 |
| Miami-Dade Public Library System | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| 25°46′29″N80°11′47″W / 25.7746°N 80.1963°W | |
| Location | Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1971 |
| Branches | 50 + 2 bookmobiles + 1 technobus |
| Collection | |
| Size | 3,916,631 |
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | 1,084,841 |
| Circulation | 6,762,294 |
| Population served | 2,496,435 |
| Other information | |
| Website | www.mdpls.org |
The Miami-Dade Public Library System (MDPLS) is a system of libraries in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
The Miami-Dade Public Library System is a county department within Miami-Dade county government. The Board of County Commissioners is the governing body over the library system.
The Library Advisory Board serves in an advisory capacity to the Board of County Commissioners on public library issues, providing reports, recommendations, and guidance to the government of Miami-Dade County.
The service area of the Miami-Dade Public Library System is defined by the Miami-Dade Library Taxing District. The district includes the majority of the geographical boundaries of Miami-Dade County, including most of its 35 municipalities and all of unincorporated Miami-Dade County. [1] The Miami-Dade Public Library System includes 50 libraries, two bookmobiles and one technobus. Along with its own branches, the Miami-Dade Public Library System also allows patrons of public libraries in the cities of Hialeah, Homestead, North Miami, and North Miami Beach to use MDPLS services. [2]
The Miami-Dade Public Library System can trace its roots to April 7, 1894 with the opening of a reading room in Lemon City. [3] One library was opened in the Lemon City public school, while in 1902, the Lemon City Library opened at 412 NE 61st Street. [4] [5] [6] [7] The Lemon City Library Association was established on February 4. 1902. The occasion took place at the house of Mrs. Cornelia Keys and was attended by the Village Improvement Association, which was founded in 1896 by the city’s leading ladies, who were instrumental in the development of the Lemon City Library Association. The Lemon City Library, like its counterpart in Coconut Grove, also operated as a circulation or subscription library. [8]
On June 15, 1895, the Pine Needles Club opened the Coconut Grove Library. [9] Louise Whitfield Carnegie donated books to help the library after she visited Coconut Grove and attended a Pine Needles Club meeting. [10] [11] In 1897, the library occupied a storeroom called the Exchange Library. [8] In the 1900s, Ralph Munroe, the commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, donated land for the construction of a new library, with the condition that the grave of his wife Mrs. Eva Amelia Hewitt Munroe, who died in 1882 would be maintained on the site in perpetuity. [12] The library structure was donated by writer and conservationist Kirk Munroe.
On October 26, 1900, the Coconut Grove Library Association was incorporated. [13] By March 6, 1901 Miami-Dade County's first library building had been built in Coconut Grove and was occupied. [13] It remained in service until 1957, when it became part of the Miami Public Library. [14] [15]
On November 16, 1963, a two-story library designed by local architect T. Triplett Russell opened and is a designated Florida Heritage Site. [16]
In 1913, Henry Morrison Flagler donated land for a Miami Women's Club clubhouse with the provision that it contain a public reading room. In 1915, the Miami City Commission began allocating $50 per month to support the club. The Flagler Memorial Library was established at 1737 North Bayshore Drive. By 1925, the communities of Coconut Grove and Lemon City had been annexed into the city of Miami.
On January 5, 1928, Miami's first bookmobile was pictured in the Miami Herald . [17] The first bookmobiles served rural areas of the city and county where access to library was nonexistent. In 1979, at the height of the program, about 20 bookmobiles were in service with about 293,000 items in circulation, but by 2001 two bookmobiles remained. Due to Covid-19, program has been relived and now the bookmobile makes weekly stops around parts of the city from Hialeah to Cutler Bay. [18] It makes scheduled stops each week at public parks, childcare facilities, condominium complexes, retirement communities, senior centers and recreational facilities where people might not have access to a brick and mortar library. [19] In 2022 the Miami-Dade Public Library System has two Bookmobiles and one Technobus. Along with books, DVDs, CDs and Audiobooks, Bookmobile patrons can now also borrow Chromebook laptops, tablets, and Wi-Fi hotspots. The Technobus offers computers on wheels where patrons can delve into digital photography, music production, graphic design, 3D printing, drone flying and virtual reality. [20]
In 1936, Paul Laurence Dunbar Library opened in a building donated by Annie Coleman, president of the Friendship Garden and Civic Club, to serve citizens of Overtown. [21] In 1938, the facility was made part of Miami's library system and renamed the Dunbar Branch Library. [21] This was the first public library serving the Black community. [22]
On August 13, 1941, the Dorsey Memorial Library opened on land donated by Black philanthropist Dana A. Dorsey. It was the second library opened to serve the African American community in Overtown. It was also the first library built specifically to be a library, and the first library building owned by the city, serving the public until 1961. The Dorsey Memorial Library was then moved to a new larger facility and renamed the Dixie Park Branch Library. [23]
In 1942, there were 7 independent libraries. That year all of them merged into one system, the Miami Public Library System. In 1945 it officially became a department of the City of Miami governed by a board of trustees. [24]
When the Miami Memorial Library was constructed at Bayfront Park in 1951, it became the Miami Public Library's Main Library serving as the Department's central library until 1985. [24]
A subscription library in Coconut Grove became part of the system in April 1957. Eight branches were constructed in the next eight years. In December 1965, the city of Miami began providing public library service to unincorporated Dade County and municipalities that did not have a library service. Coral Gables, South Miami and the Miami Springs library were included in the system. Four bookmobiles provided library service to the unincorporated area.
In 1961, the Dorsey Library was abandoned for the Dixie Park Branch Library, which was renamed the Culmer/Overtown Branch Library in 1983. [23]
On November 1, 1971, the city of Miami transferred its library system to Metropolitan Dade County, which created a new department of libraries. [25]
Homestead's public library joined the county system on January 1, 1975. The Hispanic Branch, Rama Hispanica, opened August 2, 1976 in Little Havana.
On November 7, 1972, 14 new libraries were constructed when $34.7 million was authorized for land acquisition and the construction, renovation, equipment and furnishings of public libraries.
1972 was considered the kick start of the “decade of progress” for the library system. Voters approved a bond of $553 million initiative to building projects, branches and other beneficial constructions throughout the city. [26]
The Miami Beach Public Library and its two branches became part of the Miami-Dade Public Library System in October 1986. On January 15, 1992, the world's first library on an elevated transit system opened at the Metrorail rapid transit system in the Civic Center Station. [27] [28]
The Doral Branch Library, the Country Walk Branch Library and the Hialeah Gardens library were opened in the early 2000s. In 2003, branches opened in Naranja, Tamiami and Lakes of the Meadow. In 2004, libraries opened in Concord and Palm Springs North. A regional library opened on Miami Beach in 2005, as did branches in Sunny Isles Beach and California Club. [29] The Opa-Locka, Sunset and Golden Glades branches opened in 2007, and branches at International Mall, Kendale Lakes and Virrick Park in Coconut Grove opened in 2008. Pinecrest opened in October 2008 and the Arcola Lakes Branch Library opened in 2011.
In 2012, the library system experienced a 30 percent cut in its budget, forcing the elimination of 153 part-time positions and a 25 percent reduction in full-time staff. [30]
The Miami-Dade Public Library System is a subregional library of the Florida Bureau of Braille and Talking Books Library. [31] [32] In 2008, the Miami-Dade Public Library System was one of five U.S. library systems to win the National Medal for Museum and Library Service that was awarded on October 8 at the White House. [33]
In July 2014, a restructuring of the Miami-Dade tax schedule resulted in a $22 million increase in the county library budget. [34] [35] In 2014, Miami-Dade County amended the county charter allowing Miami-Dade public libraries to be located in public parks. [36] [37] The Northeast Branch Library in Aventura opened on August 17, 2015. [38] The library system's 50th branch location opened in the Town of Bay Harbor Islands in December 2016.
In 2017, the Miami-Dade Public Library was awarded Library Services and Technology Act grants to digitize its archives. [39]
The City of Homestead constructed a new library facility in Homestead and withdrew from the Miami-Dade Public Library System. The City and the County did enter into a reciprocal borrowing agreement. [40] The new facility name Cybranium offers virtual reality, 3D printing, children’s theater, and a brand new collection of library books among other services. [41] Despite the change, both cities continue to work together to encourage residents to take part in the library system. [42]
The Hialeah Gardens Branch Library opened on February 11, 2021. [43]
The COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 and changed the library system in huge ways. New ideas and perspectives on accessibility, health practices and employment services were launched. In June 2023, the MDPLS announced summer programming aimed at promoting fun, literacy, education, and nutrition. These include the 2023 Summer Reading Challenge which encouraged residents of all ages to read for fun and prizes; a Homework Help & Tutoring Program which offered free 60-minute tutoring sessions in reading, math, and science for students in grades K-12; Free Lunch at the Library which provided free nutritious lunches to children; and MDPLS Adult Learning Academy which offered free language courses in English and Spanish, as well as U.S. citizenship classes for adults. These programs highlight MDPLS's commitment to serving diverse needs in the community, from educational support to nutritional well-being, making a significant impact on the lives of Miami-Dade County residents. [44]
The Friends of the Miami Dade Public Library was incorporated in 1974 as a non-profit, volunteer organization to create support for the county library system. [45]
Hialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida, which was home to an estimated 6,198,782 people at the 2018 census. It is located west-northwest of Miami, and is one of a few places in the county—others being Homestead, Miami Beach, Surfside, Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles Beach, and Golden Beach—to have its own street grid numbered separately from the rest of the county.
Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010.
Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is an affluent and the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, South Dixie Highway and Rickenbacker Causeway to the north, and Biscayne Bay to the east. It is south of the neighborhoods of Brickell and The Roads and east of Coral Gables. The neighborhood's name has been sometimes spelled "Cocoanut Grove" but the definitive spelling "Coconut Grove" was established when the city was incorporated in 1919.
Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) is the primary public transit authority of Miami, Florida and the greater Miami-Dade County area. It is the largest transit system in Florida and the 15th-largest transit system in the United States. As of 2022, the system has 60,734,900 rides per year, or about 248,700 per weekday in the third quarter of 2023. MDT operates the Metrobus with their paratransit STS systems run by LSF. MDT also operates two rail transit systems: Metrorail and Metromover.
Little Haiti, is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. It is known historically as Lemon City, Little River and Edison. It is home to Haitian immigrant residents, as well as residents from the rest of the Caribbean.
Dana Albert "D. A." Dorsey was a businessman, banker, and philanthropist who became one of the first African–American millionaires in Florida and the American South.
Miami Dade College is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College System with more than 100,000 students. The college enrolls a significantly larger number of Hispanic students compared to other colleges and universities in the state of Florida. The college serves a higher number of minority students than any other college in the nation.
The Barnacle Historic State Park is a 5-acre (2.0 ha) Florida State Park in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida at 3485 Main Highway.
The First Coconut Grove Schoolhouse is a historic school located in Coconut Grove, Florida. The school originally resided at 2916 Grand Avenue in Miami. The structure was built in 1887 by Coconut Grove pioneer Charles Peacock. Peacock reportedly constructed the house using wood gathered from ships wrecked in nearby Key Biscayne. The building originally served as a community gathering place, with Sunday School as its main purpose.
The Trapp Homestead is a historic home in the Coconut Grove section of the City of Miami, Florida, United States. It is located at 2521 South Bayshore Drive. On November 10, 1994, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The home was constructed in 1887 out of oolitic lime quarried locally by Caleb Trapp and his son, Harlan. During construction, the Trapps lived on a thatched hut at the front of the property. The property is believed to be the oldest-standing masonry home in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The estate's construction pre-dates the incorporation of the City of Miami. The estate was particularly notable at the time because it was one of the few stone structures in Miami-Dade County, as nearly all structures in the area were built of wood at that time.
Metrorail is a rapid transit system in Miami and Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Metrorail is operated by Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County. Opened in 1984, it is Florida's only rapid transit metro system, and is currently composed of two lines of 23 stations on 24.4 miles (39.3 km) of standard gauge track. Metrorail serves the urban core of Miami, connecting Miami International Airport, the Health District, Downtown Miami, and Brickell with the northern developed neighborhoods of Hialeah and Medley to the northwest, and to suburban The Roads, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and South Miami, ending at urban Dadeland in Kendall. Metrorail connects to the Metromover in Downtown, which provides metro service to the entirety of Downtown and Brickell. Additionally, it connects to South Florida's commuter rail system at Tri-Rail station, as well as Metrobus routes at all stations. In 2022, the system had 11,951,400 rides, and about 45,400 per day in the third quarter of 2023.
The Woman's Club of Coconut Grove is a historic woman's club in Miami, Florida.
R.E. Chisholm Architects, Inc. is a full-service architectural, interior design and urban design firm located in Miami, Florida. It was founded in 1982 by Robert E. Chisholm, FAIA. The firm was known as CSR Architects from 1983 through 1989. In 1989, the firm was incorporated and grew to its current status. Robert E. Chisholm originally adopted the firm philosophy of maintaining a variety of project types and experience which would develop the thinking and attitude of the firm in a consistent direction of architects in responsible leadership of each project. Chisholm Architects has designed numerous projects which include offices, restaurants, theaters, schools, university facilities, medical centers, commercial & retail sites, institutional & cultural centers, single and multi-unit residences, rapid transit stations, and aviation facilities. In 1996 Robert E. Chisholm was named Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, the highest honor attainable in this 150-year-old organization and in 2007, Mr. Chisholm was awarded the State of Florida AIA Silver Medal for Architecture.
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in the United States. It is Florida's third largest county in terms of land area with 1,946 square miles (5,040 km2). The county seat is Miami, the core of the nation's ninth-largest and world's 65th-largest metropolitan area with a 2020 population of 6.138 million people, exceeding the population of 31 of the nation's 50 states as of 2022.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is the public school district serving Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida, the largest in the Southeastern United States, and the third-largest in the United States with a student enrollment of 356,589 as of August 30, 2021.
The Seaboard–All Florida Railway was a subsidiary of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad that oversaw two major extensions of the system in the early 1920s to southern Florida on each coast during the land boom. One line extended the Seaboard's tracks on the east coast from West Palm Beach down to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, while the other extension on the west coast extended the tracks from Fort Ogden south to Fort Myers and Naples, with branches from Fort Myers to LaBelle and Punta Rassa. These two extensions were heavily championed by Seaboard president S. Davies Warfield, and were constructed by Foley Brothers railroad contractors. Both extensions also allowed the Seaboard to better compete with the Florida East Coast Railway and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, who already served the lower east and west coasts of Florida respectively.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States.
The Lemon City Library is the oldest library within the Miami-Dade Public Library System. The historic library opened its doors to the public on April 7, 1894 and began as a modest reading room and has remained a thriving community resource for over a hundred years.
Mary Barr Munroe was a Scottish-born American clubwoman and conservationist, based in Miami, Florida. Munroe founded the Coconut Grove Audubon Society and library, and worked for the establishment of a state park that became part of the Everglades National Park.
