Collier County Public Library, Public library in Naples, Florida
Collier County Public Library is a public library system with multiple branches throughout Naples and the surrounding area. The network offers book collections, magazines, and digital resources across its different locations.
The first library in Naples opened in 1932 in a home given to the Naples Women's Club, with a book room of 141 books. In 1957 the Friends of the Library opened the Collier County Free Public Library in a room of the Women's Club, and the county commission approved a library system by a 4-1 vote. Bookmobiles served Immokalee, Marco Island and Everglades City from 1958 until 1981, when local branches replaced them.
The Friends of the Library, a volunteer group with about 2,700 dues-paying members as of 2018, opened the county's free public library in a room of the Naples Women's Club in 1957. Since 2001 the Friends have given over $1 million to the library and pay entirely for every public program in all branches that requires out-of-pocket spending, plus employee and volunteer recognition programs. They fully funded three construction projects: Rose Hall and the Reading Patio at the Marco Island Branch, the Sugden Library Theater at the Orange Blossom Headquarters Library, and the Sugden Reading Patio and Mackworth G. Rees Meeting Room at the Naples Regional Library.
All ten locations offer public computers with internet access, printing, photocopying, free Wi-Fi and 24/7 dropboxes for books and DVDs. Residents and property owners get a free card; visitors pay $10 per month or $100 per year. The Naples Regional Library keeps a Genealogy Room staffed by volunteers, and the Headquarters Library runs the Mail-a-Book delivery service for homebound patrons.
The system uses a holds process that allows visitors to request materials from any branch and pick them up where convenient. This approach means you can search for something at one location and collect it from another without extra cost.
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