Pauline Lam

Pauline Lam

Written by Susan VanDeWater Thursday, 07 September 2006

During her 26 years as director of the Cedar Park library, Pauline Lam has secured more than $500,000 in grants and overseen two major construction projects. She has cultivated the library from a small community facility to a larger, regional library that promotes literacy and encourages life long learning for the community.

Because of her passion for the library and her dedication to promoting reading in the community, she is this month’s Community Icon.

“The library is my passion,” Lam mused. “It’s like one of my children. I’ve spent lots of time nurturing it.”

Lam was born in Hong Kong but moved to Vancouver, Canada, with her family as a teenager. She admits that she’s always had a love of reading, but it was her sister, a librarian at the University of British Columbia, who inspired her to pursue library science.

“Hearing about my sister’s career stirred up an interest in me,” Lam said. After graduating from UBC, Lam moved to Austin to attend UT’s School of Library Science for her masters. She graduated in 1980, and soon learned that Cedar Park was looking for someone to set up a library. Lam took the job with fervor.

The Cedar Park Public Library opened in January 1981 on a part-time schedule. It featured a circulation of 7,000 books, which volunteers had secured through donations.

“The library was a storefront in the Cedar Park Plaza,” Lam said. “It was really tiny – only 500 sq. ft.”

The library grew quickly and soon was moved to a remodeled 1,500-sq. ft. laundromat.

In 1990, the library moved to its current location at 550 Discovery Blvd., and in 2001 expanded. Today the library is a 25,000 sq. ft. building housing more than 93,000 volumes with more than 800 visitors a day.

“I’m proud of how our library has grown. My vision for the library is to see that growth continue so that it remains big enough to serve the growing community,” Lam said. “I want this to be a contemporary library with state-of-the-art technology and different spaces for different segments of the community. We have a separate area for the children, but I’d also like to create spaces for teens and senior citizens.”

The community recognizes her efforts. Earlier this year, the library was voted the “Best Place to Learn Computers” by the readers of Austin Family magazine.

Lam attributes her success to the generous support of the City, community and her staff. She also credits the strong work ethic instilled in her by her parents.

“I come from a culture that inspires hard work and have always been taught the value of persistence and tenacity,” she said.

Last year, the library earned the Achievement in Excellence in Libraries Award from the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association. The award is given to libraries that demonstrate their service excellence through the attainment of 10 service criteria that include providing services to the underserved, family programs, literacy support for all ages and professional staff training.

Library Affiliations

• Member of American Library Association
• The Texas Library Association
• Ex-officio member of the Cedar Park Public Library Foundation
• The Friends of the Cedar Park Public Library
• Served on the Williamson County Literacy Council’s Workforce Literacy Committee in 1995

Editor’s note: When I met Ms. Lam at the library to take her photo, I thought how easily she could just sit back and enjoy the success of the library, but she is not content to rest. Her conversations are about the future - possibly adding a coffee shop or a teen center. She longs for the time when funds are available to build a larger library for the growing community.