BEYOND BOOKS: Oakalla Library

Your second home in the back country of Burnet County

EDITOR’S NOTE: Beyond Books is a series by The Picayune Magazine that features local libraries and how they meet the needs of the communities they serve. Past stories in the series can be found at DailyTrib.com.

The Oakalla Library’s quaint accommodations could easily pass as a home in the structure’s namesake community. 

Tucked away on the back roads of far northeast Burnet County, the tiny town of Oakalla is easy to miss, but that doesn’t stop the dedicated staff of its library from pouring their hearts into their work. 

“This is a kind of library that isn’t really present anymore,” Library Director Mary Seaman told The Picayune. “A lot of libraries are becoming electronic and technology-driven. I feel like, sometimes, that wholesomeness gets left behind. It’s just so cozy here; it’s not sterile. It has such a different feeling, and I think that is why it’s beloved.”

The library’s hominess can be partially attributed to the building, the old bones of a Methodist church at 28981 RM 963 in Oakalla. Its simple, open floor plan feels like a place of fellowship rather than a stuffy archive. The library is also unique in that, beyond its walls, it maintains a community garden, a patch of forest with a nature trail, a picnic area, and a playground. 

It is one of the few identifying markers in the Oakalla community, which has a population of 519, according to the last census. If not for the library, a volunteer fire department, and a Baptist church, it would be hard to recognize it as a town at all. 

Oakalla—pronounced “Oak-alley” by the old-timers—sits in a rural patch between Burnet, Lampasas, Bell, and Williamson counties. It is actually closer to downtown Killeen than Burnet, and many children who live in Oakalla attend school in Copperas Cove. The next closest Burnet County library is in Bertram, about a half-hour away.

Despite its remote location, the little library is alive with activity and growing. Around 2,500 patrons come through the doors each year, checking out 2,348 books, which isn’t bad considering the library only operates about 11 hours a week. Doors are open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and sometimes Saturdays.

“I think we’re seeing a record number of new library cards this year,” said Jessica Murray, one of the two librarians. 

Murray and fellow librarian Krista Felber run regular storytime sessions, arts and crafts for all ages, and chess and book clubs. They also offer a growing list of seasonal workshops, festivals, community workdays, and more.

“It’s very homey here,” Felber said. “I just feel a good connection here, with people, with nature, with growing, with the future.”

Felber, Murray, and their families are also library patrons. Their own children regularly read stacks of books, play the library’s piano, decorate, explore the woods, and help with the community garden. Felber, who lives in the remote community of Kempner, noted that all six of her homeschooled children have used the library as an extension of their education.

“(The library) is wonderful,” she said. “My son met his significant other here. It’s extremely meaningful for me, beyond whatever I could ever even convey. As my daughters grow up here, I just think it’s going to be something that they will cherish always.”

Murray and her family live on the outskirts of Briggs. Her children go to school in Bertram. 

“I really enjoy coming into work,” she said. “This place is like a second home to me. My kids love it; they’re avid readers. They love seeing other kids outside of school. We don’t do a lot of that because we live in a really rural area, so this is sort of it. This is the place.”

The Oakalla community has a longstanding, tenacious fascination with books. Its first library, a bookmobile, drove into town in 1958. A permanent library was established in the Oakalla Community Center in 1977. Finally, after decades of transience and shared space, Burnet County bought the library’s current space in 2018.

The Oakalla Library’s services are especially impactful today as it provides hard-to-come-by reliable internet access in the remote town. By contrast, it is also a safe, fun place to experience nature, where patrons can explore the outdoors, learn about the life cycle of plants, share seeds and gardening tips, and spend time with the landscape.

“We bring the outdoors indoors,” Murray said. 

“We want the kids to have their hands in nature,” Felber added. “I feel like it makes an impact in a kid’s life when they connect with nature.”

Supporting the library is easy. All you have to do is use it. It is funded by the Burnet County Library System and supported by the Friends of the Oakalla Library. The more people who use the library, attend its programs, and participate in community events, the more funding it gets and the more it can grow, Director Seaman said.

“It’s always homey to me,” she continued. “It has a smell to it that is wholesome and welcoming. It’s like a warm little hug when I walk in.”

Oakalla Library Quick Facts

• The Oakalla Library had 2,255 visitors in 2024.
• Total circulation that same year was 2,348.
• Of those, 1,322 books checked out were for children and 1,026 for adults.
• A total 1,126 visitors attended programs in 2024. 

The Oakalla Library is open from 3-8 p.m. Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Fridays, and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month.

Visit oakallalibrary.wordpress.com to see a full schedule of programs and follow the Oakalla Library Facebook page for regular updates.

dakota@thepicayune.com