Yvonne Stellmach gets dragged most weekends to the Alachua County Library District branch in Hawthorne.
Typically, after church, her three children – 12-year-old Deanne, 10-year-old Yvonne and 8-year-old Edric – beg to go to the library on Southeast 221st Street.
“They’re just in that age range where they are absorbing a lot,” Stellmach said. “If I were to buy them the books that they enjoy reading, my entire house would look like a library.”
The Stellmachs are among the many patrons who, over the past 40 years, have used the library district’s 12 branches for their enjoyment and edification.
Established on Oct. 1, 1986, the district opened with five branches under a county-wide umbrella. That includes the previously independent municipal libraries in High Springs, Hawthorne and Micanopy. In addition to the in-person and digital branches, the district operates two traveling bookmobiles and provides services to the Alachua County Jail.
The libraries served 187,664 cardholders during 2025 through 2026–triple than the number of those served in its first year, said Brad McClenny, the districts’ public relations and marketing manager.
The number of items circulated in 2025-26, now reaching over 3 million, also tripled since opening, according to the district’s statistical comparisons.That includes digital materials borrowed from digital loaning platforms like Libby and Hoopla.
Over 1 million digital items are checked out each year since first hitting the milestone in 2020. It’s not your grandmother’s library.
Sometimes people peruse the comic book aisles. Other times, they may attend a bilingual story time or a MakerSpace class, a recent addition to its service catalog.
According to McClenny, the district aims to position itself as a hub for entertainment rather than a venue prioritized for work, such as its university counterparts.
After roaming through the branch aisles in Hawthorne, Emily Merton carried three novels to the checkout. Merton, who has worked in a genetics lab at UF for 14 years, initially grabbed a book she found in the crafting aisle, “Crafting With Cat Hair,” before snapping a photo of it for her mom because of the “cute” cat on the cover. She then renewed her card.
“I have no idea what I’m taking out, but it’s so much less pressure than actually buying a book,” she said. “It’s nice to get some new ones without spending money on them.”
McClenny said the district also benefits from the return of university students as well as recent arrivals to Alachua County during this time of year.
Cards are free for county residents, granting access to physical checkouts and all online digital databases and collections. A new design launched this season to commemorate the library’s 40th anniversary.
Beverly Gill, 68, uses the library’s resources for entertainment. Gill first came to the Hawthorne branch over 20 years ago, seeking nostalgia. The semi-retired nurse said she now lives in the countryside without internet access, so she visits the library often.
“I started out with the DVDs,” she said. “Then I started becoming very comfortable coming here, and I realized that they had a few extra programs that were interesting.”
Gill often attends the library’s crafting events, the most recent being a zine-making workshop, an experience part of the district’s 40th anniversary commemoration.
September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, promoted annually by the American Library Association. Throughout the month, all 12 branches have hosted festive events, culminating in a larger celebration on Oct. 3 at the headquarters library in Gainesville.
Over 80,000 people attended events across the 12 branches in the last year, more than double the number in 1986. Program attendance has grown steadily since COVID-19, McClenny said.
While events may get many through the library’s doors, Wi-Fi helps make them stay. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 88% of Alachua County residents had broadband access in 2025, meaning about 34,800 people live without it. Which is why the library’s internet access, first introduced in 1995, has become an integral resource to the community, McClenny said.
In 2021, the library district introduced the WiFi2Go mobile hotspots, allowing as many as 700 cardholders to bring internet access home.
As the district continues evolving with changing technology, McClenny said its goal is to provide “an equitable experience for everybody in Alachua County to have access to engaging and entertaining content … and feel like part of a community.”
For the Stellmach children, that’s already the case.
“The library has been a home,” their mother said. “I’m just glad my children have a place to call home away from home.”