Monroe County Public Library (Florida Keys)

Last updated

The Monroe County Public LibrarySystem is a public library system located in Monroe County, Florida, which includes the Florida Keys. The system has five branches located in Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine, and Key West. The Monroe County Public Library system aims to "serve the educational, recreational and informational needs and interests" [1] of the communities of the Florida Keys.

Contents

History

In 1892, the Key West Library Association was formally organized on April 8. This date makes the library system the oldest in South Florida. In September of 1892, the library opened in a room on the 2nd floor of Masonic Hall on Simonton Street with 1200 volumes. The library moved initially to the Albury Building at 417 Duval Street. Then in 1917, it moved across the street to the Sweeting Building at 420 Duval Street. In 1941, the library moved to the Woman’s Club at 319 Duval Street. In 1951, the City of Key West agreed to partially fund library operations. In 1956, Monroe County agreed to add to their assistance. November 15, 1959, the Key West Library officially opened. On that first day, 237 books were checked out.

In February 1962, the Marathon Library branch opened in Marathon, Florida. First it was housed in the American Legion. Then moved to a local church site due to incompatibility with the bar. The Key Largo Library branch opened at the Key Largo Civic Club in 1964. In November of 1966, The Islamorada Library branch opened in a Red Cross building constructed after the 1935 hurricane. In July of 1995, the Big Pine Key Library branch opened in Big Pine Key, Florida.

There is a remarkably coincidental connection between Ernest Hemingway and the Monroe County Public Library System. In WWI, Hemingway was injured in Italy, and he was tended to by a nurse named Agnes Von Kurowsky. Hemingway wound up falling in love with Agnes and eventually asked her to marry him. She turned him down and he never quite got over the rejection. She inspired the character Catherine in “A Farewell to Arms.” In 1956, Agnes Von Kurowsky (Stanfield) moved to Key West and went to work at the Key West Library after it opened. One day she asked Betty Bruce about “Ernie,” and Bruce knew something was up. The story came out. One of Hemingway’s great muses was also a Monroe County librarian.

Services

The Islamorada library is a full-service library that is open to residents and visitors and offers a variety of books, newspapers and articles, audio-visual resources, in-library online databases, and resources to Florida Keys history, including a large photo collection available online.

The libraries also provide public internet access computers, free Wi-Fi, and printing from public computers. In addition, they offer children's events, homework help, Ask A Librarian, various programs, and meeting rooms.

Kimberly Matthews is the Library Director.

Branches

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroe County, Florida</span> County in Florida, United States

Monroe County is the southernmost county of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 82,874. Its county seat is Key West. Monroe County includes the islands of the Florida Keys and comprises the Key West-Key Largo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Over 99.9% of the county's population lives on the Florida Keys. The mainland, which is part of the Everglades, comprises 87% of the county's land area and is virtually uninhabited with only 17 people recorded in the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamorada, Florida</span> Village in Florida, United States

Islamorada is an incorporated village in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located directly between Miami and Key West on five islands—Tea Table Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Windley Key and Plantation Key—in the Florida Keys. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 7,107, up from 6,119 in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Key West</span> Island and city in Florida, United States

Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it constitutes the City of Key West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marathon, Florida</span> City in Florida

Marathon is a city in the middle of the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 9,689, up from 8,297 in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tavernier, Florida</span> Census-designated place in Florida, United States

Tavernier is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Monroe County, Florida, United States on Key Largo, the largest island in the upper Florida Keys. Tavernier's population was 2,530 at the 2020 census, up from 2,136 in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Keys</span> Coral cay archipelago in Florida, United States

The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. The southern part of Key West is 93 miles (150 km) from Cuba. The Keys are located between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1935 Labor Day hurricane</span> Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 1935

The 1935 Labor Day hurricane was an extremely powerful and devastating Atlantic hurricane that struck the southeastern United States in early September 1935. For several decades, it was the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of barometric pressure until being surpassed by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988; the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of 1-minute sustained winds ; and the strongest at landfall by 1-minute sustained winds. The fourth tropical cyclone, third tropical storm, second hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1935 Atlantic hurricane season, it is one of four Category 5 hurricanes on record to strike the contiguous United States, along with Hurricane Camille (1969), Hurricane Andrew (1992), and Hurricane Michael (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overseas Highway</span> Highway through the Florida Keys to Key West, Florida, USA

The Overseas Highway is a 113-mile (181.9 km) highway carrying U.S. Route 1 (US 1) through the Florida Keys to Key West. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially destroyed in the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the destroyed sections, so the roadbed and remaining bridges were sold to the state of Florida for $640,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnes von Kurowsky</span> American Nurse and Muse for Ernest Hemingway (1892–1984)

Agnes Hannah von Kurowsky Stanfield was an American nurse who inspired the character "Catherine Barkley" in Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plantation Key</span> Island in the upper Florida Keys, United States

Plantation Key is an island in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located in the upper Florida Keys on U.S. 1, between Key Largo and Windley Key.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 1 in Florida</span> Highway in Florida

U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) in Florida runs 545 miles (877 km) along the state's east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River into Georgia north of Boulogne and south of Folkston. US 1 was designated through Florida when the U.S. Numbered Highway System was established in 1926. With the exception of Monroe County, the highway runs through the easternmost tier of counties in the state, connecting numerous towns and cities along its route, including nine county seats. The road is maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).

<i>Key West Citizen</i> Newspaper in Key West, Florida

The Key West Citizen is a daily newspaper published in Key West, Florida. The newspaper is the result of the amalgamations of several related publications in the early years of the 20th century, becoming the Key West Citizen on April 29, 1905, when the first weekly edition rolled off the presses at 534 Front St. announcing the coming of Flagler's Overseas Railroad to Key West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange County Library System</span>

The Orange County Library System (OCLS) is a public library system serving the Orlando area of Central Florida. The headquarters are in the Orlando Public Library in Downtown Orlando, and there are 15 additional branch locations.

The Florida Keys Keynoter is a twice-weekly broadsheet format newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and is a subsidiary of the Miami Herald. It primarily serves Monroe county in the U.S. state of Florida. In addition to publishing regular issues on Wednesday and Saturday, the Keynoter also publishes the quarterly magazine Unwind. The Keynoter is a partner of the Upper Keys Reporter, which specializes in coverage of the Upper Florida Keys, including Key Largo.

Florida Keys Council of the Arts is a leading cultural organization in the Florida Keys, and serves the population from Key Largo to Key West. A non-profit local arts agency, it makes grants, operates the Monroe County Art in Public Places program, sponsors seminars, and manages the on-line cultural calendar for the region. It also manages the County's Cultural Umbrella grants process, under the Tourism Development Council and serves as a leading advocate for cultural tourism on lower Florida. In 1998, the Florida Keys Council of the Arts was designated by the Board of Monroe County Commissioners as the area's Local Arts Agency as provided by Florida Statute 286.011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroe County School District (Florida)</span> School district in Florida, United States

Monroe County School District is a public school district serving the residents of Monroe County, Florida. The district's administrative offices are headquartered in Key West, Florida, United States, with school sites located throughout the Florida Keys from Key West to Key Largo. The district provides educational services for students enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade and educational opportunities for adult learners enrolled through adult education programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library</span> Public library system in Florida

The LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library is a system of public libraries in Leon County, Florida.

The Key West Library, also known as the Monroe County May Hill Russell Library, is main branch of the Monroe County Library System and is based in Key West, Florida. There are five branches that make up the Monroe County Library System and the Key West Library has been part of Key West island life for more than 50 years. The Key West Library is the southernmost branch of the Monroe County Public Library and is one of the oldest libraries in the state of Florida. The Key West Library serves more than a quarter of a million visitors annually. The Branch Manager for the Key West Branch is Kim Rinaldi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida's 28th congressional district</span> U.S. House district for Florida

Florida's 28th congressional district is a new district created as a result of the 2020 census. The first candidates ran in the 2022 House elections for a seat in the 118th United States Congress. The district was created during the 2020 redistricting cycle as the successor to the previous 26th district in the 2010s. It includes all of Monroe County, home to the Florida Keys, and many of Miami's outer southwestern suburbs, including all of Homestead, The Hammocks, Kendale Lakes, Tamiami, and others. All three of Florida's national parks – the Everglades, Biscayne, and the Dry Tortugas – are also located in this district.

References

  1. "About Us". Monroe County Public Library. Monroe County Public Library. Retrieved March 25, 2016.