Hannah Terrell, Austin Public Library

Hannah Terrell, Library Director, Austin Public Library

About the Program: 

A Century of Stories and We’re Just Getting Started

Join the Austin Public Library as we celebrate our past and look boldly toward the future. “A Century of Stories - And We’re Just Getting Started” will showcase the library’s rich history, evolving services, community impact, and the powerful role of collaboration. Discover how partnerships will help shape the next 100 years of innovation, access, and opportunity. The downtown Austin Central Library was named by Time Magazine as one of the "25 Buildings and Monuments That Represent America." Praised as a  "palace for the people" and a model for the extraordinary public goods American communities are still capable of producing, the LEED Platinum downtown landmark serves as a brilliant backdrop for a system-wide story of evolution.

Hannah Terrell serves as Director of Libraries for the Austin Public Library, leading a 460-person team and managing an $80 million budget. A forward-thinking executive with over 20 years of library leadership experience, Hannah has positioned APL as a national and international destination, recently hosting global delegations and anchoring NASA House during SXSW. Her background includes executive roles within both APL and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system, where she championed equity-driven civic programming. Hannah holds an MLS from North Carolina Central University and serves on the Texas Book Festival Board of Advisors.

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