Broward County Library -- Your Library

Welcome Letter from the Director

What happens at a Broward County Library every day?

Five reasons Broward County Library is one of the best in the nation

How the Library Changes Lives

Service Improvement of the Month

Find Your Library -- View Your Library Online

Broward County Library, the ninth-largest library system in the United States, is your window to a world of learning, opportunity, education, and more. With over ten million visitors annually, BCL offers a wealth of cultural, educational and recreational options to the community, with 37 locations countywide.

With more than one million square feet in total, Broward County Library offers a Main Library in downtown Fort Lauderdale, five regional libraries (two are located on Broward Community College campuses) and a host of branches and reading centers throughout the county. The African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, one of only a few such specialized libraries in the country, features a museum, art gallery, special collections vault and state-of-the-art auditorium.

Broward County Library has more than one million library card holders/owners who can pick from over three million library materials for public use. Nine million items are circulated annually, and the library receives 90,000 requests for items on hold each month. Customers throughout the county have access to Broward County Library's entire collection, with the option of picking up and returning materials at any Broward  County Library location.

The library's Web site, www.broward.org/library, reaches three million electronic visitors annually with eight million page views. 

Broward County Library provides an array of services including:

• Facilities
• Service desks within facilities
• New library materials - "Hot Titles"
• Reference question services
• Youth services
• Circulation service and inventory control
• "Holds" or reserves on library materials
• Library delivery services - Intra Branch
• Convenient hours of operation
• Computers for public use
• Computer labs
• Computer classes
• Literacy classes, adult
• After school classes
• Teen Activities:
  • Leadership training
  • Volunteer experience and job skill training
  • Valued youth at risk leadership programs
• Employability skills classes for adults
• English as second language classes
• Citizenship classes
• SAT and FCAT tutoring
• Small Business Development and Assistance
• Tax and Medicaid assistance
• Cultural programs and diversity celebrations
• Writing workshops, music and art programs
• Family history classes
• Special services to populations with special needs
• Grants for library programs
• Partnership services with schools:
  • Joint use libraries
  • Volunteer pre-kindergarten registration
• Partnership services with community organizations:
  • Elections polling places
  • Humane Society
  • Literary festivals that encourage reading, books
  • Community meeting rooms
  • Health fairs with partners
  • Fitness, exercise and dance programs
  • Science programs
  • Science fairs
  • Inventors' showcases
• Math tutoring
• Patent and trademark research
• Study rooms
• Tutoring
• E-government assistance
• In school visits
• School and daycare library tours
• Computer classes in foreign languages
• Bi-lingual story times
• Foreign language materials
• Inter-library loan services
• Books-by-Mail
• Talking Books