With construction and renovation nearly complete, Pasco County Libraries officials told The Laker/Lutz News the Hugh Embry Library in Dade City will reopen May 30.
Officials also said “there are some final touches,” including partial furniture installation, which is scheduled with some items on backorder, while the next steps include installation and testing of public computers and technology.
The final steps involve the team members and librarians moving into the branch and planning service offerings, but officials added, “We are excited to show off the new look of the library!”
In early to mid-2021, Hugh Embry was cleared of its contents for the $2 million renovation to begin.
(Courtesy of Pasco County Library Cooperative)
The renovation includes a complete overhaul and remodel of the branch, including new furnishings, lighting, computer, printers and even faster broadband.
It was the first time the branch received renovation work since 1991, when the library was expanded through a $10 million bond referendum passed by Pasco County voters in 1986 to improve public library services and build new parks countywide.
Founded in 1904, the Hugh Embry Library is the oldest in Pasco County. Its namesake, the then 25-year-old Embry, had exhausted books he could borrow from friends. He raised $50 to start a library and called it the Shakespeare Club. He chose books and ran the library out of his family home until his death from tuberculosis in 1907.
The Pasco Library Association was established to manage the library, and aided by The Dade City Woman’s Club. In 1927, the woman’s club began loaning books to the general population for free, out of a room in the Herbert Massey Building. Within a month of its opening, the library had attracted 440 registered borrowers.
For years, the library was unincorporated, though it continued to grow. It wasn’t until 1952 that Dade City gave property across the street from City Hall for a library building, and in 1953, the City took over responsibility for the library.
It would take another 10 years before the library finally moved to its current location.
After the Pasco County Library Cooperative was founded in 1980, it began operating and maintaining the Hugh Embry Branch under a no-cost lease. In 1988, the Dade City Commission sold the library to Pasco County for $150,000.
Published May 17, 2023
