Tampa–Hillsborough County Public Library System The Tampa–Hillsborough County Public Library System (THPL) is a public library system based in Hillsborough County, Florida. THPL is part of two larger library networks, the Tampa Bay Library Consortium, and the Hillsborough County Public Libr ...

and the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. The library is located in

Hillsborough County, Florida Hillsborough County is located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. In the 2020 census, the population was 1,459,762, making it the fourth-most populous county in Florida and the most populous county outside the Miami metrop ...

. The Riverview Public Library houses over 70,000 items – books, audiobooks, magazines, and DVDs – and provides online and internet access to its patrons, via public access computers and

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

connectivity. The library offers

computer training Computer literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with skill levels ranging from elementary use to computer programming and advanced problem solving. Computer literacy can also refer ...

classes for children, teens, and adults, as well as community and study rooms available for public use. The Riverview Public Library has a recording studio, 2 creative content rooms, a makerspace, and a 'makeryspace' for children. The Friends of the Riverview Library manage the book store in the library.

History

The Riverview Branch Library opened on November 18, 1979 inside an 8,000-square foot building to serve the populations of Riverview,

Gibsonton Gibsonton, sometimes nicknamed Gibtown, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. U.S. Route 41 runs through the center of the community. The population was 14,234 at the 2010 ce ...

, and

Apollo Beach Apollo Beach is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 14,055 at the 2010 census, up from 7,444 at the 2000 census. Geography Apollo Beach is located in southern Hillsborough ...

. The land was donated by the Gardinier Corporation, which was previously being used as a worm farm. Originally, library services were offered via a

bookmobile A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...

stop called Riverview Station which was placed in a local grocery store. As the needs of the community grew, citizens formed the Riverview Library Association and made plans to build the library itself. In 2008, the size of the parking lot was doubled. More than 103,810 visitors have checked out more than 200,000 items from the Library. This one-room library also had limited computers, access to power device charging, and only one 55-seat meeting room. The Riverview Branch Library was declared functionally obsolete and plans for an expansion/replacement were discussed. On March 3, 2016, a public meeting was held about the proposed expansion/replacement of the Riverview Branch Library, with four sites put forth for consideration. The new library was targeted for completion by Spring 2020.

Services

Current materials and services provided at the Riverview Public Library include: * Books * Recorded books * Magazines * DVDs * Internet access * WiFi connectivity * Printing and Photocopying * Scanning (bring a flash drive) * Faxing (local and toll free) * Assistive technology * Programs * Computer training classes * Community & study rooms * Recording studio * Makerspace * Friends of the Riverview Library book store

Replacement building

The replacement Riverview Branch Library covers 35,000 square feet and has eight meeting rooms, along with a designated

makerspace A hackerspace (also referred to as a hacklab, hackspace, or makerspace) is a community-operated, often "not for profit" (501(c)(3) in the United States), workspace where people with common interests, such as computers, machining, technology, sc ...

, a recording/editing studio, a covered and screened-in reading porch, a 5,000 square feet children's area, the Friends of the Library bookstore, and a vending café. New sustainable features include a

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

power system on the building's roof, an electric car

charging station A charging station, also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging plug-in electric vehicles (including electric cars, electric trucks, electric ...

, patio furniture from recycled materials, and a focus on native/drought-resistant landscaping. The expected completion date was set for spring 2020. The cost for the new building was estimated at $12.6 million and was to be paid from the Library Capital Projects Fund. Ground was broken for the replacement building in April of 2019 and the new Riverview Branch Library opened on April 5, 2021.

References

External links

Riverview Library Expansion/Replacement Update, December 2017
{{authority control Public libraries in Florida 1979 establishments in Florida