Editing Osprey, Florida (section)

==Osprey Public Library at Historic Spanish Point==
The Osprey Public Library at Historic Spanish Point is the smallest in Sarasota County. The space is only 630 square feet and is a conversion of a schoolhouse full of rich history. The branch is the county’s first "connections" library, based on the King County, Washington, model, offering online access to the resources of the entire library system in a modest space (630 square feet) with sustainable operating costs.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Reid |first=Randall H. |date=2012-12-22 |title=Community libraries: let us praise the last great civic place |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=00279013&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA318106164&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=National Civic Review |language=English |volume=101 |issue=4 |pages=39–41}}</ref>

The Osprey Library opened on November 10, 2011, and offers free Wi-Fi access, online availability of the entire library catalog, plus pick-up and drop-off service items from other libraries within the system. Some improvements were made to the original school building, such as an acoustical ceiling and panels for the wall, window treatments that buffer the sound, and carpeting. The branch is close to the main road, so these renovations offered an immediate improvement in noise reduction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-12-01 |title=Osprey Library opens at Spanish Point |url=https://www.yourobserver.com/news/2011/dec/01/osprey-library-opens-spanish-point/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Your Observer |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Osprey School]] served the Osprey and Vamo communities from 1927 through June 1976. The land where the school resides is part of the 145-acre homestead of John and Eliza Webb, who settled in Spanish Point in 1867. When it became apparent that the community needed a new school, the land was sold to the school board for $10 on December 28, 1926, by Mabel Webb Johnson and her husband, Ernest. The school was designed by Tampa architect M. Leo Elliot. His plan for the Spanish Colonial Revival-style building recognized the importance of cross-ventilation in a hot and humid climate.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Benington |first=D.K. |date=2018-06-21 |title=Osprey School. The Historical Marker Database. |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=38423 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref> The layout, with all the classrooms in a line, took advantage of cross breezes for cooling and an exterior hallway shaded classrooms from the afternoon sun.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shank |first=A.A. |title=Osprey School {{!}} Sarasota History Alive! |url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/index.php?src=directory&srctype=detail&refno=1190&view=history&back=history |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=www.sarasotahistoryalive.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The one-story, six-classroom school initially served grades one through nine and was constructed by Becchetti and Romersa for $19,000.

The school opened in 1927 but, like most Sarasota County schools, had to close for several months in 1933 because of a lack of revenue. During difficult economic times, parental and teacher involvement sustained Osprey School. After World War II, when the county experience renewed economic growth, the school was rewired in 1959 to allow for air conditioning and heating units. Osprey School survived without further improvement until June 1976, when it closed. Students in the area transferred to schools north or south of the community.<ref name=":0" /> In 1994, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was used as the School Board’s Teacher Education until 1989. The building remained empty until 1995 when it became the visitor center for Historic Spanish Point, and the Sarasota County library system turned a part of the schoolhouse into the Osprey Public Library in 2011.