The Lake County Library System has extended the hours at its largest branch, the Cooper Memorial Library. Located in the Clermont area, the library has the highest number of checkouts in the county for a variety of resources including books, DVDs, video games and ukuleles. The branch also sees thousands of visitors a day, who often use the facility’s large meeting rooms to host special events.
Spearheaded by Commissioner Wendy Breeden last year, the county partnered with Lake-Sumter State College for expanded hours at Cooper Memorial Library, supported with funding by the City of Clermont. The additional funding provided by the city has allowed the library to hire staff needed to increase the library hours.
The branch also serves as an early voting location, and shares a joint-use campus with Lake-Sumter State College, making it a one-stop shop for children, teens and adults. The library also hosts public jazz concerts, opera screenings, children’s story time and crafts, comedy shows, live animal programs, author visits and cooking demonstrations.
The new hours are: Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; and closed on Sundays. This brings the library’s hours of operation up from 48 to 64 hours per week.
“We are thrilled to extend Cooper Memorial Library’s hours. This has been in the works for many years,” said George Taylor, Director of the Lake County Library System. “Since extending the hours, the branch has already seen an increase in checkouts and visits and we have added more evening programs to better serve the community.”
The Cooper Memorial Library is located at 2525 Oakley Seaver Drive, Clermont. For more information, call 352-253-6180 or visit www.mylakelibrary.com
