Temple Terrace Public Library


The Temple Terrace Public Library serves 250,000 patrons a year with a selection of more than 100,000 volumes and 52 computers.
It is the only library in the city of Temple Terrace, FL, and it is part of the Hillsborough County Library Cooperative, along with branches in Tampa, Florida and Plant City, Florida, like the John F. Germany Public Library. It is located near several colleges, including the University of South Florida and Florida College, as well as the Museum of Science & Industry in Tampa.

History

The library was established on January 15, 1960 after the Temple Terrace Woman’s Club became inspired to create a community library. The local Boy Scout groups and city residents supplied the first book collection for this newly established library. Temple Terrace donated a small caddy house on the 19th tee of the city golf course to serve as the library.
The funding came from the Woman’s Club. Within a year, the collection and circulation had outgrown the caddy house. In April 1961, City Hall became the new location for the library. The city hall building is now a part of Florida College. The rise of library patrons and the demand for more services prompted the city to take over the library from the volunteers. The city appointed a Library Board, which made the Temple Terrace Public Library eligible to receive books from the Hillsborough County Library Service which allowed the Library's book collection to grow rapidly.
In 1962, the Friends of the Temple Terrace Library were formed and became a Florida Corporation with tax exempt 501 status in 1997. The purpose of the group was to support the Library financially. Their efforts go towards providing secure equipment, furnishings, and materials that may not be available due to the limited budget of the library. Additionally, they promote the Library and its various service to the community. Since their inception, the Friends of the Temple Terrace Library have raised many thousands of dollars to support library services. The Friends of the Temple Terrace Library have also wrote, published, and sold a book on the history of the Temple Terrace area.
On September 23, 1965, construction on a new, larger library began at 202 Bullard Parkway. The funds to purchase the land and construct the new library came from local, state, and federal funds. On April 17, 1966, the library opened its doors. The Women's Club provided money for the new customer service desk due to their ongoing interest in the project. In the mid 1970s, an additional 5,600 square feet were added to the existing structure to keep up with the number of patrons. The newly enlarged library was dedicated April 2, 1978. In 1998, the library was renovated and enlarged, and an online catalog and Internet access were added to the services available. Today the Temple Terrace Library has extensive resources with over 100,000 volumes and 52 patron computers.
Currently The Temple Terrace Library has a partnership with the University of South Florida and the Tampa- Hillsborough County Libraries to make two Temple Terrace newspapers available digitally. The two collections are the Temple Terrace Sentinel and the Temple Terrace Beacon.

Fire

An arsonist set fire to the library in the morning of February 18, 1982. The blaze destroyed 11,666 books and 1,010 recordings within the library’s collection. However, the citizens and the Woman’s Club rallied and helped restore the library. It reopened in a temporary location, the Lightfoot Recreation Center, six weeks after the arson. Less than a year after the fire, on February 16, 1983, the new library was again open for business.

Book Nook

After the library was expanded and renovated in 1998, The Friends of the Temple Terrace Library were able to realize one of their goals of opening a Book Nook. The Book Nook is a continuing fundraising activity which offers used books for sale. The books used in the Book Nook are donated by members of the surrounding community. The money made by the Book Nook is given back to the Library in order to improve library services. The Book Nook is located in the main lobby of the Temple Terrace Library and is mainly operated by volunteers who are members of the Friends of the Temple Terrace Library, Inc, but it does have a small staff. Donated books are left in a drop-off box within the main lobby of the Library.

Beyond Books Lending Library

In spring 2016, the Temple Terrace Public Library began lending out more than just books and DVDs. Library patrons are able to check out items like cake pans, tools, board games, sewing machines, and much more, for one week at a time. All of these items have been donated and have helped make the library feel like a resource for the community when they need or want to use an item that they may not be able to purchase.

COVID-19 Pandemic

In March of 2020, all public libraries in Hillsborough County closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While other libraries in the Hillsborough County Public Library Collective remained closed, the Temple Terrace Public Library reopened on May 18th, 2020. The following restrictions were in place during the first phase of reopening:
Additionally, programming services typically offered in person were shifted to online settings, including children's story time and crafts, weekly teen "take and make" projects, and a virtual book club.

Services

The mission statement of the city of Temple Terrace is "To deliver professional services to our community while promoting, protecting and preserving the heritage, natural resources and quality of life for future generations of our amazing city." Within this mission, the Temple Terrace Public Library has a goal of meeting "information and recreational needs of the residents of Temple Terrace and its surrounding environs by providing both print and non-print materials and engendering a lifelong love of reading and learning," while also striving "to broaden the horizons of its users, promote intellectual freedom, and provide for an enhanced quality of life." Services provided by the library and HCPLC include: