Town 'N County Regional Library
December 1st, 2012
10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Do you recall when the Town N' Country was serviced by the Bookmobile?
In January, 1969, the first library opened in the Town N' County region in the West Gate shopping center on the 7000 block of West Hillsborough Avenue. Do you remember this storefront location?
Soon after, it was evident that the location would be temporary as library patronage exploded. After a successful community letter writting campaign, the West Gate Branch Library became a reality and the new facility was dedicated at 7606 Paula Drive on April 20th 1975 (below).
Over the next twenty years, the location became an important hub within the community. So, in November, 1995, the branch library was renamed as the West Gate Regional Library to reflect its prominence in the area and its necessity for providing extended hours and services.
10 years later, the need to expand the library was necessary again. Therefore, in 2007, the library was temporarily relocated to a space at the Thompson Center during construction of a new facility (below).
December 3rd, 2008 marks the day that the new 30,000 sq. ft. building opened to the public and was named the Town N' County Regional Library. What were your first impressions of the new library facility?
We are seeking your library memories, memorabilia and photos to gather, which will be recorded/digitized for the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library History Collection.
We look forward to seeing you at the Roadshow on December 1st!
