Florida Colleges & Universities
Top college and university libraries in Florida
These college and university libraries stand out for their collections, special collections and archives. Public access varies, so each entry says how visitors can use the library.
George A. Smathers LibrariesUniversity of Florida
The University of Florida runs the largest academic library system in the state, with about five million print volumes and more than three million visits a year. Library West, on the Plaza of the Americas, serves the humanities and social sciences, while Smathers Library houses Special and Area Studies Collections. Highlights include the Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature, with over 120,000 volumes, the Latin American and Caribbean Collection and the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History. All campus libraries are open to the public during general visiting hours, and visitors can use the e-resources on site. Evening hours are limited to UF and Santa Fe College ID holders.
University of Miami LibrariesUniversity of Miami
Founded in 1925, the University of Miami Libraries rank among the top 50 research libraries in North America and hold about 4.4 million volumes. The main Otto G. Richter Library is home to the Cuban Heritage Collection in its Roberto C. Goizueta Pavilion. Begun in 1980 and brought together under its current name in 1998, it is the most important body of resources on Cuba and the Cuban diaspora outside the island. Visitors to special collections and government documents can enter Richter with a photo ID. Other visitors buy a day pass, and Coral Gables residents get access with a day pass purchase as well.
Florida State University LibrariesFlorida State University
FSU's seven Tallahassee libraries hold more than 5.4 million volumes and 2.8 million e-books, with Strozier Library at the center of campus. Special Collections & Archives holds more than half a million items, from rare books and manuscripts to university history, and its reading rooms are open to the public. The Claude Pepper Library, in the Claude Pepper Center on West Call Street, documents the Florida senator and congressman. Anyone can use print materials, databases and government documents on site after getting a guest card with an official photo ID. Through the Florida Borrowers Program, Florida residents can get limited borrowing privileges at no cost.
USF Tampa LibraryUniversity of South Florida
The Tampa Library serves the University of South Florida's Tampa campus and is a designated government documents repository. Its Special Collections include Holocaust and Genocide Studies Collections. The Children's and Young Adult Literature Collections hold over 25,000 titles of American fiction for young readers, from the early 1800s to the present, including dime novels and series books. Community visitors are welcome and can use most resources and services free of charge on site. Special Collections materials are requested ahead and used by appointment, and a Special Borrower's Card is available for checking out books.
FIU LibrariesFlorida International University
Florida International University's Green Library, on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus, holds one of the world's best Cuban music collections. The Díaz-Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection has about 150,000 items, including 45,000 LPs, 15,000 78 rpm records, sheet music and rare recordings made in pre-revolutionary Cuba. FIU Libraries also serve the Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami. Visitors are welcome seven days a week during posted visitor hours. People who need the libraries more than once can become a Library Associate, which comes with a card for 30-day checkouts.
UCF LibrariesUniversity of Central Florida
UCF's John C. Hitt Library is home to the first Automated Retrieval Center in Florida, completed in 2018. Robotic cranes fetch books from a storage system that holds up to 1.25 million volumes, which freed space for study seats and a windowed reading room above it. Special Collections & University Archives, on the fifth floor, includes the Bryant West Indies Collection of more than 1,800 books and periodicals on the Caribbean, along with art, maps and recordings. The library is also a Patent and Trademark Resource Center. Visitors can use most e-resources on library computers, and Florida residents can buy a community borrower card for $30 for six months or $60 a year.
Alvin Sherman LibraryNova Southeastern University
Nova Southeastern University's Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center is something rare: a university research library that is also a public library. Under an agreement with Broward County, it serves county residents as well as NSU's students and faculty. The five-story, 325,000-square-foot building is one of the largest library buildings in Florida. It offers research collections and databases alongside popular fiction, magazines and DVDs, plus 31 study rooms, about 1,000 seats and a café. Children's and teen programs, book groups and author readings make it as much a community library as a campus one.
FAU LibrariesFlorida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University's main library is the S. E. Wimberly Library in Boca Raton. Other locations are in Jupiter and at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, plus two joint-use libraries in Broward County. On Wimberly's third floor, the Jaffe Center for Book Arts grew from a book collection that Arthur and Mata Jaffe gave to FAU. It focuses on artists' books and welcomes community groups, school classes and other visitors. Guests can enter the library and use most services during open hours. Community members can apply to the Community Borrowers or Community Researchers programs for limited borrowing with a photo ID, local mailing address and email.
FAMU LibrariesFlorida A&M University
Florida A&M University's main library is named for Samuel Harrison Coleman, longtime president of FAMU's National Alumni Association, and covers nearly 89,000 square feet. The university's libraries hold nearly two million volumes. FAMU also runs the Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center and Museum, one of the premier research centers on African American history in the Southeast. It is open to the public Monday through Friday. Its manuscripts, rare books, newspapers and photographs include items not found anywhere else. Visitors driving to campus should first register for a parking permit at the Parking Information Center.
Thomas G. Carpenter LibraryUniversity of North Florida
The Thomas G. Carpenter Library serves the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Community members and alumni are welcome to use most resources and services free of charge on site after checking in with an official photo ID. Computers, scanners, copiers, printers and free Wi-Fi are available to the public. Special Collections and University Archives include the Eartha M. M. White Collection, more than a thousand items on the Jacksonville humanitarian and philanthropist. They can be seen by appointment in the reading room or online through UNF Digital Commons. A Special Borrower's Card costs $50 a year, or $35 for UNF alumni.
The most beautiful college library in Florida
Smathers LibraryUniversity of Florida
Smathers Library was the University of Florida's first library building, and its first section opened in 1925. It was the last building designed by William A. Edwards, UF's first architect, in the Tudor Gothic style of the historic campus, and a south tower was added in 1931. Renovations over the years have kept much of its original character and ornament inside and out. The centerpiece is the Grand Reading Room, with its mural The History of Learning in Florida by Hollis Holbrook. Known as Library East from 1967, it took the Smathers name in 1991. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Last verified: November 2, 2026. Visitor rules, hours and borrowing policies change, so check the library's website before you go.
About colleges and universities in Florida
Florida's public higher education is built on two systems. The State University System of Florida has 12 institutions serving more than 430,000 students a year, and the Florida College System has 28 member colleges that are the main entry point for many students. A large group of private colleges and universities, including the University of Miami, rounds out the state.
Many Florida university libraries are open to visitors for on-site use, and several offer community borrower cards, some free and some for a yearly fee. Florida State University, for example, offers limited free borrowing to Florida residents. Special collections are usually open to anyone for research, often by appointment. Rules vary by campus and during exams, so check the library's visitor page before you go.