Hough
Neighborhoods Served: Hough, Midtown
Bus Routes: 9 Mayfield-Hough
Location Manager: Marcie Williams
Location Services
Check out our branch services.
Book Locker
Grab & Go! Library card holders can use fully automatic lockers to pick up books and other materials during business hours.
Meeting Room Reservations & Event Spaces
Study room, meeting place or community space, we have a place for you.
Neighborhood Housing Court Kiosk
Can’t make it downtown for your Cleveland Housing Court hearing? Visit our kiosk on a walk-in basis starting at 10:00 a.m. In partnership with the Cleveland Housing Court.
After-Hours Meeting Rooms
If you need to host a community meeting outside normal business hours, then we have a space for you.
Nov 22, 4:15 PM – 5:30 PM | Hough
Video Game Hour
Join us for our weekly Video Game Hour!
About Hough
History & Architecture
The first Hough building, which opened in 1907, was inspired by Christopher Wren’s Orangery at Kensington Palace in England. In developing the design for the original Hough Branch, the architects used the arched entrance, window openings, and decorative brickwork to pay homage to the Romanesque and Gothic Revival churches, houses, and apartment buildings of the neighboring area. After extensive renovation, the branch reopened in 1966 as Treasure House.
Hough Branch’s second building was constructed in 1984 and housed 11,800 square feet of materials and services. The building was designed as a group of three octagons, with the exterior of the building appearing as a range of pointed “hats.” Inside, one of the “hats” tops the children’s story-telling area, another the main part of the library, and the third is the community room. The building’s clerestory windows admit generous amounts of natural light.
A newly reimagined Hough campus was opened in 2022, designed by Moody Nolan, a majority Black-Owned, Ohio-based architecture firm. In Africa, the mythical Sankofa bird looks back while moving forward. It is a symbol that conveys the power of remembering the past while preparing for the future. This visual metaphor was the design inspiration for Hough’s new campus to incorporate the neighborhood’s rich history and its hopes for the future. The campus features a highly flexible interior that allows for various configurations based on patron and programming needs. The largest room at the back features a “garage” door that can be closed for private meetings or opened to create space for larger events. The conference room near the front entrance is light filled with floor the ceiling windows on two sides. Other amenities include plenty of windows to bring in natural light, moveable workstations, meeting rooms, an improved children’s area, a 24-hour vestibule with book lockers, and an attractive, welcoming outdoor space and amphitheater.
Travel, Parking & Accessibility
Parking Information
The Campus has a dedicated parking lot with 2 designated handicap spots and an EV charging station coming soon.
Special Features
- League Park, the Cleveland Guardians’ original ballpark, is located nearby.
- During the school year, Hough offers America Reads tutors as well as the Kids Café, a partnership with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to provide free bagged lunches for children.
- Hough Branch actively collaborates with neighborhood agencies to maintain excellent service for its patron base.
- Family Space
- Hough Amphitheater
- Public Art: What Would Happen If This Sentence Never Ended?
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