Temple Terrace Public Library
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| Established | 1960 |
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| Location | Temple Terrace, Florida, United States |
| Coordinates | 28°01′58″N 82°23′29″W / 28.0329°N 82.39129°WCoordinates: 28°01′58″N 82°23′29″W / 28.0329°N 82.39129°W |
| Other information | |
| Director | Teressa Fraser |
| Website | http://templeterrace.com/154/Library |
The Temple Terrace Public Library serves 250,000 patrons a year with a selection of more than 100,000 volumes and 52 computers. It is the only library in the city of Temple Terrace, FL, and it is part of the Hillsborough County Library Cooperative, along with branches in Tampa, Florida and Plant City, Florida, like the John F. Germany Public Library. It is located near several colleges, including the University of South Florida and Florida College, as well as the Museum of Science & Industry in Tampa.
The library was established on January 15, 1960 after the Temple Terrace Woman’s Club became inspired to create a community library. The local Boy Scout groups and city residents supplied the first book collection for this newly established library. Temple Terrace donated a small caddy house on the 19th tee of the city golf course to serve as the library.
The funding came from the Woman’s Club. Within a year, the collection and circulation had outgrown the caddy house. In April 1961, City Hall became the new location for the library. The rise of library patrons and the demand for more services prompted the city to take over the library from the volunteers. The city appointed a Library Board, which made the Temple Terrace Public Library eligible to receive books from the Hillsborough County Library Service.
On September 23, 1965, construction on a new, larger library began at 202 Bullard Parkway. On April 17, 1966, the library opened its doors. In 1978, an additional 5,600 square feet were added to the existing structure to keep up with the number of patrons. In 1998, the library was renovated and enlarged, and an online catalog and Internet access were added to the services available.
An arsonist set fire to the library in the morning of February 18, 1982. The blaze destroyed 11,666 books and 1,010 recordings within the library’s collection. However, the citizens and the Woman’s Club rallied and helped restore the library. It reopened in a temporary location, the Lightfoot Recreation Center, six weeks after the arson. Less than a year after the fire, on February 16, 1983, the new library was again open for business.
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