BEST GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT
Miami-Dade Public Libraries
Main Branch, 101 W. Flagler St., Miami

"Libraries are not so much a county department as they are a community gathering place where you don't have to socialize. Just go in and read a book or magazine or surf the net for free. It’s a fairly quiet atmosphere in the library — one that even mentally disturbed vagrants respect. There are 42 Miami-Dade library branches all over the county, funded by a millage rate in neighborhoods and municipalities lucky enough to try to not set up their own library systems. Residents have access to a system with a budget of more than $106 million a year, 4 million volumes of works, 965 workstations and 408 laptops. Not in the mood to trek to the nearest library branch? Well, if you need to conduct research, you might want to get a Miami-Dade library card anyway. Those who do can access online information databases that just can’t be found in Google."