Jacksonville Public Library (Florida)

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Jacksonville Public Library

Location	Jacksonville, Florida
Coordinates	30°19′45″N 81°39′29″W / 30.329055, -81.657958
Established	1878,1903
Director	Barbara A.B. Gubbin (2005-)
Website	http://www.jaxpubliclibrary.org

The Jacksonville Public Library is located in Jacksonville, Florida. It primarily serves Jacksonville and Duval County, and is also used by the neighboring Baker, Nassau, Clay, and St. John's Counties. It is one of the largest library systems in the state, with a collection of nearly three million items. A division of the City Government, the library has the third largest group of city employees after the city's Fire and Police departments. There are twenty branches and a Main Library in the system.

1 Branches
2 Funding and administration
3 Borrowing policies
4 History
5 Collection and services
6 Website
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Branches

[edit] Main Library

Located downtown near City Hall and Heming Plaza, the Main Library opened in November 2005, replacing the Haydon Burns Library.^[1] Designed by architect Robert A. M. Stern, the new library is almost three times the size of the Haydon Burns building. The North Laura facility is 300,000 square feet with the capacity to hold one million books. A 600-space parking garage across from the library building on Duval Street makes the Main Library easily accessible. State-of-the-art technology offers 250 public computers, satellite, and video conferencing capabilities with infrastructure to support future technologies.

In addition to the Library and the Conference Center, the Library building hosts a bookstore and a cafe. The BOOKtique bookstore, run by the Friends of the Library, opened concurrently with the Library.^[2] After a year and a half of legal wrangling and construction, on May 14, 2007, Shelby's Café opened inside the concession space in the Main Library.^[3]

[edit] Regional libraries

Beaches - A1A (3rd Street) in Neptune Beach.
Highlands - Dunn Avenue, serving the Northside.
Mandarin - Kori Road serving the Mandarin area.
Pablo Creek - Beach Blvd between Hodges and Kernan serving the San Pablo area.
Regency Square - Regency Square Blvd serving the Arlington/Regency area.
South Mandarin - San Jose Road near the St. John's County border.
Southeast - Deerwood Park Blvd serving the Southside.
Charles D. Webb Wesconnett - 103rd Street serving the Westside.
West Regional - Chaffee Road serving the Westside.

[edit] Community and neighborhood branches

Argyle - Near the Argyle Forest subdivision serving southwest Jacksonville.
Bradham*Brooks Northwest - Edgewood Avenue serving the Northside.
Brentwood - Pearl St serving the urban core.
Dallas A. James Graham - Myrtle Avenue serving the urban core.
Maxville - Maxville Road (near Normandy Boulevard and Highway 301) serving the Maxville area.
Murray Hill - Edgewood Avenue South serving the urban core.
Raiford A. Brown Eastside - Harrison St serving the urban core.
San Marco - LaSalle St downtown serving the urban core.
University Park - University Blvd North serving the Arlington area including Jacksonville University.
Westbrook - Commonwealth Avenue serving the urban core.
Willowbranch - Park St serving the Riverside and Avondale areas.

[edit] Bookmobile

Jacksonville was the first library in Florida to offer a mobile library service, established in 1928.^[4] For over 75 years, the Jacksonville Public Library continued this service of providing accessible materials to rural residents and areas where a branch had not been established. However, due to funding cuts, the bookmobile was discontinued as of October 2005.^[5]

[edit] Funding and administration

As a branch of the city government, the system is funded by local taxes. The system also receives aid supplemental funds from various grants.

The Jacksonville Public Library one of the few departments of the City Government to be administered by an independent board. The eleven members of the Library Board of Trustees are appointed by the Mayor of Jacksonville and approved by the City Council. Board members serve for four years, and may serve a second consecutive term if reappointed. The Library Board approves library policies, submits an annual budget request, oversees the operation of the system and hires the library director.^[6]

[edit] Borrowing policies

Patrons of the Jacksonville Public Library may borrow books, videos (VHS or DVD) and audio materials. Overdue materials collect fines, except on days on which the library is closed. Excessive fines prevent a patron from borrowing materials until paid. All materials borrowed from the library can be returned to any branch, regardless of where they were borrowed.

Jacksonville Public Library cards are free for residents of Duval County, including Baldwin and the Beaches communities, and non-residents employed by a city/county agency or who own businesses or property in the county. Other non-residents may apply for a card, but pay an annual fee. Hardship waivers are available upon request. Lost cards may be replaced by paying a small fee. Children under the age of 18 can apply for a card with parental permission. Parents are responsible for all items checked out on the child's card.

[edit] History

The Jacksonville Public Library had its beginnings with two ladies: Misses May Moore and Florence Murphy. These two women started the Jacksonville Library and Literary Association in 1878, which was populated by various prominent Jacksonville residents and which sought to create a free public library and reading room for the city.

Moore and Murphy's Association succeeded in establishing their free public reading room, Jacksonville's first, in the winter of 1878-1879. It was located in the Astor Building, on the corner of Bay and Hogan, and was manned by librarian James Douglas. Here visitors could find books, papers and periodicals.

In 1883, the Jacksonville Library and Literary Association was reorganized and renamed the Jacksonville Library Association. The new Association built Jacksonville's first public library building, described as "a neat one-story frame building having a steep roof and a small entrance porch in front facing Adams Street."

This building was replaced in 1894 by a new building that the Association shared with the Board of Trade and the Elks Club. This building, on the northeast corner of Main and Adams, housed Jacksonville's public library until 1901, when the May 3rd fire destroyed it.

[edit] The Carnegie Library

Postcard featuring the Carnegie Library, ca. 1910.

Help for rebuilding came in 1902 in the form of Andrew Carnegie, who offered $50,000 for a new library, provided that the city had a building site and appropriated at least $5,000 a year for library support.^[7] Between 1883 and 1929, Carnegie funded 2,509 libraries in the United States and Europe.

Jacksonville agreed, and in January 1903 passed an ordinance establishing a free public library and a board of nine trustees to govern it. The building was designed by New York architect Henry John Klutho.^[8]

On October 3, 1903, ground was broken for the Carnegie library on the northeast corner of Adams and Ocean. Two years later, on June 1, 1905, the library was formally opened with George B. Utley as librarian and with 8,685 books available. Known officially as the Jacksonville Free Public Library, it was the beginning of the Jacksonville Public Library. It was also the first tax-supported library in Florida. On January 22, 1987, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. ^[9]

The library was two stories tall, made of limestone and copper. Its design was Classic Revival Greek Ionic, typical of Carnegie libraries, and featured four columns on the facade. It has been described as nearly fireproof, with wood only in the floors, doors and sash. Today it houses a law firm.

[edit] Growth and expansion

In 1907 George Utley said that the library was "fast becoming securely established as a part of the municipal fabric, and is considered more and more a necessity and less and less a luxury by the citizens of Jacksonville.

By 1910 the library was outgrowing itself. The library made use of deposit stations and sub branches, but space in the Carnegie building became an increasingly rare commodity. Thus, in the 1920s a branch system was created.

The first branch, the Wilder Park Library, opened November 14, 1927 on the corner of Lee and Third street for service to the African American community. This was followed by a bookmobile service on October 30, 1928. Branches continue to be opened, renovated and modernized, resulting in the current library system of a Main Library and 16 additional units. The original branch library was replaced on June 22, 1965 with the Graham Branch Library. The first large regional library was the Regency Square branch, which opened in 1973. Six new regional branches were built throughout the city in the 1970s - 1990s. In 1999 the original regional branch, Regency Square, reopened after undergoing a two-year renovation.

[edit] Recession and revival

Haydon Burns Library (1965-2005), ca. 1968.

In the 1950s public interest in the libraries faded, along with adequate budget support. Lack of funding led to low book stocks, poorly trained staff and poorly maintained buildings. As Librarian Joseph F. Marron stated in an annual report, "Impending institutional bankruptcy was a phrase being applied to this first tax-supported public library in the state of Florida."

However, when the city commission and city council approved a 19 percent increase in the libraries' operational budget for 1957, the Jacksonville Public Libraries began to revive. The Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library, formed in 1956 with the intent of inspiring interest in libraries, are credited as a major influence in bringing about the increased budget.

In March 1960, the city approved a location for the new Main Library, the site of old City Hall, along with 60 additional feet of property previously occupied by the Windle Hotel. In March 1964, ground was broken at 122 North Ocean Street. On November 28, 1965, the new building was dedicated, and the next day opened to the public.

The Main Library was named after Haydon Burns, mayor of Jacksonville for 15 years as well as governor of Florida.^[10] The structure was designed to be both aesthetic and useful. As one newspaper reporter said of the library, "the ultramodern showplace is a symphony of color, texture and functional design."^[11]

After nearly 30 years of operation, the Haydon Burns building was showing its age. Due to space and wiring limitations, the building was inadequate for the needs of the growing Jacksonville community. In September 2000, the citizens of Jacksonville voted for the Better Jacksonville Plan, which provided funding for a new Main Library building, six new regional branch libraries and improvements at most existing branches.

[edit] The 21st century

After suffering delays due to the 2004 hurricane season and contractors' difficulties, the system prepared for the opening of a new Main Library in late 2005.^[12] In September 2005, the Haydon Burns library closed its doors for the last time to allow staff to move to the new Main Library due to open later that year.^[13] Accompanied by a week-long promotion and a full day of parades and other events, on November 12, 2005, the new Main Library opened to the public.^[14]^[15] The opening was a historic event for the library system and the City of Jacksonville, marking the completion of an unprecedented period of growth under the Better Jacksonville Plan. It adds to the city's architectural and cultural landscape and provides a gathering place downtown for the community. The new Main Library offers specialized reading rooms, public access to hundreds of computers and extensive collection of books and other materials.

[edit] Collection and services

The current collection is more than 2 million books, audio books, compact discs, videos, DVDs, magazines, newspapers and other items. Reference materials provide resources for the educational, recreational and professional needs of the community.

There are many services and programs for children, teenagers, and adults. The Main Library houses a number of special collections including the Delius Collection, Genealogy Collection, Florida Collection, partial Federal Government Documents depository library, and Foundation Center (Grants Resource Center). The opening of the new Main library in 2005 made two new special collections available — the African American Collection and the Ansbacher Map Collection.^[16] The official dedication of the African-American collection occurred in August 2006.^[17]

Circulation of library materials in the most recent fiscal year (FY 2005-06) exceeded 7.9 million items.^[18]

Children's programs are very popular and regularly scheduled programs include arts and crafts, preschool, school age and family story times, and special programs held during the summer reading program.

Other community service activities include the Center for Adult Learning located in the Main Library, which is a program to promote adult literacy. Talking Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped provides audiotapes to the disabled in the community through the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. The library also participates in the Mayor's Literacy Initiative—Rally Jacksonville. Some other services are Books By Mail, Interlibrary Loan and Fax Service for customers in Duval County.^[19]

[edit] Website

The website of the Jacksonville Public Library began in 1993 with the availability of the JAXCAT online public catalog. Over the years additional features have been added, such as customers ability to log in to access their account information, place holds and renew materials checked out to their account. Online subscription databases are accessible via the website, including magazine and newspaper article databases, and business, health and literature resources.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 30°19′45″N 81°39′29″W / 30.329055, -81.657958