The Fort Worth Public Library continues to advance its Open Access
program, started in 2022 as a way to expand the library’s reach outside normal hours.
Maintained only at the library’s Northwest branch in far north Fort Worth, Open Access allows patrons to borrow, return and renew items; pick up holds; and use desktop computers, Wi-Fi, printer and document scanner. Restrooms also are open.
Library staff views Open Access as broadening the library’s appeal in the same way that digital checkout of materials is becoming patrons’ preferred means of using the library.
Open Access “is just a really unique feature of this library, and it’s kind of like the ultimate trust exercise in many ways,” Midori Clark, the library’s director, told members of the Fort Worth Library Advisory Board at their Feb. 5 meeting.
How does it work?
Users must be at least 18 and a Fort Worth Public Library cardholder in good standing. Preregistration at the city site is required.
Patrons scan their Fort Worth library cards at the branch entrance to unlock the doors outside operating hours. The Open Access system controls the library’s lighting and alarms; movement activates the lights. Security cameras ensure safety and security.
Available hours are 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays; 8 a.m.-noon and 8-10 p.m. Mondays; 8-10 a.m. and 8-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; and 8-10 a.m. and 6-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays.
The library system makes several announcements prior to closing, before the computers and lights turn off and the building alarm sets itself, according to the city’s site.
Not all services are available through Open Access. Ones that are not: laptop and tablet loans, copier services, interlibrary loan pick up, hot spot and musical instrument lending, video game console usage, makerspace labs, 3D printing and meeting room reservations.
The library didn’t provide numbers about usage, but frequent customers are nicknamed “power users.”
“They come in from 8 to 10 in the morning, or again, 8 to 10 in the evening,” Felipe Avitia, the Northwest branch supervisor, told advisory board members.
The library hopes to extend the program to other branches, but there’s nothing definitive in the works, the staff said.
Other notes from the meeting
The library staff said the branches recorded 1.2 million in-person visits in 2025, up 7%. The library branches also issued 11,290 new library cards.
The Fort Worth library system has been recognized for its outstanding service and innovation with the 2025 Achievement of Excellence in Libraries Award from the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association.
The Fort Worth Library Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) organization, plans its 29th annual Cigar Smoker fundraiser May 6 at The Fort Worth Club. Click here for information.
The foundation is accepting applications for two $2,500 college scholarships for high school seniors in Fort Worth. Applications must be submitted by March 31.
Fort Worth Library Advisory Board meeting
Documenter name: Cynthia Cordial, Stacy Brookman and Patrick Banis
Date: Feb. 5, 2026
To see more about this meeting, click here.
Cynthia Cordial, Stacy Brookman and Patrick Banis are members of the Fort Worth Report Documenters crew.
If you believe anything in this account is inaccurate, please email us at news@fortworthreport.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
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