Pasco County Library Cooperative

The Pasco County Library Cooperative is the public library system that serves all residents of Pasco County, Florida and is a member of the Tampa Bay Library Consortium.[1] The "Pasco County Library System", as the system was originally known, was established by county ordinance in 1980. In 1999, the Pasco County Public Library Cooperative (PCLC) was established as a result of an Interlocal Agreement between the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners and the Zephyrhills City Council.[2] It consists of eight branch libraries and operates on a budget of $5,730,843, a decrease of $1,723,227 since 2007. The library circulated 2,400,192 items in 2011-2012. During that same time span, the library had 906,142 people visit its eight branches, a decrease of 23 percent. This decrease is attributed to the 16 percent reduction of hours the libraries are open. The head of library services reports to the Assistant County Administrator for Public Services.[3]

Marquee for the New River Library, a branch of the Pasco County Library Cooperative.

Branches

The library cooperative consists of eight branches, with the administrative offices for the system located at the Hudson Regional Library.[4]

The New River Branch in Zephyrhills, Florida.

Awards

2010

John Cotton Dana Award for excellence in public relations. [5]

2008

"I Love my Librarian!" award given to director Linda Allen by The New York Times Company.[6]

Future of the Region Certificate of Excellence and Commemorative program for Public Education in Catastrophe Readiness and Response: Proactive Roles for Public Libraries awarded by Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. [7]

PCLC website

The PCLC website is an integrated website that allows patrons to search the library catalog, check-out e-books, search fee-based databases, and even learn a new language. It also allows patrons to post book reviews, access RSS feeds, create lists and tag materials. The website has links to the library’s social media content, library videos and e-government sources. It was recognized by the Florida Library Association as the best library website in 2010. The year it was redesigned, use of the website increased 28 percent.[8]

Friends of the Pasco County Library System

Friends of the Pasco County Library System, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization that works closely with the libraries within the PCLC to enrich the library experience of library patrons through fundraising, volunteering, and advocacy efforts. In October, 2013, the Friends of the Pasco County Library System, Inc. was dissolved,[9] and merged with the Pasco Library Foundation. Individual libraries still retain their own Friends of the Library group, which either fall into their own not-for-profit or the Pasco Library Foundation's not-for-profit 501(c)(3) status.

Land O' Lakes Foundry

The Foundry at the Land O' Lakes Branch Library is the first dedicated makerspace in Pasco County libraries, and was officially opened on December 17, 2015. The Foundry provides two 3-D printers, Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) equipment, an Oculus Rift virtual reality system, and an audio recording studio, as well as a stock of hand and power tools, crafting equipment and supplies, like yarn and thread. The room serves as the primary meeting place for the Land O' Lakes High School robotics team, the Edgar Allan Ohms, which is also directly sponsored by the library.[10] The Foundry requires acceptance and consent of the Pasco County Liability Waiver and Permission Form and the Maker Safety Playbook before use of space is permitted, but is open to application by all library patrons.[11]

References

  1. ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/20121006131313/http://www.pascolibraries.org/PascoLibraryStratPlanFinal2.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20121210024520/http://www.pascolibraryfoundation.org:80/lhistory.shtml. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "Locations and Hours | Pasco Libraries". www.pascolibraries.org. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  5. ↑ Pasco County Library Cooperative. (2013). "County Awards/Recognitions". Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  6. ↑ Orth, Carl (January 29, 2011). "Linda Allen is turning the page". Suncoastnews.com. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  7. ↑ "16th Annual Future of the Region Awards" (PDF). Tbrpc.org. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  8. ↑ "FLA Home Page". Flalib.org. 2015-06-17. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "Land O’ Lakes library opens makerspace". The Laker/Lutz News. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  11. ↑ "Land O'Lakes Foundry | Pasco Libraries". www.pascolibraries.org. Retrieved 2016-03-18.

External links

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