities on MORelibrary.org, or click below for an at-a-glance view of the schedule.

PDF iconSchedule of Events


Parking & Transportation

The 101 Center Garage, across the street from the library, has one and a half levels of free parking reserved for the library and Downtown Arlington visitors. Just outside the library, along Center Street, there are 10 handicap back-in parking spaces with additional handicap spaces are located on the west side of the building, at Pecan and Main Street.

Other nearby parking options in Downtown:

  • The City Hall lot is available to the public after 5 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends.
  • Front Street parking lot, next to Babe’s Chicken Dinner House and Mellow Mushroom.
  • 2 Hour parking is available on Main Street
  • Additional street parking is available throughout Downtown Arlington.


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Summer Reading Club

Discover Your Story is also the theme of this year’s Summer Reading Club, which is open to all ages. Learn more about SRC all weekend at the new library building. Stop by the Summer Reading Club table or any circulation desk to pick up a log, and get reading! Pick up your special SRC calendar of events, or check out our digital calendar for a full list of all of the events happening this summer.

Already started reading? You can submit your reading log online and more at our Summer Reading Club page.


Stay up to date! Join us on Facebook and Twitter for details about the opening celebration as it approaches.

Northeast Branch Updates:
Starting Monday, December 4, 2023, the Northeast Branch will be temporarily closed for HVAC renovations. Click here for more information.