Gulf Gate Library mall location to close

The new Gulf Gate library has a grand opening date: Jan. 24, 2015.

After more than a year of construction, the new library, located at 7112 Curtiss Avenue, is almost ready for its patrons to return. There is still some interior work getting wrapped up, said Sarabeth Kalajian, director of libraries and historical resources.

The two-story, 25,920 square-foot building includes both a children’s and teen’s area, technology lab and two reading gardens.

“It’s going to be tremendous,” Kalajian said. “Some people feel they’ve missed their library.”

The Gulf Gate Library was relocated to a temporary space in February 2013, inside the Westfield Sarasota Square Mall. The doors to this location will close Jan. 3. Despite the relocation, the mall space turned out to be popular, Kalajian said.

“It attracted a different clientele—a new range of folks,” she said.

People would wander in while shopping, and end up getting a library card, Kalajian said . The mall location saw an increase of about 10 to 12 new card registrations a month from the previous Curtiss Avenue location.

The county’s lease with the mall for the library space will end in February, and Kalajian said there were no plans to maintain a presence there.

“(It was) a new idea for Sarasota County and very successful,” she said. “It has given us ideas for the future.”

According to a press release from the county, Gulf Gate Library patrons are encouraged to hold on to library materials between the mall location closing and the grand opening of the new library, or visit other Sarasota County Libraries locations, such as the Osprey Public Library, the Fruitville Public Library or the Selby Public Library.