The Key was a vibrant community back in the 1960s and 70s, but one thing we lacked was a brick-and-mortar library. To compensate, the County sent over a traveling library once a week in the form of a bookmobile \u2013 a large blue-and-white tractor-trailer outfitted with a narrow center aisle and shelves of books.<\/p>\n
An Islander News story from 1969 described the bookmobile as a weekly \u201ccrossroads of island social life.\u201d Eager patrons lined up in the shopping plaza parking lot at Crandon and West Enid on Thursday afternoons, with early-birds clamoring for first dibs on the new cache of books. Mothers with tots in tow collected armfuls of Dr. Seuss, Babar the Elephant, and other picture books. Older children walked over after school to pick up volumes of Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew mysteries. Some folks stopped by in the early evenings in search of a reference volume on tropical gardening or a good beach read. By the end of the day, as many as 700 books had been checked out.<\/p>\n
Avid reader Mike Malinin, who grew up on Key Biscayne, recalls those days well. \u201cThe arrival of the bookmobile was always an exciting event. Those Thursday afternoons were certainly memorable.\u201d<\/p>\n
As quaint as the bookmobile was, by the 1970s residents on the Key began to push for a full-time library. Sandy Earle was one of the library\u2019s fiercest advocates, collecting over 500 signatures on a petition and testifying before the County Commission in support of our own branch. Though the County had earmarked funds for the library in a 1972 bond issue, progress seemed to have stalled. Fortunately Fritz Scharenberg, the developer of Key Colony, stepped in and offered the former sales office as the site for the library.<\/p>\n
It was an exciting day when the Key Biscayne Branch Library opened in January of 1985. Residents flocked to visit the new space. By the second day, over 350 people had signed up for library cards.<\/p>\n
The Key Biscayne Garden Club played an active role in beautifying the library grounds. Gardeners Ellen Merritt and Ceci Sanchez led a group of tireless volunteers who spent countless Saturdays digging in the soil and planting flowers. \u201cMy hands just itch,\u201d Ellen once explained. \u201cI cannot stand bare spots anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
These days, we are once again in a holding pattern, waiting for a new library on the Key. Our branch closed earlier this year and was demolished to make way for a larger and more up-to-date facility. But, never fear, we are not lacking for library services. The County has opened a temporary library near Starbucks on Crandon Boulevard. Patrons can check out books and avail themselves of all the library system\u2019s resources. The space is comfortable, and friendly librarians are there to greet you. Be sure to stop in if you haven\u2019t yet had a chance to visit.<\/p>\n