Is closed! I think this should be noted on their site! Hope it reopens soon!…read moreI like that it is in a central location and easy to find what I am looking for when it's open! Does anyone have any idea when it will be open for business?

While the entrance is less than desirable- a lot of homeless people in this location - the library…read moreitself is excellent. It's large with a great selection of books. I like how the children's area is separate so the kids can be more playful without disrupting the other areas in the library.

Very nice library in lovely Venice. That's amore. Books. Movies. Music. Computers. Helpful staff…read more Events and activities. Great.

It has been years since I stepped foot into a library. It's been at least in said move to Florida…read moreback in 2013. Went to the North Port library to get my actual library card for Sarasota County. When I heard that this library with having a dollar book sale, and I work 2 doors down, I was all over it. However, I did not see the sign that said book sale this way, so I went to the regular shop and paid $35 for 9 books. However, I did look around the books I bought and walked around the book sale, where I ended up picking up 3 more books. The people that work there are very friendly, and the book sale was huge. This is a super beautiful library that was just rebuilt a few years ago so it's a very modern and clean. I highly recommend if you're in the Venice area and like books, and libraries, that you check out this Venice library. I kind of wish I still worked down the street just so I could visit this library again on lunch.

I agree with the people from Lee. I spent two years down there and used the south library off…read moreGladiolus (I believe it was on Bass.) and the north Fort Myers just over the Edison bridge. Unlike what is left of the Charlotte libraries, I never left a Lee county library empty handed. Unfortunately, I believe the reason for that is the difference in the size of the population. I'm sure Lee gets a much larger amount of funding. So much so that they have enough books to actually seperate them by type, making it easier to find what you're looking for. There is no excuse I can think of to not have a complete set of a series though. Has happened to me enough times that I no longer take out any part of a series. I tend to just be glad we have a library at all considering the state of things today. Overall I believe these people are doing the best they can with what they have to work with.

We recently moved to Charlotte County from Lee and we're disappointed in the limited selection of…read moreBOOKS at the Punta Gorda Library. Just about anything I'm interested in reading is only available electronically. The Biographies and History sections are minimal. Fiction is no better - as an example, they'll have one book from a series of seven, maybe 3 books from a series of 15 and a 32-book series has only 10 books - and they're not in series order. Makes it frustrating.

Lovely library near downtown Venice. There is also a library out on Jacaranda I haven't been to…read more Theu have events for kids, teens, crafters, adult learners, and book lovers. They habe a nice Friends of Lubrary bookstore. You can reserve the books you want online and then pixk them up from the reserve shelf. Movies too. Audio books. They habe computers. Printing and copying. Not a research library and the Sarasota area library offerings don't match up with Tampa but lots on offer. Well staffed. Comfy and spacious. Newspapers and pamphlets too on the local area and sights. Senior living and shows. I read a book a day. Sometimes two.

Beautiful library in downtown Venice. Very clean and new looking inside and out. The toddler/kid…read moreroom was wonderful, very large with plenty of different books/toys/tables for all. Very kind employees willing to help. We took our 8 month old here for a "Partners in Play" baby group in their community room and it was awesome. Our baby enjoyed it so much.

Anthony gives himself smiley face reviews by reaching over the desk and selecting it for himself…read more He's done it more than once for me and does it for others all the time. I have a problem with a man or anyone taking my voice without my consent. Beware. He tried to gaslight me and claimed that it was because the line would get backed up. There was no one behind me. So he lies, too. I talked to a patient Manager about it... she just told me to not go to him anymore, when I come in. I hope he's being watched and has been reprimanded because his positive reviews are likely self appointed.

Thank you Brian for helping me over the phone despite my confusion about which mail was which, you…read morewere a great help, thank you again!

2100th Review The…read moreCircus Bridge is no ordinary bridge although one wouldn't know it's historic significance by merely looking at it or even driving over it, it's played a huge part in the celebration each and every year in Venice for more than three decades as the animals from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey were unloaded from the circus train each winter and marched across this bridge, the crowds that gathered to watch cheered celebrating the end of a long season entertaining the masses with countless performances. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey wintered at the circus arena near the Venice airport which was finally demolished after years of attempts to preserve it in some way; the building's skeleton had remained in place long after the circus left the site behind in the early 1990s. But in its heyday, in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, the arena welcomed thousands of spectators as well as top circus performers, who rehearsed their new shows here. For residents and visitors, the arrival of the circus train was a memorable highlight of each winter season. On January 14, 2017, it was announced that the circus will be closed forever in May 2017 after 146 years of bringing smiles to millions and will lay off more than 462 employees between March and May 2017. Declining attendance combined with high operating costs and loss of the elephants are among the reasons for closing. On May 7, 2017, its "Circus Extreme" tour will be shown for the last time in Providence, Rhode Island. The circus's last performance will be its "Out of This World" tour at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 21, 2017 and that my friend will be the end to maybe the grandest entertainment icon ever, but this bridge will remain and continue to be ghostly reminder of the past for those that witnessed it's grandeur at the end of each circus season that's until it too will become obsolete and replaced with a concrete span named after some politician who's grand kids will only read about "The Greatest Show on Earth" but never witness it's magic...

The Ponce de Leon marker in Punta Gorda sits quietly inside the park that shares his name, a small…read morehistorical pause tucked between the shoreline and the steady flow of visitors heading toward the beach. The nearby statue, dressed in stylized conquistador armor and feathered plumage, feels like an artist's attempt to give shape to a figure who exists more in legend than in certainty, and it adds a bit of theatrical flair to an otherwise simple presentation. The brief marker reads, Juan Ponce de Leon. Born - San Tierra de Campos, Palencia, Spain - 1460. Died - Havana, Cuba - (probably Mid-June) - 1522. Interred - Entombment beneath the high altar of the Dominican Cathedral of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Epitaph to Ponce de Leon 'Beneath this stone repose the bones of the valiant Lion whose deeds surpassed the greatness of his name.'" What makes the stop interesting is the contrast between the local setting and the truth. Visitors might assume that a park named for Ponce de Leon would also be his resting place. His tomb is in the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Standing there among the palms and the soft Gulf breeze, the marker becomes less about claiming him and more about acknowledging the long arc of his story, grounding a familiar name in its real history. [Review 109 of 2026 - 2230 in Florida - 25299 overall]

It's hard work finding a historical marker in Florida that hasn't already been added to the Yelp…read moreuniverse by Ariel W. so I'm counting this one as a win. The marker is in front of the church and there is plenty of parking to stop and read it. On the front, "The town of Nocatee originated as a lumber manufacturing town during the 1880s. During the late 19th century. two businesses stimulated the town's growth. One was the King Lumber and Manufacturing Company, established by W.G. Welles in 1896. The second was the Nocatee Crate Lumber and Manufacturing Company, opened a few years later. The two businesses were next to each other west of the Florida Southern Railroad tracks and south of County Road 760/Welles Avenue. The Nocatee Crate Company eventually became the largest employer in Desoto County, which prompted the construction of many homes and businesses. The company's success due to the development of a packing crate that made it cheaper and was partly easier to ship fruits and vegetables to market. These "4-One" crates, built of wire wrapped around wood corners and veneer strips, were used throughout the U.S. The crates could be flattened and stacked, and their light weight reduced shipping costs and waste. Several buildings along the west side of U.S. 17 were constructed by the Nocatee Crate Company and rented to its employees. When the company closed, the homes were sold to the residents at auction." On the reverse, "The Nocatee Baptist Church (later known as the First Baptist Church of Nocatee) was organized around 1890, and held its early services in a local school under the pastorship of the Rev. T.J. Sparkman. In 1915, B.F. Welles, brother of Nocatee Crate Lumber and Manufacturing Company co-founder W. G. Welles, donated land for the construction of a brick church east of U.S. 17. The building used a Greek cross plan with a cross gable roof, Gothic style windows with Queen Anne colored glass, and a bell tower. The church held its first service in this new location in 1916. The church split temporarily in 1935 because of a controversial divide in the congregation, which was reunited by 1936. From 1949-1956, a new classroom building as well as a kitchen and recreation hall were constructed. Although the church was taken down in 2014, the Florida Department of Transportation assisted the congregation with salvaging the arched windows and bell. The top of the bell tower or cupola, was removed and relocated to the DeSoto County Historical Society property in Arcadia." This is marker number F-830 and it was erected in 2014 by the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Department of State. [Review 1579 of 2025 - 2160 in Florida - 25129 overall]