Alachua County Library District

Alachua County Library District Headquarters Branch, 401 East University Avenue, Gainesville, Fl.

The Alachua County Library District is an independent special taxing district and the sole provider of public library service to approximately 250,000 citizens of Alachua County, Florida. This includes all of the incorporated municipalities in the county. It maintains a Headquarters Library and four other branches in Gainesville. There are branch locations in seven of the eight other incorporated municipalities in the county. ACLD also operates a branch at the county jail, and two bookmobiles.

Locations

The Alachua County Library District has twelve locations. In Gainesville alone there are five locations, including the Headquarters Branch in downtown Gainesville, Millhopper Branch in northwest Gainesville, Tower Road Branch in unincorporated Alachua county southwest of Gainesville, Library Partnership Branch in northeast Gainesville, and Cone Park Branch in east Gainesville. The district also operates branches in the Alachua County municipalities of Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne, High Springs, Micanopy, Newberry, and Waldo, and a branch at the Alachua County Jail. The district operates two bookmobiles which visit more than 25 locations in the county from two to five times a month.[1][2][3]

Millhopper Branch Library


Hours of Operation

Location Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Headquarters 9:30-9:00 9:30-9:00 9:30-9:00 9:30-9:00 9:30-6:00 9:30-5:00 1:00-5:00
Alachua 11:00-7:00 11:00-7:00 11:00-7:00 11:00-7:00 11:00-5:00 11:00-5:00 1:00-5:00
Archer 10:00-7:00 10:00-7:00 10:00-7:00 10:00-7:00 Closed Closed 1:00-5:00
Cone Park 10:00-6:00 10:00-6:00 10:00-6:00 10:00-6:00 10:00-5:00 10:00-5:00 Closed
Hawthorne 10:00-7:00 10:00-7:00 10:00-7:00 10:00-7:00 1:00-5:00 1:00-5:00 1:00-5:00
High Springs 10:00-5:00 10:00-8:00 10:00-5:00 10:00-8:00 10:00-5:00 10:00-2:00 1:00-5:00
Library Partnership 9:00-6:00 9:00-6:00 11:00-7:00 11:00-7:00 9:00-5:00 10:00-3:00 Closed
Micanopy 11:00-7:00 1:00-7:00 1:00-7:00 1:00-7:00 Closed Closed 1:00-5:00
Millhopper 9:30-8:30 9:30-8:30 9:30-8:30 9:30-8:30 9:30-5:00 9:30-5:00 1:00-5:00
Newberry 10:00-8:00 10:00-8:00 10:00-8:00 10:00-8:00 10:00-5:00 10:00-5:00 1:00-5:00
Tower Road 9:30-8:30 9:30-8:30 9:30-8:30 9:30-8:30 9:30-5:00 9:30-5:00 1:00-5:00
Waldo 12:30-7:00 12:30-7:00 12:30-7:00 12:30-7:00 Closed Closed 1:00-5:00

History

The Alachua County Library District traces its origins to 1905, when the Twentieth Century Club in Gainesville started a subscription library. The Gainesville Public Library, which was a subscription library operated by the Library Association, opened in 1906. The Twentieth Century Club donated the books from its subscription library, and the new library also received books from the library of the East Florida Seminary, which had been absorbed by the newly founded University of Florida. The Gainesville Public Library became a free library in 1918, supported by funds from city taxes, and in a building constructed with the aid of a Carnegie grant. The library became a department of the City of Gainesville in 1949. A branch of the Gainesville Public Library, the Carver Branch Library, was opened in 1953 to provide library services to the African-American population of Gainesville. The Carver Branch closed in 1969, after the main library had been desegregated. In 1958, the City of Gainesville and Alachua County agreed to jointly operate the library for the whole county.

Branch libraries were opened in High Springs, Hawthorne and Micanopy the next year, and a bookmobile was put into service. Alachua County joined with Bradford County to operate the Santa Fe Regional Library. After Bradford County withdrew from the Regional Library, the Alachua County Library District was formally established in 1986. The Millhopper and Tower Road branches opened in 1992, and the branches in Alachua, Archer, Newberry and Waldo were all opened by 1997. In 2008, the Alachua branch underwent a $1.5 million dollar renovation and expansion project that saw the library's size double to 10,000 square feet and included the addition of a drive-up window and specialized areas for both young children and teenagers.[4] The Library Partnership Branch opened in 2009 and the Cone Park Branch in 2011. A new, permanent location for the Cone Park Branch Library was opened near the Eastside Community Center in Gainesville on December 14, 2013.[5][6][7] In 2015, Headquarters branch celebrated 25 years - with an estimated 3.8 million items checked out that year.[8] In 2016, High Springs branch added 3,000 square feet to their original building.[9]

Library cards

Library cards are free to any resident of the State of Florida and to non-residents who own property in Florida. Out of state residents may get a card by paying a fee. A potential user must register in person with proper identification and proof of residency or of ownership of property in the state. The registration of a minor requires the parent or legal guardian to have their own ID plus an acceptable form of ID for the child. Acceptable forms of identification for a minor include:

Library card renewal is required every two years and must be done in person with a photo ID and proof of mailing address. A patron must have a $0 account balance in order to renew a card.[10]

Checkouts and returns

Library card holders can checkout and return items at any branch located in Alachua County, including the two bookmobiles. Total checkout is limited to 100 items with a max of 8 DVDs per account. Books and audiobooks check out for 4 weeks, music CDs check out for 2 weeks, and DVDs check out for 1 week. Items may be renewed twice, as long as they are not on hold for another patron. Audiobooks, eBooks, music, TV shows and movies are available to library card holders as downloadable digital media from the ACLD website.

If a library card holder wishes to checkout an item that is not currently available, they may place a hold request on that item through the online catalog. By entering their library card number, a patron can then choose the branch they wish to have the item delivered to once it becomes available.[11]

The Library District does not have late fees. However, five or more overdue items or $50.00 worth of overdue materials will block borrowing privileges until the items are returned or paid for.[12][13] Additionally, any items returned by patrons with damaged or missing parts will result in a standard replacement charge for that individual.[14]

Services

Apart from library card privileges, the Alachua County Library District branches offer other services including meeting rooms, events for all ages, ebooks, audiobooks, computer access, Wi-Fi, printing, interlibrary loans, proctoring, and literacy tutoring for adults and ESOL learners.[15] Additionally, multiple branch locations have served as polling locations during Alachua County elections.[16]

Library support

The Friends of the Library fall book sale, October 25, 2016.

The Library District is supported by the Friends of the Library (established in 1954) with a bi-annual book sale, usually in October and April.[17] The Friends of the Library book sale is the largest of its kind in the state of Florida, with 500,000 books, magazines, videos, puzzles, games, and more available for sale. The book sale also has a Collector's Corner, which specializes in rare books, including first editions, signed copies, and Florida-related materials.[18][19] The sale offers more than 64 categories of books, including general fiction, classics, cookbooks, children's and young adult fiction, and comic books. Proceeds from the sale fund different programs benefiting the Alachua County Library District. In 2015-2016, the book sale proceeds funded $150,000 in direct support to the library district for adult and children's programming, for purchasing library materials, and for other needs. The library also raised scholarship funds for library personnel to complete their Master of Library and Information Science degrees. The Friends of the Library also helped fund a variety of literacy projects, including the Family Literacy Festival, distribution of books for Head Start programs, and mini-grants for local literacy organizations.[20]

The library district is also supported by the ACLD Foundation, which raises money through the sale of name plaques and author galas.[5][21]

Recognition

References

  1. ↑ "Locations". Alachua County Library District. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  2. ↑ "Inmate Programs". Alachua County Sherriff's Office. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  3. ↑ "Bookmobile Stops". Alachua County Library District. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "A New Look for Alachua Libraries". Gainesville.com. The Gainesville Sun. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  5. 1 2 Carrico, Steve. "A Summarized Timeline of the History of Libraries in Alachua County". University of Florida Libraries. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  6. ↑ "Gainesville Public Library". Alachua County Library District. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "Cone Park Library Hosting Grand Opening". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Smith, Melissa (2016-02-02). "Alachua County's Headquarters Library Celebrates 25 Years". WUFT. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  9. ↑ Guzman, Amy (2016-08-31). "High Springs library celebrates new expansion". Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  10. ↑ "Get a Library Card". Alachua County Library District. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  11. ↑ "Q. How do I reserve, or place a "hold," on library materials?". Alachua County Library District. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Fines". Alachua County Library District. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  13. ↑ "Lost Materials". Alachua County Library District. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  14. ↑ "Patron Accounts". Alachua County Library District. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  15. ↑ "Services | Alachua County Library District". www.aclib.us. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  16. ↑ "Early Voting for Alachua County". WCJB TV-20. Diversified Broadcasting Inc. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  17. ↑ "The Bookstore". Friends of the Library. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  18. ↑ "FOL Sale Collector's Corner Page". folacld.org. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  19. ↑ Valencic, Brittany (2015-04-17). "Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale is next weekend". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  20. ↑ "FOL Projects Page". folacld.org. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  21. ↑ "ACLD Foundation". Alachua County Library District Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  22. ↑ "Florida Library Awards Recipients 2010" (PDF). Florida Library Association. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  23. ↑ "New Bright Ideas Recognizes Innovative Government". Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  24. ↑ "Sol M. Hirsch receives 2011 Sullivan Award". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  25. ↑ Curry, Christopher (March 1, 2011). "Library director Sol Hirsch to retire". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  26. ↑ "IMLS Announces the 2011 National Medal for Museum and Library Service Recipients". PRNewswire. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  27. ↑ "2016 Award Winners" (PDF). Florida Library Association. Retrieved 2016-09-06.

External links

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