The North Branch
A Countywide Vision Takes Shape
For decades, accessing the Garland County Library has meant making the trip to Malvern Avenue in Hot Springs. For residents of northern Garland County, that is beginning to change.
Construction is now underway on the Garland County Library's new North Branch, located on Highway 7 North adjacent to the McAuley Center and just outside the gates of Hot Springs Village. Ground was officially broken on June 22, 2026, and the approximately 10,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed by the beginning of summer 2027.
The new branch represents an important first step toward creating a library system that reaches more of Garland County. Rather than concentrating nearly all physical library services in one location, the North Branch will bring books, technology, educational programs, and gathering spaces closer to residents in the Hot Springs Village and Jessieville areas.
The facility is being designed as much more than a place to pick up a book. Plans include dedicated areas for children and teens, study rooms, meeting spaces for community organizations, and flexible areas that can accommodate educational, cultural, and civic programs. The branch will also have a collection shaped around the needs of the community it serves while remaining connected to the resources of the larger Garland County Library system.
That combination of local access and systemwide resources is central to the larger vision for library service in Garland County. With more than 100,000 residents spread across approximately 735 square miles, a single physical location creates obvious challenges for families and residents who live farther from Hot Springs. The North Branch begins addressing that challenge by putting a permanent library presence closer to communities in the northern part of the county.
It is also important to understand where the North Branch fits into the larger facilities plan. Construction of the North Branch is already funded and underway; its completion does not depend on the November millage proposal. Instead, it provides the first example of what a broader countywide library system can look like. The larger GCL Forward vision includes the North Branch, a proposed West Branch near the Lake Hamilton area, and a new Main Library working together as one system.
When all three locations are considered together, the goal is to place more than 95% of Garland County residents within approximately a 12-minute drive of a library.
The North Branch is the first piece of that vision taking physical shape. By next summer, residents of northern Garland County should have something they have never had before: a full-time library much closer to home.
