Library U

Join the Jacksonville Public Library as we watch the last episode of PBS’ Asian Americans series! After the film, we will hear from guest speaker Dr. Tes Tuason from the University of North Florida who will talk about community building, identity, and cultural education in Asian American communities.    

Kick-off the summer season and join one of our 11 book clubs in June! From serious memoirs to glitzy mysteries, one of these clubs will speak to you!

Check out the list of book clubs below and join your fellow readers for a great chat!

Celebrate Historic Preservation Month at the Brown Eastside Library on Tuesday, May 24! A panel of preservation experts will discuss the various processes that go into preserving historic neighborhoods, challenges, and preservation trends in our city. The program will wrap up with an audience Q&A session! 

Brit Bennett wowed readers in 2016 with her debut novel, The Mothers, and again in 2020 with her New York Times number-one bestselling novel The Vanishing Half. If you were one of those readers, you now have a chance to meet Brit Bennett in person at the library! Come hear about her books and writing process, and get a chance to ask her questions during our Q&A session.

In her new book of historic photographs, Jada Wright-Greene celebrates the homes of African Americans throughout the state, including cabins, shotgun homes, and two-story residences in Jacksonville and beach homes in American Beach and Butler Beach. Join us to learn more about these homes and the process of researching their histories!

If you love living in Florida, and love to be annoyed at “Florida Man”, you will definitely want to check out our upcoming Lit Chat with New York Times bestselling author Craig Pittman! Pittman writes fondly of the strange state we call home and all the interesting people who make it famous. Thanks to the Friends of the Beaches Branch Library for sponsoring this author talk!

In May we continue to help you learn or hone the skills you need in your own yard or outdoor space! Join us for Life Lit workshops at the Library with our friends from the UF Extension office that will teach you all about gardening in a variety of spaces.

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with the Jacksonville Public Library as we watch the first episode of PBS’ Asian Americans series! After the film we will hear from guest speaker Dr. Tes Tuason from the University of North Florida who will talk about community building, identity, and cultural education in Asian American communities.

National Poetry Month is in full swing! If you’ve caught the poetry bug from one of our recent Lit Chats or from the great daily poems popping up all over social media and you want to try your hand at writing one, check out this great upcoming Writer’s Lab workshop!

Celebrate National Poetry Month and learn about publishing your own poetry with local author Rahman Johnson, in our first Lit Chat live from the Main Library's Hicks Auditorium!