The library was founded by Elroy M. Avery as the Avery Library and Historical Society. The charters and papers of incorporation were created on December 22, 1919; the Avery Library and Historical Society formally opened with a collection of approximately 2,000 volumes on April 10, 1920. The Schofield Bible was the first book cataloged in the library. Originally, the library charged patrons $1 a year for borrowing privileges. In the 1960s, the library was renamed to reflect the change of ownership to New Port Richey and the usage fee was dropped. In May 2013, the library opened a second location, dubbed the Avery branch, in the newly renovated Elfers CARES Center. NJROTC students from Gulf High School assisted in the set up.
Current services and programming
In addition to lending of its materials holdings, the New Port Richey Public Library offers many programs and services for the community.
Adult programs and services
The library hosts a weekly French language conversation group during which French speakers can gather for casual conversation and to improve their use of the language. Recently, the library has increased the variety of its holdings through the addition of an adult graphic novel collection.
For over eight years, the library has celebrated its Reel Pride LGBTFilm Series. A brief hiatus from the series was taken in 2011. In addition to Reel Pride, the New Port Richey Public Library has also held film festivals emphasizing human rights. In 2005, the library participated in the Human Rights Video Project, an ALA-sponsored film series made up of 13 documentaries focusing on human rights.
A weekly organic farmers' market, known as Tasty Tuesdays, is held in the library courtyard. Local growers come to lay out their harvest as a part of the urban gardening movement that has spread throughout the country. In conjunction with this effort, the library created a seed library in August 2013, through which patrons can check out seeds like they would books. This trend caught on in neighboring libraries, with Dunedin Public Library launching its own seed library within a couple of months.
The library has made many efforts to engage its youth patrons. In an effort to keep up with digital trends, the library celebrated International TableTop Day with board games and video games geared toward teenage patrons. The library has offered chocolate-making classes for both children and teens as well. The library has a teen advisory board known as YOLO, which participated in the 2013 Cotee River Cleanup. The teens followed up on their work during the Cotee River Clean Up by beautifying the Gene Sarazen Overlook Tower as a community works project. In addition to community service projects, YOLO members volunteer to help out at library events like Pi Day.
Awards
In 2006, the library was honored as the recipient of the Florida Library Association's "Library of the Year" award. Library Journal gave the New Port Richey Public Library a rating of 4 out of 5 stars in 2013. It was the only library in the state to earn a rating from Library Journal that year. In 2016, it made the Library Journal Index again with a 5-star rating, the highest-ranked in the state and one of only three Florida libraries to make the list. In 2014, the Florida Library Association awarded library director Susan Dillinger with the Librarian of the Year Award. In 2017 the Florida Library Association awarded Library Director Susan Dillinger with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2012, Dillinger was appointed as the interim city manager for New Port Richey. In honor of her service in this role for almost two years, an art exhibition wall in City Hall was named the Susan Dillinger Art Gallery.
