Gulfport Public Library

The Gulfport Public Library serves the city of Gulfport, in Pinellas County, Florida. It is located at 5501 28th Ave South, Gulfport, Florida 33707. It is a member of the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative. The library provides access to genealogical research via ancestry.com in the library. It also participates in the Florida Memory Project via the Florida Photography Collection. Gulfport Public Library also provides access to digital content in the form of e-books through participation with Project Gutenberg and other e-book services.[1] In 2018, the Gulfport Public Library received the GLBTRT Newlen-Symons Award for Excellence in Serving the GLBT Community.[2]

History

Prior to the founding of the Gulfport Public Library, the need for such a resource was recognized by Julia Lucky who, in 1935, started a small library from her own collection and donations from friends in the back of a drugstore.[3]

When Lucky's house burned down and she moved away, a new group took up the task of attempting to establish a local library which opened on May 15, 1935.[3] This group was headed by Mayor Andrew Potter and his wife, who formed a Library Group of people dedicated towards working on building the library.[4] The appointed Librarian at this time was Mrs. Margaret Clees and it was kept in a small one room building that had been a former real estate office.[4] The library eventually moved into a five-room bungalow where it would remain through a series of additions until 1976.[4]

References

1. "Gulfport Public Library - City of Gulfport". mygulfport.us.
2. "Gulfport Public Library". City of Gulfport. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
3. "Then And Now: The Gulfport Public Library". Gulfport, FL Patch. 2011-08-21. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
4. Gulfport Historical Society. (1985). Our story of Gulfport, Florida. Gulfport Historical Society. ISBN 0-9615746-0-7. OCLC 13159407.