The Brevard County Library System is a public library system in Brevard County, Florida that coordinates activities between its member public libraries, which collectively serve Brevard County. It is composed of 17 distinct branches stemming all the way from Mims to Micco, with the central administrative and largest of these libraries being the Catherine Schweinsberg Rood Central Library in Cocoa, Florida.[3] It is governed by a board of trustees[4] appointed and funded by the Brevard County Board of Commissioners. Its missions statement is "Brevard County Libraries enables people of all ages to improve their quality of life by providing information and enrichment through traditional resources and new technology." Its vision statement is "We will be recognized as a Library System that excels in providing efficient, modern, accessible and customer oriented services."[5]
The first library in Brevard County was founded in 1895 in Cocoa, FL. One room was rented for five dollars a month, and women in the community would take turns volunteering to run it. The books and supplies were donated by local citizens. By 1959, four other libraries were established in the county, and Florida Statute 150 gave funding to these libraries in agreement that they would serve all residents. The first five public libraries in the county were Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne, and one servicing North Brevard in Titusville.[6] With the Space Program boom in the 1960s, Brevard County's population grew, and the five libraries were expanded to nine. By November 1972, it was necessary for voters to approve a tax referendum that would establish a Library Tax District to fund the growing library system's budget. Currently, there are seventeen libraries within the Brevard County Library System.[7]
In 1989, the Central Brevard Library moved to a building contributed by Florida Today. It was the first library in the county to discard the print card catalog and move to an electronic card catalog.[8]
The Merritt Island Library was established in 1965 by a group of residents who formed a "Friends of the Library" group to support the creation and construction of a library. It was first housed in a trailer within a parking lot with books donated through a community book drive. To raise funds, the legislature asked for a tax district, and a referendum was held, leading to the establishment of the Merritt Island Library Tax District. The first tax district board was appointed by Gov. Hayden Burns on December 30, 1965. The library moved to the Civil Defense Building in 1966, which was built with a federal grant of $200,000 in 1969. In 1972, the library was incorporated into the County Library System, and the first contract was signed in 1976. The tax district still owns the building and maintains the grounds. The library circulates over 200,000 items per year, has a collection of around 80,000 items, and provides meeting rooms for over 700 meetings per year. The board oversees a budget of over $100,000 per year, which is used to care for the building and supplement the county budget.[6]
The F. T. DeGroodt Public Library was completed in June 1992 and is a 22,300 square foot facility which was built in the western area west of 1–95 in Palm Bay. The original Palm Bay Public Library was then renovated and remained open to serve the residents in the northeast area of Palm Bay. With the addition of this second library in Palm Bay the total number of libraries rose to fourteen (14) in the Brevard County Library System.
During a ceremony held on May 26, 2017, the Central Brevard Library, in Cocoa, FL, was officially renamed the Catherine Schweinsberg Rood Central Library, in honor of former Library Services Director Catherine Schweinsberg Rood. Rood worked in the country library system for 32 years, and spent 14 years serving as its director.[9] She is noted for overseeing a number of impactful projects, including the implementation of the first online card catalog system in 1990, as well as the construction of four new libraries. She retired in 2012 and passed away from a battle with an undisclosed illness in 2016.[9]
Programs and services
Each library has meeting rooms which are available for library programming, and community meetings. These rooms are vital to the community, as they offer space for free programs for all patrons.
Youth programs are an important part of each library and a variety of programs are offered, including summer reading programs, story hour programs, toddler times and bedtime story programs. Each library branch has a different set of programs for children ages infant to young adult. During the COVID-19 pandemic, youth services adapted their programs to better service patrons from home. Most library branches offered take home crafts that could be picked up curbside.[10]
Adult programs are offered at every library as well, ranging in activities from painting classes, to book clubs, ukulele groups, quilting and yarn crafting groups, chess instructional groups, gardening and sustainable living classes, basic cooking lessons, gaming groups, movie nights, and yoga classes with new ideas forming new groups as the community needs or wants. Internet navigation assistance may also be provided upon request. This would be for those not well adjusted to largely technological functions necessary to achieve certain tasks such as printing, document scanning, or harmless information retrieval.
Talking Books/Homebound Services provides library materials to residents with visual and physical impairments and to those with limitations associated with age. A special collection of Talking Books is provided by the National Library for the Blind to serve the visually impaired and physically disabled population. The Talking Books service was originally established by an act of Congress in 1931.[6]
The Talking Books Library of the Brevard County Library System was established in 1988 as the ninth Sub-regional library in the Florida network for the blind and physically handicapped. Funded by the County and in cooperation with the National Library Service of the Library of Congress and the Regional Library in Daytona Beach, the service provides books and magazines on cassette tapes and records, as well as the necessary equipment. Braille is also available to readers from the Regional Library. The service is available to anyone who cannot see conventional print clearly and comfortably for a reasonable length of time or who cannot hold a book, turn pages, or focus due to muscle or nerve deterioration or paralysis. The library offers a variety of titles, including best sellers, Westerns, mysteries, romances, classic novels, juvenile books, biographies, and other non-fiction titles. Patrons also receive a local newsletter with items of interest and/or service.[6]
Homebound patrons are served by a mail service which provides standard library materials to patrons through a mail order catalog.[11] The Books by Mail program of the Brevard County Library System started in November 1983 and is still popular today, mailing over 5,000 books a month. This program is second in the State of Florida with only Orange County besting them.[6]
DVDs and Blu-ray discs are also popular items available for loan.
Downloadable audio books and ebooks are available through Brevard County Libraries in a program called OverDrive with online instructions and selections for compatible audio and eBook devices. Books are now also offered in a MP3 format as well, compatible only on MP3 enabled devices.
In a more modern effort to reach patrons, some libraries in Brevard have created Instagram accounts, including the Eau Gallie Public Library,[12] the Titusville Public Library,[13] and the Satellite Beach Public Library.[14] These social media accounts market library programs online, reaching younger patrons especially.
In addition, the official website for the county system includes an extensive array of free online resources for patron use. This includes access to investment research databases such as Morningstar, digital microfilms of the Florida Today newspaper, and access to the complete language learning software, Rosetta Stone.[15]
Genealogy collections
Three of the seventeen library branches within the Brevard County Public Library System have special genealogy collections available to the public for use within the library during regular hours. The Central Brevard Library in Cocoa, FL has the largest collection, staffed full-time and employing a certified genealogist. It began in 1989 and contains genealogical records, early Brevard County Courthouse records, and the entirety of a collection of documents originally held by Eastern Florida State College (formerly Brevard Community College). Items from the EFSC collection are available for Inter Library Loan within Brevard County.[16] The Titusville Public Library and the Melbourne Public Library also have collections, and are staffed by volunteers.[17]
Michael Boonstra, the youngest certified genealogist in Florida, is the head of the Catherine Schweinsberg Rood Central Library where the largest genealogy department for all of Brevard County is kept.[18] He first became interested in history because of his grandparents: "I have been interested in history ever since I can remember. I attribute my interest to the influence of my maternal grandparents who loved history and lived in a home built in the 1790s that had been in the family for many generations in upstate New York. I spent most of my summers at their “farm,” learning and hearing about house and family history first hand."[18]
Creative Lab
Beginning in 2014, the Brevard Library Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the library system, began fundraising for a Creative Lab. The lab, which is in the Central Brevard Library in Cocoa, encourages STEM subject education by providing a space and the technology for creative engineering, electronics, music, video, and computer projects. A music recording studio, sound engineering station, and 3D printer is housed in the Creative Lab, and local experts teach classes for residents. Resources include two 3-D printers; Adobe Creative Cloud; maker kits that include littleBits electronic building blocks and Raspberry Pi boards, or small computers often used in do-it-yourself projects; a sewing machine; a workstation for grinding, engraving, sanding and polishing; and a podcasting station where you can “become a blogger, vlogger, or create your own podcast.” [19] The Creative Lab opened to the public in August 2016.[20][21][22] Right now, there are two employees working in the Creative Lab. The lab has the same hours as the library and only slightly differs occasionally. Access to the Lab is free of charge, however, there is a charge for the materials used with the 3D printers.[23] The Creative Lab also provides STEM crafts, with the option to take them home as COVID-19 continues. These crafts include light-up flowers and purses, poseable papercraft figures, robots, custom devices, science-based recipes and more.[19] Former Creative Lab employee Ellery Cason says "They call makerspaces part of a movement for a very good reason,” Ms. Cason said. “This is the first makerspace in Brevard County, and it has opened the door for people not just to read about the amazing things they can do, but also to actually make them."[19]
Brevard County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in Titusville. Brevard County comprises the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along the east Florida coast and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.
Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,539 at the 2018 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located 72 miles (116 km) southeast of Orlando and 175 miles (282 km) northwest of Miami. As of the 2020 Decennial Census, there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1969, the city was expanded by merging with nearby Eau Gallie.
Titusville is a city in and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 48,789. Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and the Kennedy Space Center, and south-southwest of the Canaveral National Seashore. It is a principal city of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It is one of several "themed" coasts around Florida. All orbital launches from American soil carrying NASA astronauts have departed from either KSC or Cape Canaveral. The Space Force Station has also launched unmanned military and civilian rockets. Cities in the area include Port St. John, Titusville, Cocoa, Rockledge, Cape Canaveral, Merritt Island (unincorporated), Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Palm Bay, and Viera (unincorporated). Most of the area lies within Brevard County. It is bounded on the south by the Treasure Coast, on the west and north by Central Florida, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean.
Merritt Island Airport is a general aviation public airport under the administration of the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority. It located in Merritt Island, Brevard County, Florida, United States, northwest of Patrick Space Force Base.
Florida Today is the major daily newspaper serving Brevard County, Florida. Al Neuharth of the Gannett corporation started the paper in 1966, and some of the things he did with this newspaper presaged what he would later do at USA Today.
Eau Gallie is a section of the city of Melbourne, Florida, located on the city's northern side. It was an independent city in Brevard County from 1860 until 1969.
Brevard Public Schools is a school district serving Brevard County, Florida, and based in Viera, Florida.
Palm Bay Magnet High School is a public high school located in Melbourne, Florida, 2,000 feet (610 m) north of the boundary of Palm Bay, Florida. It is part of the Brevard County School District.
The Indian River Lagoon Scenic Highway is a 130-mile-long (210 km) scenic byway located in Florida. The highway is a collection of several roads, running north and south along either side of the Indian River Lagoon, connected by other roads running over the Lagoon.
Winchester Symphony House is a historic home located in the Eau Gallie-section of Melbourne, Florida. The house was built in 1886. William Treutler, director of the State Bank of Eau Gallie and hotel proprietor in Eau Gallie, built the house. Brevard County and the State of Florida list this building as a historic site. Currently, the house serves as the headquarters for the administrative staff of the Brevard Symphony Orchestra.
The Eau Gallie Public Library was founded in 1898, making it the second oldest library in the Brevard County Library System, Florida, United States. The founders initially established the library in the Eau Gallie Post Office. The library was moved to several different locations over the years, including the city hall, the civic center and a restaurant In 1962, the library was moved to its current location at 1521 Pineapple Avenue in Eau Gallie, where a new building was constructed in 1998.
Joseph Horatio Wickham (1911-2000) was a prominent Brevard County, Florida politician serving on the County Commission from 1952 to 1964 and from 1972 to 1984. Wickham's most notable achievements were securing rights of way for many of the county's current roadways, and establishing a permanent mosquito control program. One of these roads is Wickham Road.
Space Coast Area Transit is the public transit system serving the communities in Brevard County, Florida.
Brevard County has a county government, municipal governments, and various Florida state and U.S. federal agencies.
The History of Brevard County can be traced to the prehistory of native cultures living in the area from pre-Columbian times to the present age. Brevard County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The geographic boundaries of the county have changed significantly since its founding. The county is named for Judge Theodore W. Brevard, an early settler, and state comptroller, and was originally named St. Lucie County until 1855. The official county seat has been located in Titusville since 1894, although most of the county's administration is performed from Viera.
Eastern Florida State College, formerly Brevard Community College, is a public college in Brevard County, Florida. It is a member of the Florida College System and has campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville, as well as a Virtual Campus.
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