St. Lucie County Opens the New Paula Lewis Library
PORT ST. LUCIE – St. Lucie County Commissioners, along with other elected officials and the members of the Friends of the Library, cut the ribbon on the new Paula A. Lewis Library today, creating the library system’s seventh library, serving residents in the southwest section of Port St. Lucie.
The official opening day will be Wednesday, Oct. 25 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For the first week, the Lewis Library will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through Saturday, Oct. 28 as librarians are still finalizing all of the programs and materials.
Starting Tuesday, Oct. 31, the Lewis Branch Library will shift to its regular hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Children’s program such as Rhythm and Rhyme Storytime (age 2 ½ and older) will take place on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m., starting Nov. 1; while Storytime Jam (ages 3-5) is scheduled for Fridays at 10:30 a.m., beginning Nov. 3.
Located at 2950 SW Rosser Blvd.
The new library is named after former St. Lucie County Commissioner and Port St. Lucie Councilwoman Paula Lewis. The St. Lucie County purchased the building in 2013 from the City of Port St. Lucie at a cost of $2.3 million after the city closed the Police Substation there. For roughly 20 years county officials have been considering adding a new library in the southwest section of Port St. Lucie to serve the growing needs of residents in that area. The Lewis Library is St. Lucie County first new library since 1999 and is accessible more than 100,000 residents within a five-mile radius.
While the new Lewis Library will have traditional books, comics, DVDs and other items, there will be more of a cloud-based, technology focus with the Lewis Library. The site will also be expanding on Morningside’s popular Creation Station Studio, featuring video and music editing bays, as well as 3D printing. The library will also host space for both children and teens as well as a Teen Video Game Room.
The Lewis Library will also house the Rupert J. Smith Law Library of St. Lucie County, which strives to provide equal access to the courts through a strong collection of legal materials in print and electronic format to better serve all of the residents, bar and judiciary of St. Lucie County. This new branch of the law library is slated to open Wednesday, Nov. 1.
Purchased and renovated with Library Impact fees, this project is funded in part by the 2016 Florida Legislature through the Florida State Library and the Friends of the St. Lucie County Library Association, Inc.
For additional information about library events visit: www.stlucieco.gov/library or call 772-871-5470.
