In 1980, the need for a public library was brought to the attention of Mayor Dennis Dreyer by a group of concerned citizens. The city hired Sue Vosseller as library director, one of the true pioneers of the soon to be established Port Aransas Public Library. The library was housed in the City Hall complex (currently the City Council chambers). Sue started out with an empty room, a desk and a telephone. She recruited volunteers and initiated book drives. As the books came in, volunteers helped with the processing of materials, and soon the shelves began to fill up. The Friends of the Library, headed by Jo Leta Gavit, organized community fund-raisers to help pay for new furnishings. On April 21, 1981, the library opened its door to the public and in September, 1981, became a member of the South Texas Library System. By 1995, the library had out-grown its space in the City Hall complex. Ground was broken for the current library building on May 26, 1995. Once again, community volunteers helped the new director Sue James with preparations for the move. The William R. "Bill" Ellis Memorial Library opened to the public in January of 1996. Presently the library collection contains more than 22,000 items which include large print books, audiobooks on CD and cassette, VHS tapes, DVDs, magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Original Library Advisory Board October 9, 1980 Bruce Furlow James Cameron Georgia Neblett Joe Bicknell Jo Leta Gavit Betty Ann Gibbs Library Director's Sue Voseller: 1980-1994 Sue James: 1994-2003 Kim Grotewold: 2004-2005 Lisa Kinsner: 2005 Kathy Caldwell: 2006-present