Celebrating 20 Years of the Austin Davis Public Library

Come share your memories of the Austin Davis Public Library!
(Formerly the Citrus Park-Keystone Branch)

Austin Davis Public Library

May 18th, 2013

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The region was first serviced by the bookmobile until June 6, 1977, after library director Leo Meirose recommended to county commissioners that a library branch open at Fox's Corner Shopping Center on Mobley Road in Odessa.  This library was known as the Citrus Park-Keystone Branch Library, known for its quaint, neighborhood feel that catered to its rural community. Do you remember this storefront library?

After nearly 15 years of library service at this location, county commissions continued to grapple on how to fund a new library building adequate for the rapidly growing region.

 It was not until 1991 that the Friends of the Citrus Park-Keystone Library rally cries for a full-service library brought the cause to the attention of M. Austin Davis, co-founder of the famed Winn-Dixie grocery chain. In response, W-D Charities, Inc. donated $1.1 million dollars for the construction of a new, 10,500 square-foot public library for the Citrus Park-Keystone region, which now bears Austin Davis's name. 

The Austin Davis Public Library, located at 17808 Wayne Rd. in Odessa, FL (just east of Gunn Hwy on Wayne Road) was dedicated May 23rd, 1993.  Read more about the library's history here!

Come share your personal history of the Citrus Park-Keystone Branch/Austin Davis Public Library!

The Library History Roadshow invites its community to bring their local library-related photos, memorabilia and memories to digitize for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library History Archive on May 18th from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. 

There will also be light refreshments, compliments of the Friends of the Austin Davis Library, who are celebrating 20 years of the library!  Also, come see a historic Burgert Brothers photographic exhibit tailored just for this event. 

For more information about the Library History Roadshow, please call 813-273-3652.

National Bookmobile Day 2013

The National Bookmobile Day 2013 was April 17th. To help celebrate the occasion, the Library History Roadshow team followed both the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library Bookmobile and Cybermobile along their routes for the day. It was a beautiful day filled with great customer interactions! Check out some photos of the all-day event:

The Bookmobile Roadshow made stops at Acorn Trace Apartments, Rose Lake Estates, and Horizon Bay, while the Cybermobile Roadshow made a single stop at the Cordelia Hunt Community Center. At each location, video and audio recordings of Bookmobile and Cybermobile patrons were captured as they recalled their past experiences on-board the buses and with the mobile library staff, as well as spoke about the reasons that they keep coming back. Some of the people who took part in the Roadshow were newer to the mobile branches but were enthusiastic to share what they already enjoy about the service.

Because the mobile libraries visit several different stops throughout Hillsborough County, future ‘Roadshows’ are being planned at other stops. We encourage you to visit our mobile libraries and see what the buzz is all about!

Link to their schedules: Bookmobile | Cybermobile.

Video and audio memories will be available online starting January 1st, 2014 -- the kick-off of the Centennial Celebration of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library system.

A Brief History of Mobile Library Services in Hillsborough County

During the Depression, Works Projects Administration funds made the first bookmobile service possible.  In 1930, the Tampa Public Library began a "bookcar" service, delivering books to the community as a Traveling Branch. Soon after, it would become known as the Bookmobile.

In the 1950s, the bookmobile was known as the "Traveling Branch" and very popular among its users in neighborhoods like Sulphur Springs, Wellswood, Forest Hills, Ballast Point.

During the 1960s, the bookmobile served as a mobile neighborhood branch while library locations were being built or remodeled while also providing an extension of services to rural areas such as Wimauma, Riverview, Gibsonton, Thonotosassa, Odessa and Town N' Country.

The Cybermobile, a Spanish-language mobile library branch providing free library resources, services, computer classes, and programming throughout Hillsborough County was dedicated on May 11, 2006.  Its purpose is to bridge language and library usage gaps and to develop lifelong library users. Learn more about the Cybermobile.

Great turnout at the Harlem Branch Library History Roadshow!

The Library History Roadshow for the Harlem Branch Library was a great success!  Many thanks to the LHJ Law Firm for providing refreshments, to the Ada T. Payne Friends of the Urban Libraries and to everyone who came out to support the effort to collect memories of the Harlem Branch Library.  Check out the photos from the event!

There is little documentation of this historic African American library. Thus every audio and video recording that we collect is really special.  The only known image of the interior of the library and of Librarian Ada T. Payne is from a 1950 Tampa Tribune article (right).

Here is a list of our most wanted Harlem Branch Library items :

•  Photo of the exterior of the library location at 1404 Central Avenue (1925-1969)
• Invitation to the opening reception for the Central Avenue location.
• Photograph of the Harlem Branch Librarians:  Ada T. Payne, Lizzie Dansey (or Dawsey), Henrietta Maddox, Cancerina Martin, Adelle Samuel, and Jemi B. Brown.
• Harlem Branch Library card.

 If you or someone you know has any such of these items, please contact the library at 813-273-3652.

In the meantime, check back soon as we will post some of the video histories that were recorded!

Coming up next: Harlem Branch Library (1919-1969)

The next stop for the Library History Roadshow will honor the Harlem Branch Library, also known as the East Branch Library.  

February 23, 2013

10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Public Library

1505 Nebraska Ave.

Tampa, FL

The Harlem Branch of the Tampa Public Library opened in 1919 in the Harlem Academy and later, in 1923, at the Tampa Urban League building. This branch library closed when the Central Library on Ashley Drive opened in 1968 in downtown Tampa. 

We are interested in getting in contact with anyone who has any memories of the Harlem/East Branch Library.  It is the aim of the Library History Roadshow to collect and to preserve the historical cultural heritage of our community libraries, past and present. 

We will be recording video and oral histories, as well as digitizing your library memories and memorabilia for inclusion into the Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library History archival collection, Tampa-Hillsborough County Treasures.  Please, come and share your story! 

Tampa-Hillsborough County Treasures, an online digital local history collection, will be unveiled for public access for the Centennial Celebration of the Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library system on January 1st, 2014.  Save the date!

For more information, call 813-273-3652 or visit hcplc.org. 

Save the Date to Celebrate: January 1, 2014

Public libraries have been changing lives and transforming communities in Hillsborough County for nearly a century...

Tampa-Hillsborough Public Libraries'
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

January 1st, 2014
at the

West Tampa Branch Library
2312 W. Union St.
Tampa, FL 33607

The historic West Tampa Branch Library, located at 2312 W. Union St. in Tampa, opened on January 1, 1914. It is Hillsborough County’s first public library and one of 11 libraries in Florida funded by grants from the Carnegie Corporation. 100 years later, the Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library system has grown to serve its community through its 27 locations. 

 

John F. Germany Public Library's Roadshow is a party!

On Sunday, January 13th, the history of the John F. Germany Public Library (formerly the Tampa Public Library's Central Branch) was celebrated, coinciding with the 90th birthday of its namesake, Mr. John Germany. 

We were honored by the presence of past library directors' families, as well as retired librarians and other notable citizens that were integral in the creation of public libraries in our city and county. They all had memories to share of the challenges and successes about the formation of this library branch and the evolution of the the Tampa-Hillsborough County Library system as it developed over the years. We collected a variety of library memories to share.

Check out the slideshow, which begins with an images from the 1965 groundbreaking and construction in 1967:



Director of Libraries, Mr. Joe Stines, kicked off the event by welcoming attendees and Mr. Germany had a few thoughts to share with a party crowd, who were eager to listen.  After everyone had a slice of birthday cake and folks had a chance to visit with one another, we encouraged attendees to record their library memories.  

With anticipation, we recorded Mr. Cecil Beach, Director of Libraries from 1965-1972, who has a life-time repertoire of experience in developing libraries and library services at the public, state and national level.

Architect James Jennewein, who designed the library was in attendance.  This is the original model of the Central Branch Library that he designed, courtesy of the City of Tampa Archives.

We were so glad that Leo Meirose, Jr., son of past library director, Leo Meirose, Sr. (1972-1982), came to share his memories of this father's work for the Tampa Public Library system. Leo describes well (below) the challenges his father dealt with during an era when public libraries collections were heatedly contested by censorship. Meirose Sr.'s legacy is known for standing strong for intellectual freedom and free speech, which he was for honored by the Florida Library Association.

 


Retired Librarian, Bunny Pearce, who also donated a video memory at the Hyde Park Branch roadshow, also had spent time working at the Central Branch library. 

Frank Lakus, creating in 1970.

The weaving today, on YA/1-west floor

Frank Lakus, shared with us his memory of working at the Central Library in the mid-1960s-1970s.   He was commissioned to create a multi-media sculptural-weaving for the young adult wing in 1970, that still hangs in the window to this day. For decades since, Frank has been active with  puppeteering with the Hillsborough Storytelling Festival, in addition to working as an artist. Frank tells us his story:

 

YA, Main Library on 7th Ave. ca. 1964

Thanks to retired librarian Priscilla Lakus for bringing her photo albums spanning the 1960s through the 2000s. These photos are just a sampling of more to come...

We were absolutely thrilled with the turnout of roadshow guests.  Many THANKS to the Friends of the John F. Germany Public Library for contributing the refreshments, flowers and balloons -- it really made the event more special for everyone who attended the roadshow festivities.

You can look forward to seeing more Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library history when we unveil the Tampa-Hillsborough County Treasures site for the Centennial Celebration of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library system on January 1, 2014 at the West Tampa Public Library, Tampa's first library. Save the date!

Celebrating John F. Germany Public Library, January 13, 2013

Tampa Public Library, Central Library, circa 1999.

The next Library History Roadshow will be a special occasion as we celebrate John Germany's 90th birthday!

  

  John F. Germany Public Library

900 North Ashley Drive, Tampa, FL

Sunday, January 13, 2013

12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

  



Charles J. Fendig speaking at the
TPL's Central Library dedication, April 21, 1968.



Groundbreaking for the construction of Tampa's main library took place on April 25th, 1965,  Three years later, the John F. Germany Public Library, originally named the "Tampa Public Library - Central Library", was dedicated on April 21st, 1968, becoming a hub for Tampa's community at 900 North Ashley Drive. This new main library replaced the Tampa Free Public Library (aka the 'Carnegie Library') which opened in 1917 on 7th Avenue. The library expanded in 1976 after the four-story annex was added.  Then, in 1999, the library was renamed in honor of local attorney, former judge, civic leader and long-time library supporter, John F. Germany. For more on the history of this library, click here.



In addition to gathering and digitizing your Tampa-Hillsborough library memories at this upcoming Library History Roadshow, we are enthusiastic about the debut of an exhibit in the main entrance foyer and a unique photographic exhibit that will relate the story of this library's beginnings and evolution. 




The Central Library opens following
the dedication ceremony, April 21, 1968.

  We are looking forward to celebrating Mr. Germany's 90th birthday!  At 1:00 p.m., Director of Libraries, Joe Stines, will welcome attendees in the Kotler Gallery area, followed by birthday wishes and cake for Mr. Germany.  Roadshow visitors will also have the opportunity to learn more about Tampa's past library directors and their contributions to the development of the library system and also gain insight on the upcoming centennial celebration of our library system in 2014.



Do you have a distinct memory of coming to the library or want to share how the John F. Germany Public Library has impacted your life?  If so, we encourage you to come and to share your memories!

When the Library History Roadshow visits your local library, you have the opportunity to record an audio or video memory as well as digitize your library photos and memorabilia. 

Questions? Don't hesitate to call 813-273-3652. We look forward to seeing you on January 13th!