The Pasco County Libraries’ newest addition — the Wesley Chapel (WC) Library at Seven Oaks — is finally open (after nearly two full years of construction) and pretty much everyone we spoke with since the library opened on Feb. 23 has been thrilled with the cozy new 14,000-sq.-ft. (with a 13,000-sq.-ft. interior; the other 1,000 sq. ft. is a covered outdoor “reading porch”), $11-million library.
“It’s a little smaller than I expected,” said one young mom, “but this children’s reading area (photo, above and below left picture) is amazing!”
Although branch manager Julie Shepherd (at right in right photo) couldn’t tell me on opening day exactly how large that children’s area is, but, by my estimate, it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000-sq.- ft. If accurate, that would mean it takes up more than a third of the library’s inside space, with shelves full of cool kids books and interesting spaces for parents to read to their kids.
But, the library’s overall size is a little small, especially when compared with the Land O’Lakes Library (18,000+ sq. ft.) or the New Tampa Regional Library (25,000-sq. ft.).
“But, I think it’s a wonderful space,” said Roz Fenton (below right photo), the president of the countywide Friends of the Library, who was on hand for the opening. “Did you see the art on the entrance walls? That was all done by Pasco County Library staff members. Fabulous, right?”
In addition to books, magazines and the “Library of Things” — a collection of non-traditional, check-outable items, including adaptive toys, Wi-Fi hotspots, ukuleles, bird-watching kits and board games designed for enrichment and exploration — the library also features public computers, printers, collaborative spaces, a gallery wall in the lobby, an outdoor event lawn and a multi-purpose room for makerspace and other activities.
There’s also a sizable meeting room, and a number of study rooms, including a specially-designed teen study room. Drive-up services also are available at this location, which has its entrance on Mystic Oak Blvd., next to Seven Oaks Elementary.
There’s no doubt that the opening day was a soft opening, attended by only a few dozen people — many of whom (including Jannah and yours truly) were signing up for library cards — and that all of the new library’s programming wasn’t yet in place.
Here are the activities scheduled for the rest of March & April at the WC Library:
Thursday, March 19, 4 p.m. — Wesley Chapel Book Club: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Every Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. — Preschool Story Time
Every Friday, 10:30 a.m. — Toddler Story Time
Monday, March 23, 4 p.m. — Teen Advisory Board & Volunteer Info Session
Wednesday, March 25, 6 p.m. — Adult Volunteer Info Session
Wednesday, April 15, 4:30 p.m. — Adult Literacy New Tutor Training
Thursday, April 16, 4 p.m. — Wesley Chapel Book Club: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Wednesdays, April 22 & 29, 6 p.m. — English Conversation Corner
Wednesday, April 29, 5 p.m. — Adult Volunteer Orientation
What About Those ‘Makerspaces?’
“We’re going to be hosting our ‘Mobile Makerspace’ at the Wesley Chapel branch,” Shepherd told me the day the WC Library opened. “The idea is to bring the best of all of our other makerspaces to Wesley Chapel and offer a variety of different services.”
Among those makerspaces, each of which will be making appearances at the WC Library in the future, are the following:
• “The Loft” studio arts, painting, photo digitalization and arts & crafts, from the Centennial Park Library
• “The Ingenuity Lab” STEAM area, with KEVA planks & LEGO® bricks, from the Hugh Embry Library
• “Studio H” multimedia studio for record demos & podcasts and to practice instruments, from the Hudson Library
• “The Foundry” complete wood shop, plus fabric arts & crafts center, from the Land O’Lakes Library
• “Discovery Gardens” community garden, butterfly garden & gardening demonstrations, from the New River Library
• “Regency Fresh” full test kitchen with cooking demonstrations and the chance to try new recipes, from the Regency Park Library
• “Clayworks” ceramics studio, from the Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center
Shepherd also said that the large lawn outside of the library will be able to host a variety of cultural events, including concerts, movie nights and more. “And, we definitely will have a great relationship with the [Seven Oaks] elementary school next door,” Shepherd said. “The children’s reading area will be open anytime the library is and we will be able to host story times and even kids’ performances in that room.”
The Wesley Chapel Library at Seven Oaks is located at 27531 Mystic Oak Blvd. It is open Mon. & Wed. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. on Tues. & Thur. & 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. It is closed on Sun. For more info, visit PascoLibraries.org.
