Johann Fust Community Library

Johann Fust Community Library is a public library in Boca Grande, Florida. It is part of the Lee County Library System.

Location

Johann Fust Community Library is located at 1040 West 10th Street P.O. Box 309 Boca Grande, Florida 33921.[1] It has been called a point of cultural interest in the village.[2]

History

The Johann Fust Community Library was opened on January 1, 1950 as a private library. It was named after Johann Fust, the financier of the Gutenberg Press. In June 2013, the library merged with the Lee County Public Library System.

The Johann Fust Community Library was given to the people of Boca Grande by Roger and Louise Armory who in 1949[3] pledged 68 shares of stock worth $44.200 and a loan of $10,000 to fund its creation.[4] Within the same year, a property on 10th street was purchased to construct the main building of the library, which contained an apartment on the second floor for a librarian to live in, and a cottage which was built next door. This cottage was for Thomas Cost, the library's superintendent, and his wife Pansy, the librarian. They both lived there until they died in 2004 and 2005.

The JF Library Foundation was officially founded on April 26, 2012, shortly before the library merged with the Lee County Library System.[5] After several years of negotiation and renovation the Johann Fust Community Library agreed to a partnership with the Lee County Library System. The Foundation still owns and maintains all of the original library grounds, gardens, and buildings as well as the collections of artifacts and rare books.

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
  2. Walton, Chelle Koster (2008). Tampa Bay & Florida's West Coast Adventure Guide (4 ed.). Hunter Publishing, Inc. p. 258. ISBN 978-1-58843-645-0.
  3. (February 1949). The Johann Fust Community Library of Boca Grande, Florida, Boca Grande Journal
  4. "Legacy - The JF Library Foundation". jfcl.org. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  5. "About the Foundation - The JF Library Foundation". jfcl.org. Retrieved 8 April 2017.

Further reading

  • Erwin, Susan (October 30, 2015). "New walkway complete at Johann Fust Library". Boca Beacon. Retrieved April 25, 2016.

Coordinates: 26°45′22″N 82°15′49″W / 26.756059°N 82.263631°W / 26.756059; -82.263631

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.