Jacksonville Public Library

The Jacksonville Public Library is the public library system serving Jacksonville and Duval County, run from a flagship Main Library downtown.

On its About the Library page, the library describes itself as a large library system consisting of a 300,000 sq. ft. Main Library and twenty regional, community and neighborhood branch libraries. The same page says it also serves the community with a Special Needs Library for disabled customers and an active adult literacy and lifelong learning program. A Board of Library Trustees, made up of volunteers, serves as the policy and planning body for the system, and independent Friends of the Library groups support it. The page also notes funding under the State Aid to Libraries Grant program, administered by the Florida Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services.

The Locations and Hours page counts 21 locations throughout Duval County, and lists the Main Library at 303 N Laura Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202. The library's general help line is 904-255-2665.

The library traces its origins to the Jacksonville Library and Literary Association, formed in 1878, according to the National Park Service record for the Carnegie building.

The National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Old Jacksonville Free Public Library says the first library was a rented room in the Astor Building at the southeast corner of Bay and Hogan streets. In 1883 the organization was renamed the Jacksonville Library Association, and a building on a leased lot at Laura and Adams streets was completed in 1884. In 1892 the trustees, with the Elks Club, created the Union Building Association, which erected the Union Building at Adams and Main streets in 1894 and 1895. That building held both the public library and the offices of the Jacksonville Board of Trade, and the fire of 1901, which devastated nearly all of downtown Jacksonville, destroyed it.

A Carnegie grant secured after the 1901 fire paid for a new library at Ocean and Adams streets, which opened for business on June 1, 1905.

The nomination form says a movement led by Joseph Richardson began work in 1902 to erect a new library, and Richardson was able to secure a grant from the Carnegie Foundation. The agreement required the city to provide a site and contribute $5,000 per year for maintenance. Voters approved a referendum in support of the financial backing of the library on November 4, 1902, and the city bought the property at the corner of Ocean and Adams streets.

In January 1902 the city council appointed a board of trustees to build the library. Ten architects entered an open competition under false names, and Henry Klutho's design, submitted under the pseudonym "Veni, Vidi, Vici," was chosen. The project had a budget of $50,000, and the Owens Building Company built it. Ground was broken on October 3, 1903. The nomination calls the building one of the first public buildings constructed in Jacksonville after the disastrous fire of 1901 and an example of the Classical Revival style.

The building served as the library until a new library facility was completed across the street in the 1960s, then housed city agencies until 1984, when Bedell Building Associates bought and renovated it. The National Park Service asset record lists it at 101 E. Adams St., with a publication date of 1/22/1987 in the National Register collection.

The Haydon Burns Library was the system's main library from 1965 until 2005, according to a University of North Florida archives record.

The UNF Special Collections record in the George Lansing Taylor collection says the building cost $3.7 million when built in 1965 and was considered state of the art. It describes a 126,000 sq. ft., 3-story building designed by local architect Taylor Hardwick, named for W. Haydon Burns, who served as Mayor of Jacksonville for fifteen years and two years as Governor of Florida. The record says the Burns Library replaced the Carnegie Library, built in 1905 and designed by Henry John Klutho.

The Main Library at 303 N Laura Street, which opened to the public on Nov 12, 2005, is open six days a week and closed on Sunday.

The opening date comes from the UNF archives record. Hours and visitor details come from the library's Main Library page, which lists a help desk at (904) 255-2665.

Parking is in the Duval Street Parking Garage, whose entrance is at 33 W Duval Street; the garage does not take cash. The library page says parking is free for one hour on weekdays and free on Saturdays with a validated ticket, while supplies last, and that special events such as Art Walk carry a special event rate with no validation. Metered street parking is enforced weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The downtown Jacksonville building also holds a Conference Center with up to 20,000 square feet of event space, reached at (904) 255-6198, and 31 feet of hanging rail for art in the second-floor Atrium. Works by Augusta Savage, Al Held, Kathryn Freeman, Lee Adams and Jerry Uelsmann are on permanent display, and volunteers lead art tours on the first Wednesday and one Saturday a month. Meeting rooms are for nonprofit or community groups, and all meetings must be free and open to the general public.

Beyond the Main Library, the library lists 20 branch and regional libraries across Duval County plus an express locker pickup point in Oceanway.

Four of the branches carry the Regional name: Charles Webb Wesconnett, Highlands, Pablo Creek and Southeast. The Beaches Branch sits in Neptune Beach. Addresses below are from the library's locations list; every address is in Jacksonville unless noted.

Resident cards are free with proof of Duval County residence, according to the library's card page.

The Get a Library Card page says a minor under 18 needs a parent or guardian to sign, and the adult is responsible for what the minor borrows; both must provide one piece of identification. Applicants must be 18 or older to register online, must give a physical address in Duval County (PO Boxes and PMBs are not allowed), and get immediate access to the Digital Library. Replacement cards are free, and a lost card is recovered rather than reapplied for. Cardholders agree to accept full financial responsibility for all services and materials associated with the card. Questions go to (904) 255-2665.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, by re-reading the library's About, Locations, Main Library and library card pages, the National Park Service nomination and asset record for the Carnegie building, and UNF's Haydon Burns Library record.