When Eileen Tollett moved to Allen as a newlywed in 1969, the city had fewer than 2,000 residents. Soon, she started volunteering at the “little bitty” library in the old Woodman of the World Building downtown.
In 1976, she became the first woman elected to the City Council and remembers voting for Allen to build a single public library.
“We expected the town to build out at around 35,000 residents,” Tollett said. “We had no idea how much it would grow.”
Allen now has 113,300 residents, according to the city’s economic development corporation and still has just one public library, at 300 N Allen Dr. It was originally 54,000 square feet and was constructed in 2005.
On Monday, the city will reopen the library, which grew by 18,000 square feet, including larger dedicated spaces for young children and teenagers, social gathering areas and six study rooms that can be reserved online. The new library also has four self-service devices for visitors to check out books, as well as an automated sorting machine for the library’s 150,000-strong collection. The expanded library no longer includes the Food for Thought Market & Cafe that used to be in the lobby.
The $19.9 million expansion was funded by a $16 million bond approved by voters in 2016 and additional city maintenance funds. The library closed in August 2024 and had been temporarily relocated to the former Rountree Elementary School campus while construction took place.
The library was designed by the Carrollton firm Hidell Associates Architects, which has worked on more than 300 public libraries across the country. The architects incorporated feedback from a mayor-appointed steering committee of seven Allen residents that Tollett chaired.
Tony Blaas, a principal at the firm, said he prioritized energy efficiency and making the space more inviting for children and teenagers. In the expanded children’s section, kids can lounge on small orange chairs, play with puzzles and learn to type on colorful keyboards. The teen section has tripled in size and has TV screens, so teenagers can play video games together.
Tollett said the steering committee members all wanted the new library to have more space for children.
“In the earlier library, kids were crammed, and there was a limited number of programs,” Tollett said, “now they have all the space in the world to explore.”
Blaas said he hopes the expanded library will meet residents’ needs as the city grows.
“Libraries are the connecting building to the community,” Blaas said. “The vision when we renovated was that it was going to be welcoming, modern and accessible.”