Fort Worth Public Library celebrates 125th birthday at city hall

Fort Worth residents laughed and embraced in the city council chamber of Fort Worth City Hall, filling the room with the chatter of old friends. All were connected by one thing — the Fort Worth Public Library.

“Of course, the foundation (of the library) is books and reading. But for me it was more like a community space,” said Rosalinda Martinez, who previously served on the library’s advisory board. 

The gathering at city hall on Oct. 15 was a birthday party — for the library’s 125th. About 175 people showed up to view a special exhibit of the library’s history, eat cupcakes, take their pictures in a photo booth and enjoy accordion music by Ginny Mac. 

Before the informal festivities, the group heard a presentation by library director Midori Clark about the library’s history, future and its present success.

“Never doubt that Fort Worth is the city of readers,” Clark told them. “We’ve been opening more doors over the past six years to respond to the demands of our customers.”

Among the new doors will be those of a new flagship library in the 900 block of Summit Avenue. The new main library is meant to be more than just a replacement of the downtown location, Clark said, but rather an “urban oasis.” Clark said she hopes that visits to the new library will be written into the daily plans of locals and even tourists. The old main library, Fort Worth Central Library, closed its doors in 2023 since the location no longer fit into the future of the library system.

“We want to create something amazing for the city of Fort Worth,” Clark said. “We want this one to be completely unique and something we’ve never seen before.”

The library board is looking for an architect and is close to releasing a strategic plan for this flagship library, Clark said. The site is about 1.3 acres and will provide parking, a concern that was often raised in public listening sessions, she added.

Northwest Fort Worth can also look forward to the Sendera Springs branch library, expected to open in early 2027 at 1301 Avondale Haslet Road. 

Residents checked out more than 4.3 million physical and digital items last year, according to library records. This beat the previous record year by 6% in 2024. The library also welcomed 1.2 million visitors in 2025. 

The first free library started as an idea in 1892, acted upon by a group of local Fort Worth women, Clark told the crowd. After securing a $50,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie, the city’s Carnegie Public Library opened in 1901. The library helped support soldiers at Camp Bowie during World War I and served as an information center through World War II. Clark said she hopes that Fort Worth will continue to see the importance of the library, especially to help underserved communities. 

Angie Vo, a 31-year-old Fort Worth resident in the audience, came to support the library. She said the library was a vital part of making education more equitable, as well as having social services to connect the community. 

“The library is such a huge pillar within our communities,” said the 31-year-old Fort Worth resident. She also went on to credit her ability to gain her Ph.D. in arts, technology and emerging communication to her community, including the work of the Fort Worth libraries.

“I would not be here if it weren’t for me standing on the shoulders of giants in my community and people who have uplifted me,” she said. “And so being here today is just a reminder of the work that people really put into moving this program forward.”

Vo said libraries were a critical part of her upbringing. When she was a child, her parents would often take her and her sibling to the Fort Worth Riverside Library. She recalled winning Oreo-eating contests and crafting Christmas ornaments. She still remembers one of her favorite librarians, who worked at the Riverside branch in the early 2000s. 

“You remember those who invested their time in educating you and kind of shaping you,” Vo said. “Even now, I still remember Miss Sarah. I don’t know where she is, but she was one that was a huge pillar (for me).” 

Another guest who found a home and family through the library was Fort Worth resident Gaye Reed, who served on the library advisory board for two terms. She said books have always been an escape for her since she was young. She remembers when she had to borrow books from bookmobiles, which were mobile libraries inside vehicles used to expand the reach of the library.

“(The library) is just near and dear to my heart,” Reed said. “I was a bookmobile kid, and then they built the Meadowbrook branch, and I would take the bus down there.”

Reed said that despite the move into a digital age, the library still provides that same welcoming and inclusive environment for all kinds of people. From alternative communication methods for nonverbal customers during storytimes to high school equivalency programs for working adults to senior social hours, the library has been there, she said. 

“I don’t think people understand what’s available for free,” Reed said. “For elder care, for young children, for children that have challenges. I’m in the library all the time, and half of those things I didn’t know anything about.”

Reed said she hopes the public understands how broad the library services are and encourages people to get involved, whether through donations or signing up for a library card. 

“I want the parents, the young people and the children to be a part of raising that money, even if it’s a nickel or a dime,” she said. “Once you’re invested in something, you care about it.”

While the barrier to checking out books is not as great as it was 125 years ago, there are still plenty of households in Fort Worth that don’t have a computer or internet access, Clark said. The library can be their tool to navigate and survive the digital world today, she added. 

The library’s goal has always been to support the community, Clark said. She told the crowd how she applied to several cities to be a library director and got many offers but knew that Fort Worth was the one she wanted to invest in, with the community often voting for its expansion and growth. 

“I picked Fort Worth intentionally,” she said. “The community support was very strong and there were very tangible ways that support manifested in the community. I hope they’re so proud of the legacy of the Fort Worth Public Library and I hope they know that we can’t exist without their continued support for the next 125 years.” 

Mica Magday is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at [email protected]. 

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