Editing Lake Worth Beach, Florida (section)

===Public libraries===

[[File:Lake Worth Public Library.jpg|thumb|right|The Lake Worth Beach Public Library]]
The Lake Worth Beach Public Library, located in the historic downtown area at 15 North M Street, is a Mediterranean-style architectural building, completed in 1941 at a cost of $66,000, an amount raised by the Lake Worth Library Association. A dedicatory service was held on August&nbsp;12, 1941. It is a part of the Library Cooperative of the Palm Beaches.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/boynton-beach/fl-bbf-library-0921-20160920-story.html|title=Lake Worth's 'quirky' library celebrates 75 years|author=Jan Engoren|date=April 17, 2019|newspaper=[[Sun-Sentinel]]|access-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref> Annually, the library circulates approximately 65,000&nbsp;items, including 57,468&nbsp;books.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://librarytechnology.org/library/4322|title=Lake Worth Beach Public Library|publisher=Library Technology Guides|accessdate=November 3, 2021}}</ref>

Efforts to organize a library date back to 1912, one year prior to the city's incorporation. Residents saw the need for a library and requested book donations via an advertisement in the ''Lucerne Herald'' newspaper in May&nbsp;1912. R.D. Strong and John L. McKissock then established the Lake Worth Library Association on November&nbsp;30. For several years, the library was housed inside a reading room located in City Hall. Although residents voted to officially establish the Lake Worth Public Library and allot $6,000 for the construction of a building in 1926, the funds remained insufficient.<ref name="library history"/>

Congress approved a bill allotting $60,000 to construct a building bearing the name Major General William Jenkins Worth Memorial Library in 1939, nearly 100&nbsp;years after the body of water was named in his honor. However, after President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] vetoed the bill, the residents of the community continued raising funds until the building was finally completed in 1941. James and William Strait also contributed $10,000 for an art museum wing, which is now the children's section.<ref name="library history">{{cite web|title=History of the Lake Worth Library|url=https://friendsoflwbl.org/history-of-the-library|publisher=Friends of the Lake Worth Library|accessdate=November 3, 2021}}</ref> The library also houses noted artist R. Sherman Winton's only known collection, which features historical Florida themes of the Spanish period, as well as wood carvings by Sam J. Schlappich, a local artist who was featured in the [[Century of Progress|Century of Progress Fair in 1933]] and the [[1939 New York World's Fair|World's Fair in 1939]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2012-11-09/pdf/CREC-2012-11-09-extensions.pdf|author=Hon. Alcee Hastings|title=Congressional Record&ndash;Extensions of Remarks|page=E1737|date=November 9, 2012|accessdate=November 4, 2021}}</ref>

In addition to the Lake Worth Beach Public Library, the city has more than 100&nbsp;[[Little Free Library]] book exchanges as of late 2020. The construction and maintenance of the Little Free Libraries began due to the efforts of resident Mary Lindsey and over 120&nbsp;voluneeters. By December&nbsp;2020, the Little Free Library system in Lake Worth Beach had distributed approximately 500,000&nbsp;books.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wptv.com/news/inspiring-south-florida/little-free-libraries-program-distributes-500-000-books-in-lake-worth-beach|title='Little Free Libraries' program distributes 500,000 books in Lake Worth Beach|date=December 30, 2020|newspaper=WPTV-TV|accessdate=November 26, 2021}}</ref>