Editing Manatee County, Florida (section)

== Libraries ==
{{Infobox library
| library_name = Manatee County Public Library System
| library_logo = 
| logo_size = 
| logo_alt = 
| image = 
| image_size = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| type = Public
| scope = 
| established = 1964
| ref_legal_mandate = 
| location = 1301 Barcarrota Blvd West<br />[[Bradenton, Florida]] 34203
| coordinates = {{coord|27|29|55.2|N|82|34|29|W|display=inline}}
| num_branches = 7
| items_collected = books, movies, newspapers
| collection_size = 30,000
| criteria = 
| legal_deposit = 
| req_to_access = 
| annual_circulation = 
| pop_served = 322,000
| members = 20,000
| budget = $25,000
| director = 
| num_employees = 120
| website = {{URL|http://www.mymanatee.org/home/government/departments/neighborhood-services/library.html|mymanatee.org/library}}
}}

The [[Manatee County Public Library]] System offers a collection of adult, young adult, and children's materials, as well as a genealogy section and a local history collection in the form of the Eaton Florida History Reading Room.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://manatee.hosted.civiclive.com/departments/manatee_county_public_library_system/borrow___explore_collections/history_genealogy |title=History & Genealogy - Manatee County |website=mymanatee.org |access-date=August 25, 2022}}</ref> Public computers are available at all library locations. The library also has a digital collection that includes e-books through [[OverDrive, Inc.]] and Libby; television shows, movies and more e-books through [[Hoopla (digital media service)|Hoopla]]; and magazines through Flipster;<ref>{{cite web |title=E-Source Home > Entertainment: Movies, Music, & More |url=https://manatee.polarislibrary.com/polaris/Search/misc/esources.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.3&Category=172 |website=mymanatee.org |access-date=August 25, 2022}}</ref> and local images and documents from the late nineteenth century to the early 1980s.[https://web.archive.org/web/20160814224338/http://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/]

The libraries also offer author luncheons, children's story times, summer reading programs, job fairs, and book discussion groups.

The library system serves the county in seven locations:
* Central - [[Bradenton]]
* Palmetto - [[Palmetto, Florida|Palmetto]]
* Braden River - [[Bradenton]]
* Island - [[Holmes Beach]]
* South Manatee - [[Bradenton]]
* Rocky Bluff - [[Ellenton, Florida|Ellenton]]
* Lakewood Ranch - [[Bradenton]]
* Talking Book Library is administered through the Bureau of Braille and Talking Books Library, Daytona [https://web.archive.org/web/20160628025649/http://dbs.myflorida.com/Talking%20Books%20Library/]

In September 2021, a seventh branch was approved by county commissioners, to be built in Lakewood Ranch.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mendoza |first1=Jesse |title=New library coming to Lakewood Ranch |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/manatee/2021/10/27/lakewood-ranch-getting-new-library-after-6-1-vote-manatee-county/8551720002/ |access-date=April 6, 2022 |agency=Sarasota Herald Tribune |date=October 27, 2021}}</ref> The library's grand opening was on January 12, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lakewood Ranch Library Grand Opening January 12 |url=https://www.mymanatee.org/news___events/what_s_new/lakewood_ranch_library_grand_opening_january_12 |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=www.mymanatee.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

Library cards are free to those who reside, own property, attend school, or work in Manatee County. Non-residents may obtain a temporary card upon payment of a $25.00 annual fee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Library Cards |url=https://www.mymanatee.org/departments/manatee_county_public_library_system/library_services/library_cards |access-date=March 23, 2022 |website=www.mymanatee.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mymanatee.org/home/government/departments/neighborhood-services/library/library-cards.html |title="Library Card Policies" Retrieved March 15, 2015 |access-date=March 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326221552/http://www.mymanatee.org/home/government/departments/neighborhood-services/library/library-cards.html |archive-date=March 26, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>http://www.mymanatee.org/home/government/departments/neighborhood-services/library/locations-hours.html| {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304101122/http://www.mymanatee.org/home/government/departments/neighborhood-services/library/locations-hours.html%7C |date=March 4, 2016 }} "Locations and Hours: Manatee County Public Library System" Retrieved April 19, 2013</ref>

Manatee County participates in the [[Little Free Library]] program. There are several Little Free Libraries at parks and other public places around the county.<ref>{{cite web |title=Little Free Library Map and Search Tool |url=https://littlefreelibrary.org/map/ |website=littlefreelibrary.org |access-date=August 25, 2022}}</ref>

=== History of libraries ===
[[File:Bradentown Library.jpg|thumb|alt=Original Bradentown Library |Original Bradenton Library]]
[[File:Palmetto Carnegie Library.jpg|thumb|alt=Palmetto's Carnegie Library |Palmetto's Carnegie Library, built in 1914]]
[[File:Bradenton Carnegie Library.jpg|thumb|alt=Bradenton's Carnegie Library |Bradenton's Carnegie Library, built in 1918]]
Manatee County's first public library was a privately owned rental library created by Julia Fuller at the Mrs. Bass Dry Goods store in 1898. The county's first independent library opened in Bradenton in 1907, followed a [[Carnegie Library]] in Palmetto in 1914 and another in Bradenton in 1918. For much of the twentieth century, both cities' libraries were free to city residents while county residents had to pay a non-resident fee. In 1964, the Bradenton and Palmetto library associations merged with the Manatee County government to create the Manatee County Public Library System. This was followed by the establishment of a bookmobile for rural areas in 1964 and a Talking Books program for the blind in 1966.<ref>Jasper, C. & McCook, K. (1998). The Florida Library History Project. University of South Florida, Tampa. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED422005.pdf on February 19, 2022. pp. 180-181.</ref>

As demands on the bookmobile grew and the library collection outstripped the existing buildings in Bradenton and Palmetto, the first branch of the Manatee County Public Library system was built in Bayshore in 1967, followed by a new branch on East Ninth Street in 1969 and an Island branch in 1971, the last of which was moved into a new building in 1983. A new building for the Palmetto Library was built in 1969, followed by the modern Central Public Library in downtown Bradenton in 1978.<ref>Jasper & McCook. p. 182</ref>

The 1990s saw a period of rapid growth in Manatee County and the library system grew accordingly, with the Braden River, Rocky Bluff, and South Manatee branches opening in 1991, 1994, and 1998, respectively. The Braden River branch moved to a new building in 1997. The Rocky Bluff location would be moved to a larger location, featuring a built in café, in 2011. The new location is still physically within Ellenton. The additions as well as investment into various technologies such as modern computers, a 3-D Printing Lab, as well as new loanable items, brings Manatee County Libraries to its modern services.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Library History|url=https://www.mymanatee.org/departments/manatee_county_public_library_system/about_manatee_libraries/library_history_|access-date=November 29, 2021|website=www.mymanatee.org|language=en-US|archive-date=November 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129164548/https://www.mymanatee.org/departments/manatee_county_public_library_system/about_manatee_libraries/library_history_|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Reciprocal borrowing began in 2000 between Manatee and Sarasota County Libraries, which would be followed by statewide reciprocal borrowing programs. Starting in 2017, the Manatee County library system began offering items including musical instruments, tools, telescopes, binoculars, cake pans, hotspots, and museum passes. During the [[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19 Pandemic]], the library system began offering [[Hotspot (Wi-Fi)|WiFi hotspots]] to patrons in order to provide internet service remotely to work safely and at home. This began in Spring of 2020.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

On December 15, 2021, the county broke ground for a new East County library, which was to serve the community of Lakewood Ranch. The new library was scheduled to open mid-2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lockwood |first1=Scott |title=Construction of the new East County library in Lakewood Ranch officially breaks ground |url=https://www.yourobserver.com/article/construction-of-the-new-east-county-library-in-lakewood-ranch-officially-breaks-ground |access-date=June 14, 2022 |agency=Your Observer |date=December 17, 2021}}</ref> The new library, dubbed the Lakewood Ranch Library, had its grand opening on January 12, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lakewood Ranch Library Grand Opening January 12 |url=https://www.mymanatee.org/news___events/what_s_new/lakewood_ranch_library_grand_opening_january_12 |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=www.mymanatee.org |language=en-US}}</ref>