New Port Richey Public Library

The New Port Richey Public Library is a public library in New Port Richey, Florida. The library is unique as it is the only public library in Pasco County that is not a member of the Pasco County Library Cooperative.

The library was founded by Elroy M. Avery as the Avery Library and Historical Society. The charters and papers of incorporation were created on December 22, 1919; the Avery Library and Historical Society formally opened with a collection of approximately 2,000 volumes on April 10, 1920. The Schofield Bible (a personal copy of Avery's) was the first book cataloged in the library. Originally, the library charged patrons $1 a year for borrowing privileges. In the 1960s, the library was renamed to reflect the change of ownership to New Port Richey and the usage fee was dropped.

In May 2013, the library opened a second location, dubbed the Avery branch, in the newly renovated Elfers CARES Center. NJROTC students from Gulf High School assisted in the set up.

In addition to lending of its materials holdings, the New Port Richey Public Library offers many programs and services for the community.

The library hosts a weekly French language conversation group during which French speakers can gather for casual conversation and to improve their use of the language. Recently, the library has increased the variety of its holdings through the addition of an adult graphic novel collection.

For over eight years, the library has celebrated its Reel Pride LGBT Film Series. A brief hiatus from the series was taken in 2011.

In addition to Reel Pride, the New Port Richey Public Library has also held film festivals emphasizing human rights. In 2005, the library participated in the Human Rights Video Project, an ALA-sponsored film series made up of 13 documentaries focusing on human rights.

A weekly organic farmers' market, known as Tasty Tuesdays, is held in the library courtyard. Local growers come to lay out their harvest as a part of the urban gardening movement that has spread throughout the country. In conjunction with this effort, the library created a seed library in August 2013, through which patrons can check out seeds like they would books. This trend caught on in neighboring libraries, with Dunedin Public Library launching its own seed library within a couple of months.

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