Wichita Public Library


The Wichita Public Library is the local public library system in Wichita, Kansas. It consists of a central library located downtown and six branch locations distributed throughout the city.

Locations

Four district/regional branches offer a mix of basic research tools and popular materials for education and entertainment, while the neighborhood branches offer mostly popular fiction and media titles in their limited spaces. The Linwood Park Branch is located in a recreation center.
Local business owners funded the establishment of the library in 1876. In 1915, it expanded into a Carnegie library that would remain open until the establishment of a new Central Library was built across the street in 1967.
On October 16, 2007, the Wichita City Council decided on the preferred site for a new central library at Second Street and McLean.
The initial building program resulted in a projected budget exceeding the amount allotted, forcing the Library to consider alternatives. In 2011, a study found that expanding the current Central Library facility would be possible, but would be more expensive than building a new facility and would not resolve building access issues. In 2012-13, the Library's Board of Directors considered a phased construction approach. The City Council authorized a request for qualifications, with a presentation by a preferred design team in summer 2014. In January 2015, Wichita City Council voted in favor of a funding agreement with the library foundation to perform the design phase. The new facility, named the Advanced Learning Library, cost an estimated $33 million library. It is two stories and has of interior space; it is also designed to withstand storms and act as a storm shelter. The Advanced Learning Library opened on June 16, 2018.
In December 2014, the "Orchard Park" branch inside Orchard Park Recreation Center at 4808 West 9th was closed.
The Comotara Branch Library, located inside a Dillons supermarket since 1986, was the first branch library branch in the United States to open in a grocery store. The branch closed in July 2018 so Dillons could reclaim the space.

Programs

The library offers a wide range of programs free of charge and open to the public. Annual events include events in celebration of African-American History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and the Academy Award Shorts.
The library's summer reading programs for youth reach more than 10,000 children annually. Annually, the library offers a reading program for adults. Each fall since 2008, the Library has hosted "The Big Read Wichita", a series of programs built around one book title.
The WPL's "Academy Awards Shorts" program is, reportedly, the oldest annual, complete, free public screening, outside of Hollywood, of the full array of short documentary, live action and animated "short" films nominated for an Academy Award. The films are normally presented, free, at the library and in local theaters and other venues around Wichita, shortly before the Academy Awards ceremonies.

Other Wichita area libraries

See listing at
Notable Wichita-area libraries include: