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93-626: The Sarasota County Library System is the public library system that serves Sarasota County in the U.S. state of Florida . It consists of 10 locations, including a central library located in the city of Sarasota . The Sarasota Town Improvement Society established its first library in 1907. Over the years the system increased in size, and today there are ten library branches associated with Sarasota County Public Library System. Every library provides patrons with adult, teen, and children's materials, along with computers for public use and Wi-Fi access. Sarasota County residents have access to Book-By-Mail,

186-582: A board to serve the public interest; (3) they are open to all, and every community member can access the collection; (4) they are entirely voluntary, no one is ever forced to use the services provided; and (5) they provide library and information services without charge. Public libraries exist in many countries across the world and are often considered an essential part of having an educated and literate population. Public libraries are distinct from research libraries , school libraries , academic libraries in other states and other special libraries . Their mandate

279-466: A clientele of some fifty thousand." The mid-to-late 18th century saw a virtual epidemic of feminine reading as novels became more and more popular. Novels, while frowned upon in society, were extremely popular. In England, there were many who lamented at the "villainous profane and obscene books", and the opposition to the circulating library, on moral grounds, persisted well into the 19th century. Still, many establishments must have circulated many times

372-615: A collection of descriptive videos and Playaways." Sarasota County library patrons also have access to interlibrary loans (ILL), which allows patrons to borrow items from other library systems in Florida when the Sarasota County libraries do not own the material. They participate in the Florida Library Information Network (FLIN) to borrow materials from other participating Florida libraries through

465-605: A common pattern. Membership was restricted to the proprietors or shareholders, and ranged from a dozen or two to between four and five hundred. The entrance fee, i.e. the purchase price of a share, was in early days usually a guinea, but rose sharply as the century advanced, often reaching four or five guineas during the French wars; the annual subscription, during the same period, rose from about six shillings to ten shillings or more. The book-stock was, by modern standards, small (Liverpool, with over 8,000 volumes in 1801, seems to have been

558-428: A completely new way of reading. Reading was no longer simply an academic pursuit or an attempt to gain spiritual guidance . Reading became a social activity. Many circulating libraries were attached to the shops of milliners or drapers. They served as much for social gossip and the meeting of friends as coffee shops do today. Another factor in the growth of subscription libraries was the increasing cost of books. In

651-460: A convenient and free service to send library materials through the U.S. Postal Service to people who are unable to access the library collection due to temporary or long-term physical or visual disability, and Pinellas Talking Book Library. Through the latter, "residents of all ages who are unable to read standard print material due to visual, physical, or learning disabilities are provided recorded, Braille, and large-print books and magazines as well as

744-462: A greater number of patrons, were able to accumulate greater numbers of books. The United Public Library was said to have a collection of some 52,000 volumes – twice as many as any private-subscription library in the country at that period. These libraries, since they functioned as a business, also lent books to non-subscribers on a per-book system. Despite the existence of these subscription libraries, they were only accessible to those who could afford

837-410: A later development, which were made possible by the establishment of County Councils in 1888. They normally have a large central library in a major town with smaller branch libraries in other towns and a mobile library service covering rural areas. A new Public Libraries Act was passed in 1964. Local authorities were to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" library service. Public libraries built in

930-453: A place for other forms of commercial activity, which may or may not be related to print. This was necessary because the circulating libraries did not generate enough funds through subscription fees collected from its borrowers. As a commerce venture, it was important to consider the contributing factors such as other goods or services available to the subscribers. The Malatestiana Library ( Italian : Biblioteca Malatestiana ), also known as

1023-613: A pond filled with lilies and is adjacent to a walking trail). The interior walls also feature many murals and paintings that reflect the Florida environment. The Fruitville Public Library was established in 2001 and serves Sarasota County and Lakewood Ranch residents. In 2003, a reading garden was opened to the public, along with a bookstore. The bookstore is run by the Friends of the Fruitville Public Library. The Gulf Gate Library opened in 1977, originally located in

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1116-481: A population of 10,000 or more to raise a ½d for the establishment of museums". This became the Museums Act 1845 . The advocacy of Ewart and Brotherton then succeeded in having a select committee set up to consider public library provision. The Report argued that the provision of public libraries would steer people towards temperate and moderate habits. With a view to maximising the potential of current facilities,

1209-418: A simple majority. It also allowed neighbouring parishes to combine with an existing or potential library authority. Despite the rise in the level of tax public libraries could levy, it was still very difficult for boroughs to raise enough capital to fund new libraries. The growth of the public library movement in the wake of the 1850 Act relied heavily on the donations of philanthropists. County libraries were

1302-612: A store at Sarasota Square on the additional anchor space on the north side, which opened on October 24, 1979. J. Byrons closed in 1985, and its space was converted into the Trellis Garden Food Court which opened in March 1986. An expansion from the food court east began construction in 1986 which included a fourth anchor, Parisian , which was the store's second location outside its home state of Alabama . Parisian opened on November 1, 1989. In 1991, Maas Brothers

1395-549: A storefront on Gateway Avenue. On December 5, 1983, the library opened its doors. After much wear and tear over the years, the Friends of the Gulf Gate Library raised funds to build a new library. The library shut down in 2013 and temporarily relocated for two years to the Sarasota Square Mall . The new library re-opened to the public on January 24, 2015, at its original location. Upon its re-opening,

1488-585: A supporter of the temperance movement , was able to secure the Chair of the select committee which would examine "the extent, causes, and consequences of the prevailing vice of intoxication among the labouring classes of the United Kingdom" and propose solutions. Francis Place , a campaigner for the working class, agreed that "the establishment of parish libraries and district reading rooms, and popular lectures on subjects both entertaining and instructive to

1581-465: A variety of materials including the increasingly popular novels . Although the circulating libraries filled an important role in society, members of the middle and upper classes often looked down upon these libraries that regularly sold material from their collections and provided materials that were less sophisticated. Circulating libraries also charged a subscription fee . However, these fees were set to entice their patrons, providing subscriptions on

1674-591: A yearly, quarterly or monthly basis, without expecting the subscribers to purchase a share in the circulating library. This helped patrons who could not afford to buy books, to be able to borrow books to read, and then return. This also created a more popular demand, as book fees were growing, and more books were being copied. Circulating libraries were very popular; the first one was located in 1725, in Edinburgh, Scotland , by Allan Ramsay . Circulating libraries were not exclusively lending institutions and often provided

1767-468: Is a shopping mall in Sarasota, Florida . Its anchor stores are Costco and JCPenney Arlen Realty and Development Corporation , a predecessor of CBL & Associates Properties , announced Sarasota Square Mall in 1976. The mall was planned to be anchored by Maas Brothers and JCPenney , the latter of which would relocate from nearby Southgate Shopping Plaza (which was an outdoor strip mall at

1860-429: Is still operating. In July 2019, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield announced the shopping center would be renamed "Sarasota Square", dropping Westfield from its name and returning it to its original name before Westfield Group's acquisition of the property. In August 2020, the mall's noteholder, U.S. Bank National Association, notified Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield of proceeding with foreclosure action. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield

1953-419: Is to serve the general public's information needs rather than the needs of a particular school, institution, or research population. Public libraries also provide free services such as preschool story times to encourage early literacy among children. They also provide a quiet study and learning areas for students and professionals and foster the formation of book clubs to encourage the appreciation of literature by

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2046-766: The earliest form of writing – the clay tablets in cuneiform script discovered in temple rooms in Sumer , some dating back to 2600 BC. They appeared five thousand years ago in Southwest Asia's Fertile Crescent , an area that ran from Mesopotamia to the Nile in Africa. Known as the cradle of civilization, the Fertile Crescent was likewise the birthplace of writing, sometime before 3000 BC. (Murray, Stuart A.P.) These first libraries, which mainly consisted of

2139-704: The 1830s, at the height of the Chartist movement, there was a general tendency towards reformism in the United Kingdom. The middle classes were concerned that the workers' free time was not being well-spent. This was prompted more by Victorian middle class paternalism than by demand from the lower social orders. Campaigners felt that encouraging the lower classes to spend their free time on morally uplifting activities, such as reading, would promote greater social good. Salford Museum and Art Gallery first opened in November 1850 as "The Royal Museum & Public Library", as

2232-405: The 18th century to today; as the country grew more populous and wealthier, factors such as a push for education and desire to share knowledge led to broad public support for free libraries. In addition, money donations by private philanthropists provided the seed capital to get many libraries started. In some instances, collectors donated large book collections. The first modern public library in

2325-659: The 19,428-square-foot building. He was initially critical of the closing of the original library. Jervey also donated $ 250,000 as an estate gift to the entire Sarasota Public Library System. The library invested in computers, charging stations, as well as a Creation Station that also makes 3D printing possible. 26°57′46″N 82°21′19″W  /  26.9629°N 82.3552°W  / 26.9629; -82.3552 Public library There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries: (1) they are generally supported by taxes (usually local, though any level of government can and may contribute); (2) they are governed by

2418-559: The 1960s were characterized by modernism. The modern public library grew at a great pace at the end of the 19th century especially in the English-speaking world . Philanthropists and businessmen, including John Passmore Edwards , Henry Tate and Andrew Carnegie , helped to fund the establishment of large numbers of public libraries for the edification of the masses. Public libraries in North America developed from

2511-597: The Burdines name was officially dropped and the stores were fully merged into Macy's. In 1995, it was reported that Parisian had planned to sell its store to Dillard's . According to the plan, if Dillard's failed to acquire the Parisian store, it would instead build its own store adjacent to JCPenney, and the Parisian site would be sold to Jacobson's . Ultimately, Parisian closed in January 1996, and Dillard's opened in

2604-524: The Church of England or other gentlemen or persons of letters", but it was limited to just 422 volumes of mostly ecclesiastical and legal works. In Germany, there was another occurrence of an accessible public library. The Ducal Library at Wolfenbüttel was open "every weekday morning and afternoon" and loaned its books to the public. Between 1714 and 1799, the library loaned 31,485 books to 1,648 different users. These types of public libraries, much closer to

2697-660: The Collection Development Policy. These materials are selected by librarians using professional review sources. The system also takes recommendations from patrons. In addition to digital resources, Sarasota County Libraries also has Pop-Up Library Services that make scheduled stops (also available by request), to "public parks, childcare facilities, condominium complexes, retirement communities, senior centers, recreational facilities and more." Services include tech assistance, borrowing materials, returning materials, and other inquiries. The mission statement of

2790-665: The Eastern Mediterranean (see Library of Alexandria § In antiquity ). Historian Yahya of Antioch (d. 1066) reported that the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ( r.  996–1021 ) financed and established libraries open to the public, where anyone, even the simple non-specialists, could choose whatever books they wanted and have them copied by public scribes, free of charge. However, as with many of his other decisions, Al-Hakim later ordered this policy to be reversed. In Cesena, Italy,

2883-455: The Frances T. Bourne Jacaranda Library, dedicated to the former archivist in the U.S. State Department who helped raise funds to create the library. In 2004, the library received an addition to the building that doubled its size. The architect who designed the addition aimed to incorporate the natural world with the building by emphasizing the buildings natural surroundings (the campus features

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2976-486: The French philologist and churchman, operated an early form of a public library in the town of Saulieu from 1737 to 1750. He wished to make culture and learning accessible to all people. The Załuski Library ( Polish : Biblioteka Załuskich , Latin : Bibliotheca Zalusciana ) was built in Warsaw 1747–1795 by Józef Andrzej Załuski and his brother, Andrzej Stanisław Załuski , both Roman Catholic bishops. The library

3069-592: The Friends of the Library was established headed by Leah Lasbury, Josephine Cortes and President Lois Potter. This library is the oldest in the library system of Sarasota county. Elsie Quirk's first librarian was Harriet Ives, a graduate of the University of Syracuse, with a Master's degree in Library Science, with a salary of $ 1 an hour. The library currently houses a selection on genealogy. The Friends of

3162-752: The Library was established in 1961, headed by Leah Lasbury, Josephine Cortez and President Lois Potter. The Lemon Bay Women's Club donated 3600 books to the Elsie Quirk Library. It was staffed by many volunteers, including Quirk herself. This library became a major part of the Englewood Community. In 2001 it was upgraded, and has become the Elsie Quirk Public Library. The Jacaranda Library was established on January 25, 1994, in Venice. In 1995, it changed its name to

3255-676: The Malatesta Novello Library, is a public library dating from 1452 in Cesena , Emilia-Romagna ( Italy ). It was the first European civic library , i.e. belonging to the Commune and open to everybody. It was commissioned by the Lord of Cesena, Malatesta Novello . The works were directed by Matteo Nuti of Fano (a scholar of Leon Battista Alberti ) and lasted from 1447 to 1452. The first libraries consisted of archives of

3348-608: The North Sarasota Library in 2003. This small library is located inside the main building at Historic Spanish Point in Osprey, which also used to be the Osprey School. With an archaeological record that encompasses approximately 5,000 years of Florida prehistory, this National Register of Historic Places living history museum is referred to as one of the largest intact actively preserved archaeological sites of

3441-524: The North Sarasota Library was renamed as the Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Library in honor of a county employee who had worked for the library system for over four decades. Betty Johnson was an advocate for youth literacy and in 1979 had, along with the help of a not-for-profit library organization (the Friends of the Library), secured a grant of $ 10,000 to start a mobile library that eventually grew to become

3534-455: The SHAREit service. Sarasota County residents with a library card in good standing can request interlibrary loans. Individuals who purchase a visitor card (aka "non-resident card") will also have access to ILL if their cards are in good standing. Library accounts must have fines below $ 10 and the card cannot be expired. The Sarasota County Library System has a range of materials chosen based on

3627-900: The Sarasota County Libraries is "to offer equal access to information, foster lifelong learning and inspire community engagement." In 2012, Sarasota was named "Florida Library of the Year" by the Florida Library Association. The Elsie Quirk Library was established on June 15, 1962. The 1,400 square feet (130 m) library was established by Elsie Quirk after she visited a small community library while on vacation in North Carolina in 1961. When Quirk returned from vacation, she donated land at 101 Cocoanut Avenue in Englewood, along with $ 10,000. In 1961

3720-555: The Southern Hemisphere (3 vols) which was borrowed on 201 occasions. The records also show that in 1796, membership had risen by 1/3 to 198 subscribers (of whom 5 were women) and the titles increased five-fold to 4,987. This mirrors the increase in reading interests. A patron list from the Bath Municipal Library shows that from 1793 to 1799, the library held a stable 30% of their patrons as female. It

3813-399: The base of many academic and public library collections of today. The establishment of circulating libraries in the 18th century by booksellers and publishers provided a means of gaining profit and creating social centers within the community. The circulating libraries not only provided a place to sell books, but also a place to lend books for a price. These circulating libraries provided

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3906-806: The city assumed control of the library, and one year later moved it to the Chidsey Library on Tamiami Trail. In 1976, a new library was built on the bayfront and named the Selby Library in honor of the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, whose donated funds made the new library possible. This permanent endowment was established by William Selby before his death in 1956. The library moved from its bay front location to its new downtown location at Five Points Park in 1998, keeping its Selby name. The library includes an extensive music collection and archive of sheet music. The original Venice Library

3999-645: The clergy and residents of the surrounding neighborhood. Some scholars consider this library an "ancestor" to public libraries since its patrons did not need to belong to an existing organization like a church or college to use it. However, all the books in the library were chained to stalls and unavailable to borrow, hence its name: the Francis Trigge Chained Library. In the early years of the 17th century, many famous collegiate and town libraries were founded in England. Norwich City library

4092-518: The committee made two significant recommendations. They suggested that the government should issue grants to aid the foundation of libraries and that the Museums Act 1845 should be amended and extended to allow for a tax to be levied for the establishment of public libraries. Objections were raised about the increase in taxation , the potential infringement on private enterprise and the existing library provision such as mechanics' institutes and

4185-435: The community might draw off a number of those who now frequent public houses for the sole enjoyment they afford". Buckingham introduced to Parliament a Public Institution Bill allowing boroughs to charge a tax to set up libraries and museums, the first of its kind. Although this did not become law, it had a major influence on William Ewart MP and Joseph Brotherton MP, who introduced a bill which would "[empower] boroughs with

4278-558: The end of the 18th century and in the first decades of the 19th century, the demand for books and general education made itself felt among social classes generated by the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. The late-18th century saw a rise in subscription libraries intended for the use of tradesmen. In 1797, there was established at Kendal what was known as the Economical Library, "designed principally for

4371-526: The expansion to a back room, to the spacious elegant areas of Hookham's or those at the resorts like Scarborough, and four in a row at Margate. Private-subscription libraries held a greater amount of control over both membership and the types of books in the library. There was almost a complete elimination of cheap fiction in the private societies. Subscription libraries prided themselves on respectability. The highest percentage of subscribers were often landed proprietors, gentry, and old professions. Towards

4464-462: The fall for a new library. The William H. Jervey Jr. Venice Public Library opened on December 15, 2018. This new building is a 24,000 square feet (2,200 m) structure with 19,000 square feet (1,800 m) of usable space with the implementation of glass to allow for natural light. The building is named after William H. Jervey, Jr. who donated $ 1 million towards the project. He frequented the library often, and worked with Sweet Sparksman to construct

4557-546: The fear that it would give rise to "unhealthy social agitation". The Bill passed through Parliament as most MPs felt that public libraries would provide facilities for self-improvement through books and reading for all classes, and that the greater levels of education attained by providing public libraries would result in lower crime rates . Under the terms of the Museums Act of 1845 , the municipalities of Warrington and Salford established libraries in their museums. Warrington Municipal Library opened in 1848. Although by

4650-510: The fees and to those with time to read during the daylight. As stated by James Van Horn Melton, "one should not overstate the extent to which lending libraries 'democratized' reading" since "they were probably less important for creating new readers than for enabling those who already read to read more." For many people, these libraries, though more accessible than libraries such as the British Library, were still largely an institution for

4743-636: The first community-run public library, the Malatestiana Library , was established in 1447, provided both secular and religious texts in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and was fully open to all members of the public. Another early library that allowed access to the public was Kalendars or Kalendaries, a brotherhood of clergy and laity who were attached to the Church of All-Halloween or All Saints in Bristol , England. Records show that in 1464, provision

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4836-579: The first unconditionally free public library in England. The library in Campfield , Manchester was the first library to operate a "free" lending library without subscription in 1852. Norwich lays claim to being the first municipality to adopt the Public Libraries Act 1850 (which allowed any municipal borough with a population of 100,000 or more to introduce a halfpenny rate to establish public libraries—although not to buy books). Norwich

4929-631: The form of novels. The national average start of the 20th century hovered around novels comprising about 20% of the total collection. Novels varied from other types of books in many ways. They were read primarily for enjoyment instead of for study. They did not provide academic knowledge or spiritual guidance; thus, they were read quickly and far fewer times than other books. These were the perfect books for commercial subscription libraries to lend. Since books were read for pure enjoyment rather than for scholarly work, books needed to become both cheaper and smaller. Small duodecimo editions of books were preferred to

5022-557: The former Parisian building on March 2, 1996. Westfield Group acquired the mall in 2003 from then-owners Coyote Group, and renamed it Westfield Shoppingtown Sarasota Square. The "Shoppingtown" was dropped in June 2005. In 2006, Westfield refurbished both the interior and exterior of the mall. A new 12-screen AMC theater was built between Dillard's and JCPenney along with a new adjoining food court. The theater opened on December 20, 2006. The two previous six-screen theaters were closed and

5115-403: The large folio editions. Folio editions were read at a desk, while the small duodecimo editions could be easily read like the paperbacks of today. The French journalist Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote that the books were also separated into parts so that readers could rent a section of the book for some hours instead of a full day. This allowed more readers could have access to the same work at

5208-497: The largest), and was accommodated, at the outset, in makeshift premises—very often over a bookshop, with the bookseller acting as librarian and receiving an honorarium for his pains. The Liverpool subscription library was a gentlemen-only library. In 1798, it was renamed the Athenaeum when it was rebuilt with a newsroom and coffeehouse. It had an entrance fee of one guinea and annual subscription of five shillings. An analysis of

5301-442: The last two decades of the century, especially, prices were practically doubled, so that a quarto work cost a guinea , an octavo 10 shillings or 12 shillings, and a duodecimo cost 4 shillings per volume. Price apart, moreover, books were difficult to procure outside London since local booksellers could not afford to carry large stocks. Commercial libraries, since they were usually associated with booksellers and also since they had

5394-496: The library outgrew the house and a new library building was built. The library now has a used book store. The Shannon Staub Library opened on October 17, 2017. The 23,321-square-foot facility serves as both a public library and the library for the technical college. The namesake of the library, Shannon Staub, stays very active within the Sarasota County Public Library System as a retiree. Staub

5487-548: The library received Reader's Digest ' s "Most Impressive" award for the state of Florida in their "The Most Impressive Library in Every State" article. In 2016, the library was nominated as "the most beautiful library in Florida" by Tech Insider. In 1975, funds were raised to purchase a two-bedroom house was purchased on Tamiami Trail, which was enlarged to serve as a library. It was a free library, staffed only by volunteers, and operating with 5,000 donated books. In 1992,

5580-432: The mall, and Maas Brothers and J. Byrons located across from each other in the center. The movie theater was located within the mall on the northeast corner. A second six-screen theater opened in 1978 in a separate building on the northeast corner of the mall property, giving the mall a total of 12 screens. Other early tenants in the mall included Camelot Music , Kinney Shoes , and Morrison's Cafeteria . Sears built

5673-555: The mid-19th century, England could claim 274 subscription libraries and Scotland, 266, the foundation of the modern public library system in Britain is the Public Libraries Act 1850 . The Act first gave local boroughs the power to establish free public libraries and was the first legislative step toward the creation of an enduring national institution that provides universal free access to information and literature. In

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5766-539: The mid-19th century, there were virtually no public libraries in the sense in which we now understand the term, i.e., libraries provided with public funds and freely accessible to all. Only one important library in Britain, namely Chetham's Library in Manchester, was fully and freely accessible to the public. The Chesshyre Library in Halton , Cheshire was founded as a free public library in 1733 for all "divines of

5859-529: The middle and upper classes. In A.D 1820, the State Central Library, Kerala started functioning in Trivandrum , India, which is not only India's first public library but also the first such institution outside of Europe. However, there had come into being a whole network of library provisions on a private or institutional basis. Subscription libraries, both private and commercial, provided

5952-433: The middle to upper classes with a variety of books for moderate fees. Private-subscription libraries functioned in much the same manner as commercial subscription libraries, though they varied in many important ways. One of the most popular versions of the private-subscription library was the "gentlemen only" library. The gentlemen's subscription libraries, sometimes known as proprietary libraries, were nearly all organized on

6045-489: The number of novels as of any other genre. In 1797, Thomas Wilson wrote in The Use of Circulating Libraries : "Consider that for a successful circulating library, the collection must contain 70% fiction". However, the overall percentage of novels mainly depended on the proprietor of the circulating library . While some circulating libraries were almost completely novels, others had less than 10% of their overall collection in

6138-635: The prehistoric period on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The Selby Library was established in 1907, as the first library built in Sarasota County. It remains the county's largest. Started in 1907 using a small donation from the Sarasota Town Improvement Society, it began as a single room housing books mostly donated by John Hamilton Gillespie, Sarasota's first mayor. It was located in the Stone Block Building on

6231-484: The present-day concept of the public library, were extremely rare as most libraries remained difficult to access. The increase in secular literature at this time encouraged the spread of lending libraries, especially commercial subscription libraries . Commercial subscription libraries began when booksellers began renting out extra copies of books in the mid-18th century. Steven Fischer estimates that in 1790, there were "about six hundred rental and lending libraries, with

6324-677: The previous Trellis Garden Food Court was remodeled into more store space. Dillard's closed its Westfield Sarasota Square store, along with its regionally close DeSoto Square store in Bradenton on December 5, 2009. The Sarasota Square store was demolished and replaced with a Costco , which opened on August 17, 2012. In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Westfield Sarasota Square, into Seritage Growth Properties. In 2017, Macy's and Sears announced their stores at Sarasota Square would close. Macy's closure

6417-463: The public library into the form that it is today. Public access to books is not new. Romans made scrolls in dry rooms available to patrons of the baths, and tried with some success to establish libraries within the empire . Public libraries existed in the Roman Empire by the 1st century BC. In the middle of the 19th century, the push for truly public libraries, paid for by taxes and run by

6510-464: The public. In 1790, The Public Library Act would not be passed for another sixty-seven years. Even though the British Museum existed at this time and contained over 50,000 books, the national library was not open to the public or even to most of the population. Access to the museum depended on passes, for which there was sometimes a waiting period of three to four weeks. Moreover, the library

6603-410: The records of commercial transactions or inventories, mark the end of prehistory and the start of history . Things were very similar in the government and temple records on papyrus of Ancient Egypt . The earliest discovered private archives were kept at Ugarit ; besides correspondence and inventories, texts of myths may have been standardized practice-texts for teaching new scribes. Persia at

6696-402: The registers for the first twelve years provides glimpses of middle-class reading habits in a mercantile community at this period. The largest and most popular sections of the library were History, Antiquities, and Geography, with 283 titles and 6,121 borrowings, and Belles Lettres, with 238 titles and 3,313 borrowings. The most popular single work was John Hawkesworth's Account of Voyages ... in

6789-463: The same time, making it more profitable for the circulating libraries. Much like paperbacks of today, many of the novels in circulating libraries were unbound. At this period of time, many people chose to bind their books in leather. Many circulating libraries skipped this process. Circulating libraries were not in the business of preserving books; their owners wanted to lend books as many times as they possibly could. Circulating libraries have ushered in

6882-514: The southwest corner of Main Street and Pineapple Avenue. In 1913, the Women's Club assumed operations. The library was moved to the club's headquarters, today the site of Florida Studio Theatre, where it remained from 1915 to 1931. The Sarasota County School Board then donated a wing of a school building on Main Street when more space was needed to accommodate the library's growing collections. In 1940,

6975-474: The state gained force. Matthew Battles states that: It was in these years of class conflict and economic terror that the public library movement swept through Britain, as the nation's progressive elite recognized that the light of cultural and intellectual energy was lacking in the lives of commoners. Public libraries were often started with a donation , or were bequeathed to parishes , churches, schools or towns. These social and institutional libraries formed

7068-577: The time of the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) was home to some outstanding libraries that were serving two main functions: keeping the records of administrative documents (e.g., transactions, governmental orders, and budget allocation within and between the Satrapies and the central ruling State) and collection of resources on different sets of principles e.g. medical science, astronomy, history, geometry and philosophy. A public library

7161-410: The time). The mall would also include J. Byrons as a smaller anchor as well as a six-screen movie theater. Additional space was left on the north side for an additional large anchor. Maas Brothers, J. Byrons, and the movie theater opened August 4, 1977. Sarasota Square officially held its grand opening on September 28, 1977, and JCPenney opened the same day. JCPenney was located on the south side of

7254-540: The use and instruction of the working classes." There was also the Artizans' library established at Birmingham in 1799. The entrance fee was 3 shillings, and the subscription was 1 shilling 6 pence per quarter. This was a library of general literature. Novels, at first excluded, were afterwards admitted on condition that they did not account for more than one-tenth of the annual income. In 1835, and against government opposition, James Silk Buckingham , MP for Sheffield and

7347-770: The world supported by taxes was the Peterborough Town Library in Peterborough, New Hampshire . It was "established in 1833". This was a small public library. The first large public library supported by taxes in the United States was the Boston Public Library , which was established in 1848 but did not open its doors to the public until 1854. Westfield Sarasota Square Sarasota Square Mall , formerly Westfield Shoppingtown Sarasota Square and Westfield Sarasota Square ,

7440-613: The young and adults. Public libraries typically allow users to borrow books and other materials outside the library premises temporarily, usually for a given period of time. They also have non-circulating reference collections and provide computer and Internet access to their patrons. The culmination of centuries of advances in the printing press , moveable type , paper , ink , publishing, and distribution, combined with an ever-growing information-oriented middle class , increased commercial activity and consumption, new radical ideas, massive population growth and higher literacy rates forged

7533-529: Was a 14-year Sarasota County commissioner who represented North Port, Englewood, and Venice. She was a significant proponent for public libraries, becoming a founding chair of the Library Foundation of Sarasota County in 2012. The North Sarasota Library once offered a program that allows patrons to check out a person, just like checking out a library book. Through this program, local community members sit and talk with patrons for 20 minutes. In 2019

7626-408: Was also uncommon for these libraries to have buildings designated solely as the library building during the 1790s, though in the 19th century, many libraries would begin building elaborate permanent residences. Bristol, Birmingham, and Liverpool were the few libraries with their own building. The accommodations varied from the shelf for a few dozen volumes in the country stationer's or draper's shop, to

7719-478: Was built in 1965. In 2012, mold was discovered in one of the library's meeting rooms in which the county underwent efforts to clean the building. However, the problem persisted, and in 2014 mold returned to the meeting room. As a result, county officials closed down the meeting room as mold continued to spread throughout the library. In spring 2017, the Venice Library was demolished and construction began in

7812-659: Was established in 1608 (six years after Thomas Bodley founded the Bodleian Library , which was open to the "whole republic of the learned") and Chetham's Library in Manchester, which claims to be the oldest public library in the English-speaking world, opened in 1653. Biblioteca Palafoxiana in Puebla City , Mexico, is recognized by UNESCO for being the first public library in the Americas . It

7905-683: Was established in Rome by the first century BC, in the Atrium Libertatis (see History of libraries § Classical period and Gaius Asinius Pollio § Later life ). However, the first major public library is said to have been established in Athens by Pisistratus in the sixth century BC (see Library of Alexandria § Historical background ), and by the end of the Hellenistic period , public libraries are said to have been widespread in

7998-665: Was founded in 1646 by Juan de Palafox y Mendoza . In his seminal work Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque (1644) the French scholar and librarian Gabriel Naudé asserted that only three libraries in all Europe granted in his times regular access to every scholar, namely the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, the Biblioteca Angelica in Rome, and the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Claude Sallier ,

8091-511: Was made for a library to be erected in the house of the Kalendars. A reference is made to a deed of that date by which it was "appointed that all who wish to enter for the sake of instruction shall have 'free access and recess' at certain times." In 1598, Francis Trigge established a library in a room above St. Wulfram's Church in Grantham, Lincolnshire and decreed that it should be open to

8184-530: Was merged with Burdines by the parent company of the two stores. Despite the fact that Burdines operated a store nearby at Southgate , the company retained its store at Sarasota Square. The Maas Brothers store was officially rebranded as Burdines on October 20, 1991. Along with the rest of the Burdines chain, the Sarasota Square store was renamed Burdines- Macy's on January 30, 2004, as the brands were merged by their parent company. On March 6, 2005,

8277-552: Was not open for browsing. Once a pass to the library had been issued, the reader was taken on a tour of the library. Many readers complained that the tour was much too short. Similarly, the Bibliothèque du Roi in Paris required a potential visitor to be "carefully screened" and, even after this stipulation was met, the library was open only two days per week and only to view medallions and engravings, not books. However, up until

8370-475: Was notified on May 5, 2020, of its default to the mortgage-backed security loan associated with the property. The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) utilized the mall as a county-operated COVID-19 vaccination clinic from January to June 2021. The Department of Health in Sarasota County stated they delivered more than 150,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine at the vaccination clinic. The current owner of

8463-616: Was open to the public and was the first Polish public library, the biggest in Poland, and one of the earliest public libraries in Europe. At the start of the 18th century, libraries were becoming increasingly public and were more frequently lending libraries . The 18th century saw the switch from closed parochial libraries to lending libraries. Before this time, public libraries were parochial in nature, and libraries frequently chained their books to desks. Libraries also were not uniformly open to

8556-464: Was part of a plan to close 68 stores nationwide, with Sarasota Square's store closing permanently on March 26, 2017. Sears closure was part of a plan to close 20 additional stores nationwide after announcing 72 closures on June 6, 2017. Sears closed permanently on September 18, 2017. On July 31, 2020, JCPenney put 21 stores up for sale, including the JCPenney at Sarasota Square. As of 2023, JCPenney

8649-437: Was the eleventh library to open, in 1857, after Winchester , Manchester , Liverpool , Bolton , Kidderminster , Cambridge , Birkenhead and Sheffield . The 1850 Act was noteworthy because it established the principle of free public libraries. In 1866, an amending Act was passed which eliminated the population limit for the establishment of a library and replaced the two-thirds majority previously required for adoption with

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