The former public library may be Kuehne's finest work in Austin. The handsome Beaux-Arts building, a lean flat-roofed block with arched windows and a long straight cornice, is accessed by gracious steps that rise to entrances on both W. 9th and Guadalupe streets. The interior retains the original finishes and the downstairs rooms are used for exhibits and public lectures. Upstairs the archival reading room has large arched windows and is reminiscent of its former library use.