Your Art Could End Up in Every Wallet in Richardson: Library Card Design Contest Closes June 30

Deadline Is Tuesday: Richardson Wants Your Design on Its Next Library Card

The Richardson Public Library is running two parallel art contests — one for adults and one for younger residents — and the winning submissions will be reproduced on new library cards issued to patrons this fall. Entries must arrive by Monday, June 30, 2026.

The library is located at 2360 Campbell Creek Blvd., Suite 500, and that address doubles as the submission point for anyone dropping off physical entries.

Two Separate Contests, One Shared Outcome

The contest is divided cleanly by age. Adults 19 and older compete in one category; children and teens ages 3 through 18 compete in a separate category. Each group has its own winner, which means the library could roll out two new card designs simultaneously in fall 2026.

The practical stakes are real. Library cards travel in pockets and backpacks across Richardson every day. A winning design gets reproduced at scale and handed to every new cardholder — and potentially offered to existing members — throughout the card’s lifespan. For a young artist in Richardson ISD or a hobbyist adult, that is a distribution most galleries cannot match.

Why This Contest Fits the Library’s Broader Direction

Richardson Public Library has been expanding its creative and technical programming steadily. On any given Saturday, the library runs free 3D Printing Demos from 4 to 4:30 p.m. at the Business Center near the entrance, and a hands-on 3D Printing Beginner class is available for adults who hold a valid RPL card. The beginner class walks participants through Tinkercad’s design tools and ends with printing an actual model on the library’s equipment.

The card design contest sits in the same spirit: the library is treating its own infrastructure — the membership card itself — as a canvas that belongs to the community rather than to a design committee.

What Residents Should Do Before Tuesday

The June 30 deadline leaves very little runway. Anyone planning to enter should contact the library directly or visit the branch at Campbell Creek to confirm submission formats, size requirements, and any medium restrictions before the weekend. The library’s hours and current contest details are maintained on the official library page.

A few practical notes worth confirming before you finalize any artwork:

• Age bracket: Make sure you are submitting to the correct category — adult (19+) or youth/teen (3–18). Submitting to the wrong group could disqualify an otherwise strong entry.
• Physical vs. digital: Clarify with library staff whether digital files are accepted or if a printed or hand-drawn original is required. Library card reproduction typically demands a certain resolution or medium.
• Name and contact info: Any contest submission should include complete contact information so staff can reach the winner promptly.

The Longer View

Richardson issues library cards to residents across a city of roughly 120,000 people. The card a patron pulls out at the checkout desk is one of the most routine, repeated interactions anyone has with a public institution. Putting a neighbor’s original artwork there — drawn by a third-grader from a Richardson elementary school or painted by an adult who has held an RPL card for twenty years — is a quieter kind of civic pride than a mural or a parade, but it persists longer.

The library sits at the corner of Campbell Creek and Renner Road, accessible from multiple directions and served by DART. There is no entry fee for either age category, and admission to the library itself is free.

June 30 is the hard stop. If you have been sitting on a sketch or a digital illustration, this is the week to finish it.