Elsie Quirk Public Library, Public library in Englewood, United States.
Elsie Quirk Public Library is a public library at 101 Cocoanut Avenue in Englewood, Florida, founded in 1962 and the oldest branch in the Sarasota County Library System. It occupies a 1,400-square-foot building and holds a genealogy collection.
Elsie Quirk founded the library after visiting a small community library in North Carolina in 1961; she donated land at 101 Cocoanut Avenue in Englewood along with $10,000, and it opened on June 15, 1962, as a 1,400-square-foot branch. The Friends of the Library, headed by Leah Lasbury, Josephine Cortez and President Lois Potter, was set up in 1961, and the Lemon Bay Women's Club gave 3,600 books. Harriet Ives, a Syracuse University graduate with a master's in library science, served as first librarian at $1 an hour. It is the oldest library in the Sarasota County system and was upgraded in 2001.
The library is named after Elsie Quirk, who donated land at 101 Cocoanut Avenue and $10,000 after visiting a small community library in North Carolina in 1961. The Lemon Bay Women's Club gave 3,600 books, and Quirk herself worked among the volunteers. The branch keeps a genealogy selection for family-history researchers.
The library offers free WiFi and computer stations throughout the building during regular hours. Staff members are on hand to help visitors find materials and use the available resources.
The library's first librarian, Harriet Ives, a Syracuse University graduate with a master's in library science, earned $1 an hour. The Lemon Bay Women's Club donated 3,600 books to stock the new building, and Elsie Quirk herself worked among the volunteers.
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