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LAKELAND
PUBLIC LIBRARY
INTRODUCTION Although there was an organization called The Ladies of the Lakeland Library and Improvement Society as early as 1898, the history of the Lakeland Public Library does not actually begin until March 14, 1912, when the Woman’s Club of Lakeland organized. For more than a decade the club maintained the only library accessible to the citizens of the community. In 1923 the Woman’s Club urged the city fathers to establish a public library and suggested that it be built at the corner of Lake Morton Drive and Massachusetts Avenue. That property, owned by Herbert Munn, son of Abraham Munn, the founder of Lakeland, had been a campground for Spanish-American War soldiers in 1898 and later had served as a park. The city purchased the land August 23, 1923. Franklin Adams, Jr., was selected as architect for the project. The architecture was Mediterranean Revival style and featured stucco walls and a terra cotta tile roof. The interior featured a steel circular staircase from the ground floor to the top floor. The lobby was decorated with a 12-inch frieze. The library opened its doors to the public January 6, 1927 with about 5,000 volumes. Through the influence of Lakeland Congressman Herbert Drane, the library became a partial depository for government documents -- the first depository in a public library in Florida and the second depository in the state, after the University of Florida. Before the first year had passed, Otye Brown replaced the first librarian Eunice Coston, who had moved to Atlanta. Statistics from the first year indicate that 53,055 books circulated. Lakeland’s population at the time was 28,000. On June 7, 1929 Serena C. Bailey was selected as the new City Librarian. She held the position for 30 years. The city opened a branch library for its African-American citizens in a bungalow renovated by the WPA at 1042 North Virginia Avenue in 1937. Elsie Dunbar was named branch librarian. She had received library training at Hampton Institute and Atlanta University. In 1947 she became the first person to receive a master’s degree from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. In 1954 she resigned as branch librarian and became principal of Rochelle Junior High School until her retirement June 3, 1963. The City Commission took action to change the name of the main library to the Park Trammell Library on February 22,1955. In the winter of 1957, Lois Lenski, author of the Newberry-Award-winning Strawberry Girl, a book about the Lakeland community’s strawberry farms, visited the library. During the April 13 – 18, 1964 National Library Week the library displayed its newly acquired book trailer at Munn Park. This trailer, and one purchased the next month, were cheaper and more economical than an earlier bookmobile. The trailers were air conditioned and had a capacity of 3,500 books. On March 23, 1975, a 28-foot, van-type bookmobile replaced one of the two stationary book trailers. It made eleven stops per week, as opposed to five by the trailer. On March 2, 1964 the City Commission approved a motion to acquire the Lake Morton School site to be used to build the new library, and on June 25, 1965, they selected P. J. Callaghan Construction of St. Petersburg as the contractor. The groundbreaking ceremony was held September 21, 1965 with Walter Murphy, City Librarian, presiding. The new library opened its doors to the public on May 2, 1966. Cecil Cleveland, was appointed City Librarian in 1967. He was the former Director of the James Pendergust Library in Jamestown, New York. On January 19, 1983, David L. Reich, former Commissioner of Chicago’s Public Library System and a native of Orlando, became the new City Librarian. In May city officials realized that the increasing number of users (46% increase in ten years) had created the need for more space. They hired the architectural firm of Straughn - Furr to design expansion plans. The library and the Polk Museum of Art decided to launch a joint expansion plan, combining parking lots and relocating the museum. Morrick Construction Company of Tampa was awarded the contract to expand the library. Groundbreaking was held October 10, 1984. The Library renovation was completed in July, 1986. In July 1993 local architects Ernie Straughn and Jerry Trout presented their design for a new branch library to the City Commission. The site selected for the branch was the corner of Modest Street and Florida Avenue, North at Simpson Park. Morrick Construction was the contractor. In November 1994 the Northwest Branch Library (the Reading Room in the Coleman-Bush Building) closed permanently, and staff began the move into the new Lakeland Branch Library. The Lakeland Branch officially opened Saturday, January 14, 1995. On February 21, 1998 the Branch Library was rededicated the Larry R. Jackson Branch Library. The rededication program was sponsored by the Lakeland Chapter of the NAACP. Dr. Jackson was a community leader instrumental in persuading the Commissioners to construct the branch and president of the organization when he died August 9, 1997. In January 1999, David Reich retired, and Lisa Broadhead was named City Librarian. More information about the Lakeland Public Library is in RG400. To view photographs click on Gallery 1 Gallery 2 and Gallery 3 |
