The Lee County Library System was founded in 1964 and is currently (as of 2016) composed of 13 branches. The library system has over 1.5 million items available for patrons to use or check out, and circulates over 6 million items per year. The system also offers amenities such as meeting rooms, an online catalog and e-sources, as well as DVD's, CD's, and the streaming of movies and video. Each branch also provides users with internet access, including wireless access points. Olive Stout, who arrived in Fort Myers in 1886 started the town's first reading room and was pivotal in founding its first library.
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Branches
Bookmobile
The Lee County Library System also has a mobile book service called the Bookmobile that travels throughout the county to bring materials to those who cannot physically make it to a library branch location or those in housing projects and low income neighborhoods. Patrons of the bookmobile have about 4,000 items to choose from including books, DVD'S, and magazines in both English and Spanish.
Talking Books
The Lee County Library System is a subregional library of the Florida Bureau of Braille and Talking Books Library. Recorded books are shipped free of charge to patrons who fill out an application affirming their visual or physical disability that makes traditional reading difficult. In addition to recorded books, the Talking Books Library also provides Braille books and narrated magazines. The Lee County Talking Books Library has thousands of titles in its collection as well as access to 2.5 million titles through the Florida Bureau of Braille and Talking Books Library.
Annual Reading Fest
The Lee County Library System organizes an annual reading festival. The goal of this festival is to "promote reading and the library and bring people together with the writers they love". It is has been held in the Harborside Event Center and Centennial Park, both located in downtown Fort Myers. Each year the free event brings 20 different authors, and thousands of free books to children and teenagers.