Broward County Library
| Broward County Library System | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | Broward County, Florida, United States |
| Type | Public library system |
| Established | 1974 |
| Branches | 38 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 3 million items |
| Access and use | |
| Circulation | 10.5 million |
| Population served | 1,909,632[1] |
| Other information | |
| Director | Allison Grubbs |
| Website | broward.org/library |
The Broward County Library is a public library system in Broward County, Florida, in the United States. The system contains 37 branch locations and circulates over 9 million items annually.[2] The system includes the Main Library in Fort Lauderdale, five regional libraries, and various branches.[2]
History[edit]
From 1963 to 1972, activists established a library subcommittee to improve library service in Broward County. The report generated by the committee received wide media attention and was supported by County Commissioner Robert Hubener. On January 9, 1973, the Broward County Commission approved the establishment of a library system.[3]
The system began issuing borrower cards on June 17, 1974, for 270,000 items. There were four branches: Fort Lauderdale, Riverland, Mizell, and Hollywood. Over the following three decades, many of the municipalities in Broward County elected to join the library system. These included Coral Springs, Lauderhill, Hallandale, Dania Beach, Margate, Sunrise, Deerfield Beach, North Lauderdale, and Pompano Beach.[4]
In 1980, the construction of the Main Library was funded. Library-system director Cecil Beach was involved in all phases of the Main Library project, from planning to completion.[5] In 1984, the Main Library opened.
In 1983, the South Regional Library located on the South Campus of Broward Community College became the first joint-use public-college library in the State of Florida.[citation needed]
The library system was named "Library of the Year" in 1996 by Library Journal and Gale Research.[6]
Ongoing construction resulted in the current total of 38 branch libraries in addition to the eight-story Main Library in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The Main Library also houses the Bienes Museum of the Modern Book, and a public fine-arts exhibition center.
Kelvin Watson was appointed as library-system director in 2017. Upon his resignation Allison Grubbs was named director in 2021.[7]
In October 2022, the Broward County Library ceased charging late fines to patrons in addition to past fines.[8]
In November 2023, the Broward County Library opened Book Sanctuaries throughout their branches, allowing access to banned books.[9]
Branches[edit]
The library system has 37 branches located throughout the county:[10]
- African American Research Library & Cultural Center | AF
- Beach Branch | BE
- Broward Country Law Library
- Carver Ranches Branch | CR
- Century Plaza/Leon Slatin Branch | CP
- Dania Beach Paul DeMaio Branch | DA
- Davie/Cooper City Branch | DC
- Deerfield Beach Percy White Branch | DB
- Fort Lauderdale Reading Center | FL
- Galt Ocean Mile Reading Center | GO
- Hallandale Beach Branch | HL
- Hollywood Beach Bernice P. Oster Branch | HB
- Hollywood Branch | HO
- Imperial Point Branch | IP
- Jan Moran Collier City Learning Library | CC
- Lauderdale Lakes Branch Library/Educational and Cultural Center | LL
- Lauderhill Central Park Library | LH
- Lauderhill Towne Centre Library | LC
- Main Library | MN
- Margate Catharine Young Branch | MG
- Miramar Branch Library & Education Center | MI
- North Lauderdale Saraniero Branch | NL
- North Regional/Broward College Library | NR
- Northwest Regional Library | NO
- Nova Southeastern University Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center | NV
- Pembroke Pines/Walter C. Young Resource Center | PE
- Pompano Beach Library and Cultural Center | PO
- Riverland Branch | RV
- South Regional/Broward College Library | SR
- Southwest Regional Library | SW
- Stirling Road Branch | SL
- Sunrise Dan Pearl Branch | SN
- Tamarac Branch | TA
- Tyrone Bryant Branch | BR
- West Regional Library | WR
- Weston Branch | WE
- Young at Art | YB
African-American Research Library and Cultural Center[edit]
On October 26, 2002, the Broward County Library opened the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Samuel F. Morrison the library director, was inspired to build the library after a visit to the Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.
The African-American Research Library and Cultural Center is a 60,000 square-foot facility with a 300-seat auditorium, a 5,000-square-foot art gallery, and Small Business Resource Center.[11] Since its opening, the Center has hosted more than 38 major exhibits and served more than 895,000 customers.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ "QuickFacts Broward County, Florida". US Census Bureau. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ a b "About BCL | Broward County Library". www.broward.org. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ "Our History". Broward County Library. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
- ^ "Friends of the Library | Broward County Library". Broward. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
- ^ "Broward County Main Library - Raising an Architectural Icon". digitalarchives.broward.org. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
- ^ "Samuel F. Morrison". The HistoryMakers. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ Allison Grubbs Named New Director of Broward County Library Broward Public Library Foundation, July 26, 2021.
- ^ "No More Late Fines | Broward County Library". www.broward.org. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ "The Book Sanctuary | Broward County Library". www.broward.org. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
- ^ "Locations | Broward County Library". www.broward.org. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ "About the Special Collections". Broward County Library. Archived from the original on 2018-04-07. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
- ^ "Story of AARLCC". Broward County Library. Archived from the original on 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
External links[edit]
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