It won’t be the first, but it’s planned to be the biggest.
The 10th anniversary of the Main Library Downtown will be celebrated Saturday with authors, live entertainment and guided tours.
Jacksonville Public Library Director Barbara Gubbin said since October 2014, six branches have marked 10 years of opening or reopening due to the Better Jacksonville Plan’s funding for library system improvement. It’s fitting that the largest and busiest library should have the largest celebration of the first decade.
“We’ve been honing our skills for a year and we’ve been planning this celebration for a year. We want people to come to the Main Library and have a fun day,” said Gubbin.
Former Mayor John Delaney, who was in office when the Better Jacksonville Plan local option sales tax was approved by voters, will attend the celebration.
He’ll be joined by former Mayor John Peyton, who was in office when the Main Library opened in November 2005.
Mayor Lenny Curry will be out of town, but will appear in a video, Gubbin said.
Since it opened in November 2005, more than 8 million people have visited the five-level, 300,000-square-foot building, the largest public library in Florida.
They have borrowed nearly 9 million books and other library materials. More than 606,000 adults and 421,000 children and teens have attended programs at the Main Library.
“Let us look back and see all the wonderful things that have happened here,” said Gubbin.
The library director is looking ahead as much as looking back.
Gubbin said the next 10 years of the Main Library will be devoted to “continuing to be the community’s learning space” and adapting the space to meet the city’s evolving needs.
“I hope people will leave Saturday enthusiastic about the library and understanding that we must continue to invest in our libraries,” she said. “It’s a critical component of arts and culture and quality of life.”
Celebration activities, like all programs at Jacksonville Public Libraries, are free and open to the public.
On Saturday, two authors will talk about their work and sign copies of their books in the Hicks Auditorium in the Conference Center near the Main Street entrance to the library.
Beginning at 11 a.m., Gainesville resident Lauren Groff will talk about her New York Times best-seller “Fates and Furies.” It’s an examination of a young couple’s marriage with the premise that every story has two sides.
“When we invited her (to be part of the celebration) we didn’t know she’d be on The New York Times list,” Gubbin said.
At 2 p.m., local author and food blogger Nancy White will present “Jacksonville Food Trucks: Stories and Recipes from the Road.” Filled with photographs, it’s a chronicle of the rise of the local mobile cuisine movement.
Also on the schedule in the auditorium is a performance at 1:30 p.m. by the Paul Taylor Dance Company. At 2 p.m. in the Betsy Lovett Courtyard on the second floor, the Navy Band Southeast Fair Winds Woodwind Quintet will perform.
Ten groups of young local musicians will compete beginning at noon in the 10th Annual Teen Battle of the Bands. The competition is moving to Hemming Park this year.
Jacksonville’s “American Idol” finalist Tyanna Jones also will perform in the park.
The Children’s Department will offer activities, such as story times, family art activities and puppet making. There will be a scavenger hunt for children and Clifford the Big Red Dog will greet visitors from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Guided tours of library departments and collections will be offered during the celebration, starting at 11 a.m. and then every half hour at the Ask Here Desk on the ground floor.
For more information, visit jaxpubliclibrary.org.
(904) 356-2466