The management and marketing team at Citrus Park Mall met with library staff about an idea to partner in creating a library experience in an unleased retail space. It needed to be a non-traditional library model that would function without being staffed and could be easily moved if the space were to be leased. We envisioned a comfortable space that families could use to read and learn more about the wide variety of library services. Materials and resources would need to be accessed easily and without a library card.

Citrus Park Mall furnished and designed Library @ The Park. The library features a monitor used to display services and programming. Books are donated in partnership with the Friends of the Library of Tampa-Hillsborough County, Inc. and mall retailers. It operates on a little free library model where guests are encouraged to enjoy a book in the space, take a book home or leave a book. Library staff check in to refresh the collection and offer outreach such as library card signup, storytimes and technology assistance.

Visitors express curiosity and excitement about the cozy, relaxing space nestled in the busy mall. During outreach, library staff engage with a wide range of guests, introducing them to new library services or reconnecting them with the basics. Library branding is prominent throughout, with our logo and website on the storefront sign and stickered in every book. In the two months since its opening, 200 visitors have attended library outreach programming and many more have enjoyed the space during the mall’s open hours.