Photo by Stephen BurnettCedar Park Public Library director reflects on career
In September, Cedar Park Public Library Director Pauline Lam announced she would retire in January after 34 years with the city.
On Jan. 17, 1981, Cedar Park's first library opened in a 500-square-foot retail space in the Cedar Park Plaza shopping center. Ten months later the library moved to a 1,500-square-foot remodeled laundromat.
For a new building Lam obtained a federal grant for $100,000, which Cedar Park City Council matched with $100,000, along with donations from city residents. In October 1990 the library moved to its first new building on Discovery Boulevard with 7,300 square feet. The library has since expanded and now draws an average of 286,546 visitors a year and hosts book and multimedia programs for all ages.
Lam is originally from Hong Kong and has a master's degree in library science from The University of Texas. She said she has secured about $1 million in grants for the library during her tenure as library director.
