Monroe County Public Library - Florida Keys

Are you taking part in Summer Reading at your local branch? Check out all the options here - all of them free and open to the public.

Summer Reading Is On This June & July Summer Reading is on during June and July at all branches of the Monroe County Public Library

Each week, staff from the Library recommends favorites from the collection for the Reel Recs feature in the Keys Weekly newspaper. This recommendation, of "Griffin In Summer" from 2024, comes from Assistant Director of Operations Michael Nelson:

“'Griffin in Summer' is a charming comedy that might be ideal viewing for Pride month. The film centers around a wildly ambitious teen playwright named Griffin (played perfectly by Everett Blunck) and his newfound fascination with a young man his mother hires to fix things around the house when the young man’s not trying to find work as (of course) an actor. 'Griffin in Summer' is reminiscent of Todd Solodnz’s work ('Welcome to the Dollhouse,' 'Happiness'), though not as acerbic, or maybe Wes Anderson’s 'Rushmore,' but gay."

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This film is available on Kanopy, the Library's streaming app. To find out how to get Kanopy, and to see previous Reel Recs, go to keyslibraries.org/post/reel-recs.

Each week, staff from the Monroe County Public Library recommends favorites from the collection for the Shelf Help feature in the Keys Weekly newspapers. This recommendation, of "I Hope This Finds You Well" by Natalie Sue, comes from Key West Library Senior Branch Manager Kim Rinaldi:

“Don’t judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.

"In this dramedy, Jolene, the office weirdo and life-long social misfit, unintentionally gains access to all her co-workers’ emails and office DM’s. What she does with this clairvoyance steers this wild story in ways that will make you both laugh out loud and weep with sadness. Throw in a hunky HR guy and an embarrassingly overbearing mom and you have yourself an entertaining poolside read. Hilarious hijinks with an abundance of heart.”

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You can borrow this as a print book, eBook or eAudiobook. To find out how, and to see previous Shelf Help recommendations, go to keyslibraries.org/post/shelf-help.

Whether you're driving, exercising, cooking -- or just listening, audiobooks can transport you, inform you, entertain you. Check out our collection, including award winners.

Appreciating Audiobooks June is Audiobook Appreciation Month - but we hope you will listen to books from our collection all year long!

Growing up isn't easy but it makes for great stories. Check out the coming-of-age films collection on Kanopy, the Library's streaming service. And browse some of our books on the subject.

Growing Up In June Growing up isn’t easy, but it makes for great stories. Explore Kanopy's Coming Of Age collection for films you can stream, and books on the subject from the library collection.

Each week, staff from the Library recommend a book from the collection for the Shelf Help feature in the Keys Weekly newspapers. This week's recommendation of "The Searcher" by Tana French comes from Community Affairs Manager Nancy Klingener:

"When Tana French moved on from her Dublin Murder Squad books, I was sad. I loved the characters and the setting – the city and its police department contained so many layers. But her trilogy set in the country has won me over.'“The Searcher' is the first, and you should read them in order. Cal Hooper is a divorced, retired Chicago cop who decides to move to a rural Irish village where he is befriended by a girl who wants help finding her missing older brother. The setting is not some picturesque idyll – some people are up to no good up in the hills and the townspeople have long grudges and longer memories. Encountering this place and these people from an outsider’s perspective works perfectly as we, through Cal, start understanding some of the factors that drive people’s actions. The Library also has the other two books in the trilogy, 'The Hunter' and 'The Keeper,' which was just published in March of this year. But don’t worry – these books don’t end on cliffhangers."

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You can borrow this as a regular or large print book, eBook or eAudiobook. To find out how and to see previous Shelf Help recommendations go to keyslibraries.org/post/shelf-help.

All branches of the Monroe County Public Library will be closed on Monday, May 25, in observance of Memorial Day.

Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, May 26.

To get books, movies, music, and more any time from the Library, go to keyslibraries.org/online.

Each week, Library staff recommend favorites from the collection for the Shelf Help feature in the Keys Weekly newspapers.

This week's recommendation of "Shield of Sparrows" by Devney Perry comes from Kaleila Freeman, senior library assistant at the Big Pine Key Library branch:

"Attention all romantasy readers! If you enjoy slow-burn romance, witty banter, magic and monsters, and plenty of plot twists, you will devour this book. I was completely captivated by the dark, dangerous world, the slow-burn romance (which is fantastic), and the creepy monsters hiding around every corner. The last few chapters had me screaming into the pages! This book truly sweeps you away into another world, leaving you longing for more when it ends. Fortunately, you're in luck because the next installment in the series, 'Rites of the Starling,' has just been released! Happy reading!!"

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You can borrow this as a regular or large print book, eBook or eAudiobook from the Monroe County Public Library system.

To learn how, and to see previous recommendations, go to keyslibraries.org/post/shelf-help.

Each week, library staff recommend favorites from the collection for the Reel Recs feature in Keys Weekly.

This week's recommendation of "Election" comes from Community Affairs Manager Nancy Klingener:

"You know it’s a good movie when a character becomes common cultural shorthand for a type of person. In this case, that’s Tracy Flick – played by a young Reese Witherspoon – as the bossy, ambitious, frequently frightening high school student who will let nothing stand in her way of becoming the student government president. Her foil is the hapless social studies teacher who’s running the election, played by Matthew Broderick. This film was relatively early in the career of director Alexander Payne, who went on to make movies like 'Sideways, 'The Descendants,' and 'The Holdovers,' but shows his talent for humor and humanity co-existing in an entertaining movie. If you want to check out the source material, Tom Perrotta’s novel of the same name is also available to borrow from the library, as a print book, e-book or e-audiobook."

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To find out how to view movies from the Library or to see previous Reel Recs, go to keyslibraries.org/post/reel-recs.