LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. — Lakewood Ranch Library is opening its doors on Jan. 12 and will feature new technology and larger spaces.
What You Need To Know
- New library opening in Manatee County on Jan. 12
- Lakewood Ranch Library will be the largest in the county with three floors and new additions
- The library will have a book drive-thru and use a new RFID tagging system
- Current job openings
The new 25,000-square-foot library on Rangeland Parkway has several new additions, including the county’s first book drive-thru. It’s a different way for people to drop off and pick up books.
Tiffany Mautino, who will work as a supervisor at the library, says this was a much-needed addition to making the library more accessible to families.
“A drive-thru is their way to still use a library and not have to get out of the car, the same with people with mobility issues,” she said.
Mautino moved to Manatee County less than a year ago for that specific job.
“I love my job, and as boring as people think librarianship is, it’s really not because it’s about working with the public and helping people,” she said.
There will be more than 45,000 books to choose from and a brand-new kiosk that’s not just new for the library but also for the county. It’s recently also been installed in other locations.
“It lets them view their account, what they have out, what they have on hold,” said Mautino.
The building itself has three floors, and, when finished, the plan is to create a study space and county office area on the second floor.
The third floor will have a venue area where people can request to reserve event space.
“We could probably get 70-75 people up here in rounds. It provides a space the community out in Lakewood Ranch doesn’t have access to,” said Mautino.
Mautino hopes this new building will serve as a canister of endless ideas for families.
“I really think that books and reading literacy are the foundation of what we do,” she said. “It’s not just about those books, it’s about our programming efforts. It’s about building a community response. It’s a new chapter for a library with a mission to bring people together.”
The library is also using a new technology called a Radio-frequency ID (RFID) tag, inserted inside books, which started this year in the county and will cut down on time.
Instead of scanning the bar codes on the sides of books, librarians will simply pile books on top of a detector that will automatically ingest them into the library’s system.
Julia Hazel
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