Library Services

Avon Park Public Library

Located in the northern-most part of the county, the Avon Park Public Library serves a population of 18,000 of whom 13,042 have current library cards.  Avon Park Library has 43,643 volumes, 6 public Internet stations and 3 public access catalogs. The library has an active children's program and two weekly film series, one for adults and one for young adults.  A large population of home-schooled children has required the library to focus some of its collection building to support their educational needs as well as the educational needs of children enrolled in formal education programs.

Avon Park Public Library moved into a new 6,000 square foot library building in 1993.  Although the library has been in its new facility a short time, the library has quickly outgrown its space.  Plans to expand the library in 2,005 have been developed. The library is expecting to receive a construction grant from the state that will be matched with local funding.

Lake Placid Memorial Library
    
Located in the southern-most part of the county, the Lake Placid Memorial Library is the only library that was not supported by municipal funding prior to the creation of the county library system.  The library serves a population of approximately 15,000 of whom 9,458 currently have a library card.  Lake Placid has 42,387 volumes with a strong collection of popular materials and children's materials.  Lake Placid Memorial Library also serves a large number of home-school children and provides support for their educational needs as well as the educational needs of children in public school.  The Highlands County Genealogy Society and the United Daughters of the Confederacy has donated collections of genealogy materials to Lake Placid and it is now the center for genealogy research in Highlands County. Personalized service makes the Lake Placid Memorial Library a busy library.

A new library building was constructed in 1995 using the same basic plan as the building in Avon Park. Because of the tremendous growth of Lake Placid, that building was expanded by more the 4,000 square feet in 2004.

Sebring Public Library

The Sebring Public Library serves as the administrative headquarters of the Highlands County Library System.  The library is located in the center of the county and receives patrons from all over the county.  The 2000 census places the population of Sebring and the surrounding area at 30,664.  The Sebring Library has a collection of 70,850 volumes including a strong reference collection of print and non-print materials.

The Sebring Library was expanded in 1990 to a facility with approximately 9,000 square feet of library space. The library soon outgrew that expansion and an additional 6,000 square feet of space was added in 2000 to accommodate the growth of the community.