Location Tampa, Florida Opened 1994 | Coordinates 27.981177, -82.430387 Phone +1 813-273-3652 | |
Former names College Hill Public Library Address 2607 E Dr M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Tampa, FL 33610, USA Hours Closing soon · 10AM–6PMThursday10AM–6PMFriday10AM–6PMSaturday10AM–6PMSundayClosedMonday10AM–8PMTuesday10AM–8PMWednesday10AM–6PM Similar West Tampa Free Publ, 78th Street Community Library, Seffner‑Mango Branch Library, Austin Davis Public Lib, New Tampa Regional | ||
The C. Blythe Andrews Jr. Public Library, formerly known as the College Hill Branch Library, is located in Tampa, Florida. The 8,500 sq. foot facility is located at 2607 E. Dr. MLK Jr. Blvd. It is part of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System(THPL), as well as a member of the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative (HCPLC).
Contents
The library offers books, audio books, music CDs, magazines, and DVDS, and internet access is available through computers and WIFI. There is a large community room and small meeting room available for public usage.
History
The library first opened to the public as the College Hill Public Library on June 16, 1989 in an 800 square foot double wide trailer. The current building opened in 1994 and, in 2010, was renamed after C. Blythe Andrews Jr., a publisher of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin, a newspaper serving the African American community.
Future plans
The current building has been deemed too small to serve the amount of customers who currently use the library. Hillsborough County is currently seeking feedback from residents on what kind of improvements they would like to see made to the library. During the fiscal year 2015 budget process, Hillsborough County Commissioners approved $3.4 million in capital improvement funds to begin work on the project to expand or rebuild the existing library. The project timeline is to be determined once the final scope of the project is decided.
Friends of the library
The C. Blythe Andrews Jr. Public Library receives support from the Ada T. Payne Friends of the Urban Libraries. Their fundraising efforts support not only this branch, but also the Robert W. Saunders Sr. Public Library and the West Tampa Branch Library. The Ada. T Payne friends have bookstores in all three of these libraries.
Library art
The library features two lithographs in the main reading room area: No Place Like Home, 1990 by artist Louis Delsarte and With Honors, 1989 by artist Synthia St. James. There are twenty-one Burgert Brothers' black-and-white photograph reproductions that are included in the library's art collection.