Marathon Library

The Marathon branch of the Monroe County Public Library opened in June 2021 at 3490 Overseas Highway as the Marathon Branch and Adult Education Center. It is a purpose-built library rather than a converted space, with solar panels that supplement the grid and that ran the building off-grid for a full day before it opened.

For anyone passing through, it is one of the more useful free stops in the Middle Keys. There is public Wi-Fi and there are public computers, plus laptops and tablets to borrow while you are in the building, mobile printing, self-checkout and a holds locker that lets you collect a reserved item after hours. A library card also opens free access to the New York Times, Ancestry and FamilySearch, which is worth knowing if you are in the Keys chasing family history, since a great many Conch, Bahamian and Cuban family lines run through these islands.

Families get the best of it. The children’s area is upstairs, and the teen room combines gaming, a study room and a homework center with an activity space holding a 3-D printer, a Cricut, sewing machines and watercolor supplies. The branch runs its own programming rather than just hosting the county’s, including storytime, art classes and a Thursday morning homeschool session split by age group.

Beyond that there are small group study rooms and a large community room, meeting rooms available to book, interlibrary loan, Book Club in a Bag sets, and the system’s eBook and audiobook lending through Libby along with streaming film, television and music.

The library is open six days a week, with a late evening on Wednesday and closed Sundays, and a Friends of the Marathon Library group supports the branch.