Key Biscayne's original branch library is gone. The building that opened in January 1985 closed Jan. 17 and was demolished this spring to make way for a new 20,000-square-foot, two-story facility.

Temporary library keeps same hours

Residents who need library services can find them at a temporary location at 200 Crandon Blvd. in Key Colony Plaza. The space opened Jan. 26 and keeps the same hours as the old branch: Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to the Village of Key Biscayne.

How the island got its first library

A new column by Bill Durham and Catherine Malinin Dunn in the Islander News traces how the island got its library. In the 1960s and 1970s, Key Biscayne had no permanent library. Miami-Dade County sent a blue-and-white bookmobile to the shopping plaza lot at Crandon and West Enid on Thursday afternoons, and a 1969 Islander News story called it a weekly "crossroads of island social life."

Sandy Earle collected more than 500 signatures on a petition and testified before the Miami-Dade County Commission for a permanent branch. Fritz Scharenberg, the developer of Key Colony, offered the former sales office as a site. The branch opened in January 1985, and more than 350 people signed up for library cards by the second day.

The Key Biscayne Garden Club helped beautify the grounds. Gardener Ellen Merritt, who led volunteers planting flowers on Saturdays alongside Ceci Sanchez, put it simply in the column: "My hands just itch. I cannot stand bare spots anywhere."

New building underway after May groundbreaking

Florida Construction and Engineering won the contract for the new facility, which will include a solar panel array, golf cart parking and electric vehicle charging stations, Islander News reported in January. Miami-Dade Public Library System Director Ray Baker told the Village Council that month that demolition would begin in April. The project broke ground May 26, with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Commissioner Raquel Regalado and Village Mayor Joe Rasco on hand.

Construction is expected to take about 24 months from early 2026, according to the Village. The temporary library at Key Colony Plaza remains open with full services until the new building is complete.