Brownsville Public Library

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address:2600 Central Boulevard Brownsville, TX 78520 phone:956-548-1055 fax:956-548-0684 website:Brownsville Public Library email:

About Us

The Brownsville Public Library System has a lengthy history from its origins as a subscription library for the Learner's Club in 1906 to the present opening in 1994. For several years, it has been a unique institution, serving as the last major city-college library in the United States.The first Brownsville Library was housed in the Levee Street offices of Captain William Kelly, whose daughter, Miss Anna Kelly, was the first director. It was later housed in the StegmanBuilding in space donated by the Elks Lodge and then in 1916, it moved to the offices of the Brownsville Herald on Elizabeth Street. That same year, a reading room was opened at FortBrown with Mrs. George Stell assisting Miss Kelly.