The New Braunfels Public Library was born before it had any building or space to call its own. The public library was created by a group of concerned citizens who came together on March 9, 1928, at the home of Mrs. M. C. Hagler to organize a library association, which would begin the necessary work to establish a public library in New Braunfels.
According to the minutes of their first meeting in 1928, the founders agreed that the time was ripe to establish a library. A “book shower” was held in the New Braunfels High School auditorium that year, and attendees were requested to bring a book to give to the new library. The library’s first space was a room in Harry Landa’s store. Patrons paid a subscription price of $1 per year to help fund the library’s book purchases. Some of the titles available to the public on opening day — June 15, 1928 — were The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder and Disraeli by Ander Maurois.
For the first 10 years of its existence, from 1928 to 1938, the New Braunfels Public Library struggled to find and keep a permanent room in someone else’s building for its growing collection of books and services. In 1938, the New Braunfels Public Library's first building was erected with the gift of land from the Sophienburg Museum Association and a pledge from Emmie Seele Faust of $5,000 for construction costs. The final, actual bill for construction was about $7,500, and Faust paid it in full.
To honor her contribution, the library changed its name to the “Emmie Seele Faust Memorial Library.” This remained the library's name for 30 years, and still today, Emmie Seele Faust's name is visible on the stone building she financed on the grounds of the Sophienburg Museum. Her building stands as a lasting monument to her, her generosity, and her public library support.
In the 1960s, the public library outgrew the Faust building. Various solutions were considered, including expanding the Faust building, finding another building, or finding a new location. At one point, there was some hope that the old New Braunfels Hospital could be remodeled as the public library with both city and county funds, but the Aug. 8, 1965, minutes of the library board record that plans to renovate the hospital were abandoned because there was a lack of ingress and egress on a two-way thoroughfare.
A solution to the library’s space problems in the 1960s came with the City’s purchase of the Schmidt land behind the Faust library building. A $100,000 matching government grant, $66,500 from the City, and a gift of $80,000 from Bruno Dittlinger and Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Liebscher financed the construction of a new building to house the library. Accompanying the Dittlinger/Liebscher gift was the request that the library's name be changed to honor the donors’ mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Hippolyte Dittlinger. Mrs. Liebscher and her mother, Mrs. Dittlinger, had attended the first library meeting in 1928. The request was honored, and the building was named the "Dittlinger Memorial Library."
Thirty years later, the library had once again outgrown its building, and on Oct. 16, 1999, the public library opened at its new (and present) location at 700 E. Common St. as the New Braunfels Public Library. In 2023, the library opened the Westside Library and Community Center. This is the New Braunfels Public Library's first branch and serves the westside community.
Future expansion plans include opening a third branch serving southeast New Braunfels.