Selby Public Library, Public library in downtown Sarasota, United States

Selby Public Library is a large multi-story building in downtown Sarasota with reading areas, meeting rooms, and digital resources available to the community. Inside, you'll find traditional book collections alongside computer workstations and specialized spaces designed for different types of study and work.

The library began in 1907 when the Town Improvement Society opened a reading room at Five Points with $65 and 51 subscribers. The Woman's Club ran it from 1913, and the city took control in 1940, moving it to Chidsey Library. It reached the Boulevard of the Arts site on June 24, 1976, and a $500,000 gift from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation gave it its name. The Eugene Aubry-designed building opened in 1998.

The Sarasota Music Archive, founded by Mildred Petrie in 1980 in a strip mall, merged with Selby Library in 2000 and now occupies the second floor, where it sells vinyl LPs, CDs and other music items. Its volunteers and 14 board members maintain several hundred thousand recordings, tapes, books, sheet music and memorabilia.

The library is accessible throughout the week and offers plenty of space for working and reading. Come during morning or early afternoon hours for a quieter experience, as it gets busier in the late afternoon.

The arch-shaped Dee and Charles Stottlemyer Children's Aquarium forms the entrance to the Calvin and Kathryn L. Bean Children's Room. Installed on July 8, 1999, it holds 3,200 US gallons, stands 12 feet tall and 16 feet long, and weighs 10,000 pounds empty. Architects Gary Hoyt and Jeff Hole designed it with Mote Aquarium curator Kevin Curlee; tropical fish arrived on August 16, 1999.