JPL Friends of the Library reach more than 10,000 volunteer hours

The Friends of the library donate their time year round to several major revenue generators to raise funds for the library including two annual Great Jacksonville Booksales held during the fall and spring at the Fair rounds where great literary buys can be discovered for a just a a few dollars.

The Booktique owned and operated by the Friends, and staffed entirely by volunteers, is located in the Laura Street entrance of the Main Library. Booktique offers great buys on books for readers of all ages. The Saturday Morning Bookstore, also staffed entirely by volunteers, is open each Saturday and oeprated out of the University Park Library ranch. Volunteers sell, sort and organize thousands of books in prepration to seel by Friends volunteers.

"I've always enjoyed working with people who enjoy the library and reading just as much as I do," Joyce Patten, Booktique volunteer said. "I love that the Booktique offers such affordable books for everyone and it all benefits the library!"

Great turn out at "How Can I Afford Retirement?" seminar at Jacksonville Public Library

What a great turn out! More than 300 people attended the "How Can I Afford Retirement?" seminar held at the Jacksonville Main Library during the last 5 weeks .

Each session began with an introduction of a retirement related topic and was expanded upon by volunteer financial planning experts provided by the Financial Planning Assoc. of Northeast Florida.

Following the main session, participants were divided into smaller breakout groups to exchange knowledge and discuss and answer questions among their fellow attendees.


Each breakout session was monitored by a volunteer facilitator to generate ideas engagement among each group.

Library Director addresses Rotary Club of Jacksonville

Library Director Barbara Gubbin attended the Jacksonville Rotary Club chapter meeting this week to share how JPL is meeting the needs of today's library customers.


Gubbin elaborated on the Center for Adult Learning (CAL) and its aid to help its literacy students acquire their U.S. citizenship as well as computer resources for those searching and applying for jobs and government services and the recent contract approval by City Council for Learn to Read.

Colonial sword fights and musical mania at JPL

Families enjoyed an afternoon of free musical performances by period dressed performers at the Main Library presented by Friday Musicale, a non-profit organization that offers music programs to youth in Jacksonville.


Musical works by Afro-French composer JOSEPH BOLOGNE, LE CHEVALIER DE SAINT-GEORGES, the leading French composer and swordsman of his day, known as "The Black Mozart" filled the Hicks Auditorium.

New Panama City Beach library almost ready for furniture

Panama City News Herald
by Pat Kelly/News Herald Writer
January 27, 2010

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The new $1.8 million Panama City Beach library is nearing completion and getting ready for new furniture.

Doug Gilmore, the chairman of the library’s fundraising committee, met recently with head librarian Frank Walker to plan for the unique needs of the new 10,000-square-foot library, including shelving, furniture and computers.

Preliminary estimates for the furnishings are $103,000, and the Northwest Florida Regional Library System already has pledged $30,000, Gilmore said. He will ask the City Council during its regular 2 p.m. meeting today to amend its budget and match the $30,000 amount.

“We are getting close, and we are ready to order the furniture,” Gilmore said Wednesday. “It’s getting down to the exciting part.”

City Manager Richard Jackson said construction for the new facility should be completed near mid-March with a grand opening near mid-April.

“That could be a bit optimistic, but they are moving along pretty good,” Jackson said.

The new facility is at the corner of Hutchison Boulevard and Lyndell Lane near the Senior Center and Lyndell Community Center. It will replace the current 4,500-square-foot building near U.S. 98 and State 79 that has outgrown its space.

Library officials said the existing library is used more than any other branch in the Northwest Regional Library System, which includes Bay, Gulf and Liberty counties.

Local groups of citizens and civic organizations have worked on the planning and fundraising for the project, for which a $500,000 state grant was awarded.

Gilmore said Wednesday his committee has raised about $300,000 for the project, with $60,000 more coming in pledges, but more is needed.

“We are starting another campaign right now,” he said. “I know that this is a really tough economic climate, but what we really need are corporate donations, even if they are just letters of commitment.”

City officials have said the total cost of the state-of-the-art library could reach $2.23 million after architectural, engineering and survey costs are included.

Seniors visit state legislators @ the library

The Main Library Conference and Events Center hosted its sixth annual Legislative forum for Seniors on January 28, 2010. Each year the forum brings hundreds of senior citizens to hear the members of the Duval Delegation speak.

Over 280 seniors attend this year's forum at the Main Library. The legislators each gave talks on issues important to seniors and participated in a question and answer period.

JPL nominated for 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Service

JPL nominated by U.S. Senator Bill Nelson. The medal honors institutions that make exceptional contributions to their communities through programs that address the ever-changing needs of the communities they serve.

2010 National Medal for Museum and Library service

JPL awarded humanities and conservation grants, programs to be offered in spring 2010

The library is the recipient of two prestigious national grants for which it will implement programs for during the next three years. The first, which awarded JPL $9,000 from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, administered through the Florida Humanities Council, will bring life to the topic of humanities to libraries through storytelling.

Prime Time is a six week program of reading, discussion and storytelling. The program features award-winning children's books to stimulate discussion about humanities themes and problems encountered in everyday life that include situations dealing with fairness, greed, honor and deceit.

A second grant, which awarded the library more than $300,000 in program funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, in partnership with Poets House and the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, will shed light on the importance of conservation using poetry and creative language.

The Language of Conservation program will bring the transformative power of poetry to the service of wildlife conservation. The program will explore the use of poetic language a the Zoo's animal exhibits to increase the visitor's experience and deepen their understanding of conservation of some of natures most important wildlife.

"These two programs will be some of the most exciting JPL has offered," Pam McClellan, resource development coordinator for the library, said. "Planning has already begun and staff and committees are looking forward to being a part of such unique projects."

Jacksonville Public Library offering edu programs on green building

The North Florida Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council in cooperation with the Jacksonville Public Library is offering free workshops on advantages and incentives for green building and remodeling homes.

The Workshops will offer an educational overview with tips and insights on emerging benefits of energy efficient and sustainable construction. Each session will include an opportunity for dialogue and questions and answers at the end of the program.

"This series will be a great opportunity for community members who are interested in improving their homes to receive accurate and trustworthy information," Luis Flores, director of facilities for the library, said. "The library is filled with materials on home improvements and do-it-yourself projects for customers. This is another free resource they can access to help further their knowledge and reap the benefits.

Green Building workshops

Jacksonville Public Library receives $100,000 to offer investment education seminars this spring

"JPL on the Home Front" will offer a combination of group discussions with group facilitators to help encourage participants to share information and engage in conversation about seminar material.


JPL has been awarded a $100,000 grant to fund a one year program "JPL on the Home Front: Your Ticket to Smart Investing @ your library."

Smart investing @ your library is administered jointly by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Assocation, and The Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation. These organizations fund library efforts to provide millions of library customers with effective, unbiased financial education resources.

"Public libraries are ideally positioned to serve the financial information needs of their communities, and to do so without a sales pitch or a hidden agenda," said John Gannon president of FINRA Foundation. "With the help of these programs, Americans can turn to their libraries to get the best available financial information to make smart decisions for their families' financial future."

This series will especially reach out to Jacksonville military service members, veterans and their families.

Jacksonville Public Library receives Star Rating

(Library staff gather in front of a holiday tree decorated with
customer creations of the library is "my ticket to")

The Jacksonville Public Library has been named of of America's Star Libraries in the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service. The LJ Index identified the library as a Star Library from 7,268 public libraries nationwide, based on circulation, visitors, program attendance and public internet use. The Institute of Museum Library Services, the federal agency representing American museums and libraries, provided the data.

The Jacksonville Public Library's usage has increased dramatically. Increase in library customer visits, materials borrowed and website count have further demonstrated the need for the Jacksonville Public Library to continue offering quality services to Jacksonville residents. The library's website, which can be accessed 24/7, had an 11 percent increase from 4.6 million to 5.1 million. An increase of six percent from 2007/08. Also, more than 220,000 people attended free programs at 21 library locations.