Week Calendar

Discover a vibrant community gathering at the Phillippi Farmhouse Market, nestled within the scenic Phillippi Estate Park. This seasonal market, open every Wednesday from October through April from 9 a.m.

Join the North Port Creative Writers Circle, meeting the 1st and 3rd Monday of the Month.

Get genealogy research assistance from experienced and knowledgeable volunteers.

Bring your questions!

For mobile babies to 5 years old. Drop in to enjoy a special uninterrupted playtime with your child in our FREE Partners in Play® (PIP) groups. Meet our friendly Parenting Educators and discover how play and learning go hand-in-hand.

Come join us in this exciting Chair Yoga practice to explore gentle yoga poses with the support of a chair. This class is perfect for anyone who’s new to yoga, living with limited mobility, or coming back from injury.

Enjoy special uninterrupted play time with your child in our drop-in FREE Partners In Play® (PIP) parenting education groups.

Join us for storytime! Stories, rhymes, songs, and simple crafts for little ones and their special grownup. 

Join us for songs, rhymes, play, and of course great stories! Engage kids in visual literacy, language development, and social skills in a fun class presented by our Youth Services team.

Join us on Mondays of the month for adult coloring!  We supply the coloring pages and the pencils. Snacks will be provided by the Friends of the Gulf Gate Library. Hope to see you there.

On the first and third Tuesday of each month, the Pop-Up will be at Longboat Key with books for all ages and a Storytime for children at 10:30 AM. Swing by to sign up for a library card and read a book with us!

Use 1 of 5 Brother sewing machines on Your Own Project. Must Know How to Sew.  Machines Available on first come first serve basis.

For mobile babies to 5 years old. Drop in to enjoy a special uninterrupted playtime with your child in our FREE Partners in Play® (PIP) groups. Meet our friendly Parenting Educators and discover how play and learning go hand-in-hand.

Join Mrs. Bee from Bumble Bee Yoga for a 1-hour yoga session to help build strength and stability. No materials or experience required.

Registration Required.

Journalist and author Dalia Colon of WUSF's "The Zest" podcast explores Florida's history through the lens of food -- from indigenous food, to the rise and fall of the citrus industry, to modern sustainability efforts. 

Get into the adult coloring craze! Join us for a fun and unique way to unwind, reduce stress, and express your creativity at the Shannon Staub Library.

All supplies will be provided. Artistic talent is not required.

AARP is providing free tax preparation at the Shannon Staub Library again this year. The tax returns will be prepared by IRS-certified tax counselors.

For mobile babies to 5 years old. Drop in to enjoy special play time with your child, meet our friendly Parenting Educators and discover how Forty Carrots Family Center can help you enjoy parenting even more.

Join us for a fun time filled with books, songs, and a craft! Each Little Critter Storytime will focus on a different animal!

Join us at the Fruitville Library with your knit/crochet projects. All ages and skills are welcome. Supplies and knowledgeable members are on hand to help anyone interested in learning to knit or crochet. 

Preschoolers, kindergarteners, and their families can enjoy loosely structured play with a variety of rotating toys and activities in our Story Time Room.

Children ages 2-8 and their caregivers are invited for Wednesday morning free-play time, with an assortment of toys and props to inspire the young imagination! Drop-in anytime between 10:30am and 11:30am.

The Sarasota Music Archive presents the John Goodman Performance and Lecture Series:

Please register for each event separately AND each name attending. (Duplicate registrations are deleted.)

Everyone is welcome to the open-topic discussions of the Socrates Cafe.

Join local artist, Carolyn Robinette to decorate shells collected from our local beaches using vibrant napkins and Mod Podge, transforming them into stunning keepsakes. 

Come and socialize with fellow knitting, crocheting and sewing enthusiasts! All levels welcome. Bring your current project to work on.

Come and get assistance from experienced and knowledgeable volunteers.

Bring your questions!

Stumped by technology? Your technology questions can be answered through an in-person appointment with one of our Tech Navigators. Tech Navigators are library staff members ready to assist you with technology skills.

For mobile babies to 5 years old. Drop in to enjoy a special uninterrupted playtime with your child in our FREE Partners in Play® (PIP) groups. Meet our friendly Parenting Educators and discover how play and learning go hand-in-hand.

The Great Books Discussion Group moderated by Ellen Bilangi, meets the 1st Thursday of each month, December through April. Reading selections will be from the Great Books Foundation's Great Conversations 1.

While there is no question that Sarasota County is an attractive place to call home, archaeological sites like the one at Indian Mound Park prove humans have felt this way for thousands of years.

For ages 2-5. Join us for story time filled with a variety of early literacy activities that include music, stories, movement, crafts and school readiness. 

Come one Come all and Join us for a fun and exciting Storytime and Craft.  Ms. Caitlyn from The Ringling Museum and Art will read an exciting book that will be connected back to a special feature at the museum and followed by an fun craft.

Calling all readers: our dog friends from the Suncoast Humane Society are returning to the Jacaranda Library, and they want you to read to them!

Enjoy a cup of tea while discussing British movies and television series with a very welcoming group.

For mobile babies to 5 years old. Drop in to enjoy special play time with your child, meet our friendly Parenting Educators and discover how Forty Carrots Family Center can help you enjoy parenting even more.

Join author, Liz Coursen as she discusses the little-known but vital role that lighthouses played in Florida's history, through colorful vintage postcards and contemporaneous ephemera, in this lively and fast-paced lecture.

AARP is providing free tax preparation at the Shannon Staub Library again this year. The tax returns will be prepared by IRS-certified tax counselors.

Join us for a day of history, fun and community at Phillippi Estate Park!

Stroll through our Reading Garden with your little one as YOU become the storyteller. Enjoy a different book each visit.

*Weather permitting

Ready to rock? Join us for a fun and family-friendly 6-week guitar class designated for complete beginners! Learn to play some of your favorite songs while making music and memories.

This free storytime program engages toddlers, preschoolers, and primary school students in activities that connect art and early literacy. Join us for a story and accompanying art activity based on a work of art in the museum collection.

Get assistance from experienced and knowledgeable volunteers

Bring your questions

Get expert and experienced genealogy research assistance.

Bring your questions

Assistance from experienced and knowledgeable volunteers

Bring your questions

Getting fit should be fun! With great music, your facilitator will UNITE everyone in a simple movement or rhythm but you get to dance it in your own UNIQUE way.

Already know a few chords or continuing from Beginner 1? Let's take your guitar skills to the next level!

Enjoy special uninterrupted play time with your child in our drop-in FREE Partners In Play® (PIP) parenting education groups.

For mobile babies to 5 years old. Drop in to enjoy a special uninterrupted playtime with your child in our FREE Partners in Play® (PIP) groups. Meet our friendly Parenting Educators and discover how play and learning go hand-in-hand.

Bringing a baby into the world can fill our hearts with joy and love, and our minds with questions and wonder.

For mobile babies to 5 years old. Drop in to enjoy special play time with your child, meet our friendly Parenting Educators and discover how Forty Carrots Family Center can help you enjoy parenting even more.

For mobile babies to 5 years old. Drop in to enjoy a special uninterrupted playtime with your child in our FREE Partners in Play® (PIP) groups. Meet our friendly Parenting Educators and discover how play and learning go hand-in-hand.

For mobile babies to 5 years old. Drop in to enjoy special play time with your child, meet our friendly Parenting Educators and discover how Forty Carrots Family Center can help you enjoy parenting even more.

Unleash your creativity and craft beautiful, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces using a variety of materials and techniques.

Join us for a free one-hour lecture and Q&A to learn about the minds of our Founding Fathers.

This program will be a Zoom lecture with a library staff member available to facilitate audience questions.

Learn to thread the sewing machine and make a cool eyeglass case!

Bring your projects, patterns, and questions to Elsie Quirk Library and join the Quirky Knitters for an afternoon of knitting and crochet.  All skill levels welcome.  Registration is not required, so come on in to knit and chat!

Get assistance from experienced and knowledgeable volunteers

Bring your questions

Join our beginner crochet class, where you'll learn the fundamentals of this relaxing craft while creating your very first projects!

Join us on the first Thursday of the month to discuss our selection. Limited to 20 participants. Register at the Fruitville Reference Desk or call 941 861-2518

Sarasota County Extension Services Master Gardeners are here to help folks identify plants, flowers, etc. as well as care for them.

Get expert advice on your landscaping needs.

Calling all young book lovers! Come join the book dragons, where we dive into the latest and greatest YA novels, classics, and everything in between.

Join us in kicking off Lemon Bay Fest 2024 with a Florida-themed double feature.  We'll start with "Patrick Smith's Florida: A Sense of Place" and follow that with "Cracker: The Last Cowboys of Florida".&nbsp

Lisa Brande and Mark Trichka of Vermont have been strummin' and singing together professionally for 30 years, and when they bring their travelling American Roots Music Roadshow to their audiences, they also bring along a wagon full of knowledge to

A Matter of Balance: Jan. 13 - March 17. No classes on Jan. 20 and Feb. 17 due to the holidays. 

Teens in grades 6 through 12 are welcome to hang out, play games, and more.

Stumped by technology? Your technology questions can be answered through an in-person or distance appointment with one of our Tech Navigators. Tech Navigators are library staff members ready to assist you with technology skills.

Drop by the teen room and watch this week's requested movie. Add more wishlist movies to our clipboard request page in the teen room!

Teens in grades 6 through 12 are welcome to hang out, play games, and more.

Ensure your home is ready to withstand Florida's challenging environment while you're away. This session will guide you through practical steps to protect your home, inside and out, from the effects of heat, humidity, storms, and pests.

Did you know that there are more than 700 species of land animals that live in Florida? Come learn about the lives of some of the interesting animals that can be found in Sarasota County.

Teens in grades 6 through 12 are welcome to hang out, play games, and more.

The history of America's Pastime and the Sunshine State has been intertwined since the advent of the Grapefruit League.

This program is a unique and sustainable way to explore your creativity and imagination.

*THIS CLUB IS CURRENTLY FULL*

Teens in grades 6 through 12 are welcome to hang out, play games, and more.

"Romanticism throughout the Ages: An Expression through Music, History, and Literature" a performance and discussion with Eleonora Lvov. Eleonora has achieved world-wide acclaim as a piano virtuoso and popular recording artist.

Self-care and maintenance will be enhanced through meditation, guided imagery and breathing techniques.

Create sensory bottles, a container filled with oil, water, glitter, and various items that can create cool visual effects to watch.

LAST Stop is a drop-in program designed for teens in 6th through 12th grade to participate in fun activities, talk with friends, have snacks, and play games.

LAST Stop is a drop-in program designed for teens in 6th through 12th grade to participate in fun activities, talk with friends, have snacks, and play games.

Join us to create unique and heartfelt Valentine's Day crafts that you can give as gifts to your loved ones. We'll provide all the materials you need to design cards, decorations, and more.

LAST Stop is a drop-in program designed for teens in 6th through 12th grade to participate in fun activities, talk with friends, have snacks, and play games.

Join us for a special STEAM activity on the first Wednesday of every month! We'll read books, conduct some experiments and learn all about acidity!

For children ages 5-8.

LAST Stop is a drop-in program designed for teens in 6th through 12th grade to participate in fun activities, talk with friends, have snacks, and play games.

LAST Stop is a drop-in program designed for teens in 6th through 12th grade to participate in fun activities, talk with friends, have snacks, and play games.

This class will go over the basics of computer typing using the online platform typingclub.com. Learn how to type using both hands, increase your typing speed, and brush up on some typing short cuts.

Need a place to get some homework done, write that paper, or work on that group project? Come over to Elsie Quirk Library to study and listen to some tunes while you get your homework done!

If you like writing your own pieces or would like to grow your creativity, come join us for our Teen Writers Club!  Enhance your writing skills, participate in free-writing exercises and get feedback on written work.

Come draw with us! In this open hour have fun drawing your own doodle designs.

A different project every week!

Recommended for ages 6 and up.

Watch anime and discuss your favorite characters. Explore anime-inspired, Asian snacks and crafts. Ages 9-18 are welcome!

Plan and Volunteer At Library Events.

Provide Feedback on Library Services.

Earn Volunteer Hours and Resume credit

All while Meeting new Friends, Eating snacks and Playing Games!

This Storytime is meant for older children ages 5-8. There will be stories, fun activities, and a volunteer-only read aloud time. 

Please note, Wednesdays and Saturdays of the same month will have the same book selections.

Learn to thread the sewing machine and make a cool messenger bag!

Want to play chess? Can’t find someone or somewhere to play? 

Open to chess players of all ages and abilities. Chess experience is recommended.

First & Fourth Tuesday of every month. 5 - 7 p.m.

On the first Thursday of each month, the Old Miakka Schoolhouse hosts a community potluck dinner. Never to disappoint, the Pop-Up brings a dish of new reads and library services!

Work on your own creations or build as a team. We provide the LEGO® bricks, you provide the imagination.

We're going to use the fabric from the kites that used to hang in the children's department to make parachutes for toys!