Memories
Topics
Library Storytellers Through the Years
ABOVE: Photo of Children's Library staff in the basement around 1994. Standing: Gregg Gronlund, Charlie Hoeck, and Christi Cohen. Sitting: Crystal Sullivan, Stefani Koorey, Sue Wright, Carolyn Rosenblum, and Jane Tracy.
Storytime at the Library
Storytell...
Places
OPL Expansion Plans and Construction Photos 1982-1985
ABOVE: April 20, 1983, looking Northeast with the 1966 OPL in the top right corner.
Expansion of the 60,000 square foot 1966 Orlando Public Library was planned even before it opened on August 7, 1966, however, the people of Orlando probably...
Places
Young Adult Department 1960s -1980s
ABOVE: The Young Adult Department on the first floor in the area now known as the porch or clock area in the Children's Department.
1960s
The Orlando Public Library opened to the public in August 1966, with 60,000 square feet of space...
Places
Orlando Public Library Expansion 1982-1986
OPL Expansion from 60,000 to 290,000 square feet!
From APL to OPL
The Orlando Public Library was dedicated on Sunday, August 7, 1966, replacing the old Albertson Public Library which opened to the public on November 8, 1923. Compared to the old...
Organizations
OCLS Branches - Then and Now
ABOVE: South Trail Library circa 1982.
Orange County Library System Branch Libraries in 1993
Beginning in February 1993, the Friends of the Library Newsletters featured one of the eleven branches each month. The January 1993 newsletter announced the year-long ...
Places
OPL Under Construction 1964-1966
ABOVE: Photo taken December 1, 1965, looking southeast from the AT&T building on Wall Street. Notice how close the new library is to the former Salvation Army Citadel in the lower right corner of the photo. Also, visible is the...
Organizations
Annual Reports - From Albertson Public Library to OCLS - 1923 to 1979
Above: Cover of the 1960-1961 Annual Report with an actual library card attached.
Annual Reports
The annual reports for the Albertson Public Library run the gamut from simple small reports produced in the 1930s during the financial crisis, to more elaborate re...
Organizations
Albertson Public Library - In the beginning 1921-1931
ABOVE: Postcard of the Albertson Public Library at 165 East Central Avenue at the corner of Central and Rosalind.
Offer Made and Agreement Signed
On November 10, 1921, Captain Charles L. Albertson, a winter resident of Orlando and a retired Police Inspector f...
Organizations
Bookmobiles, Traveling Branches and Library Stations
ABOVE: The Orlando Public Library Traveling Branch and County Bookmobile in front of the 1966 Orlando Public Library.
A Bookmobile for the Library
A proposal for the addition of a bookmobile was presented to the board of the Albertson Public Library by...
Places
Orlando's African American Libraries - From Booker T. Washington to Washington Park
ABOVE: Alice Grace at the Booker T. Washington Library
Plaque Commemorating the Booker T. Washington Library
On December 30, 2001, the Orange County Library System and the Shiloh Baptist Church celebrated the history of the former Booker T. Washington Library ...
Topics
History of the Orange County Library System
Sorosis Club of Orlando
The beginnings of the current Orange County Library System can be traced to the circulating library collection of the Sorosis Club of Orlando. The collection was initially housed on the second floor of the old Armory building...
Organizations
Louis Rotundo Presents The X-1 Story at Orlando Remembered, March 2024
Well, thank you, it's a pleasure to be here. I don't get to talk about this book much anymore. The book obviously has been around for quite some time. The story never gets old in my opinion, but I don't...
Events
Oral History Interview with Maria Guerrero, Founder of the Women in the Arts, Inc. and the 2024 Women in the Arts Expo
My name is Maria Guerrero. And about where I was born, I was born in Uruguay, and that is Uruguay with a "U". Some people say Paraguay or Hawaii. No, it's Uruguay with "U". And that's where I was born....
People
Captain Charles Donald Albury
Don Albury, a former U.S. Army Air Corps Captain flew on both missions to drop the atomic bombs in August 1945. He passed away in an Orlando hospital on May 23, 2009.
Albury was born in his parents' home in...
Events
Celebrating 100 Years of Service
The Orange County Library System kicked off its 100 Year Celebration on January 7, 2023, with a daylong event at the Orlando Public Library.
Invitees to the rededication ceremony included the OCLS Board of Trustees, community leaders, elected officia...
Events
Lake Adair - Lake Concord Historic District Marker Event
On October 24, 2023, City of Orlando Commissioner Robert Stuart and College Park Historical Society Board Members unveiled the Lake Adair - Lake Concord District Historical Marker. The marker is located on the grassy plain near Lake Adair and Edgewater...
Organizations
Oral History Interview with Author-Entrepreneur Erik Deckers, President of Pro Blog Service
It is on the National Register of Historic Places because of the Kerouac connection. But in and of itself, it's a 102-year-old house. It's a Sears and Roebuck kit house where you could go into the catalog and order a...
People
Historian Richard Cronin Presents: "Remembering Orlandoans" at Orlando Remembered, October 2023
I thought that perhaps one of the best presentations for this type of group would be to talk about the people who helped make Orlando what it is today. If you have read any of my books you probably know...
Events
Oral History Interview with Startup Weekend Orlando 2023 Winner: Aadhirai VijaiSenthil
If you have any ideas, just put it out there. And see if you can like make it. If it's a big problem that you think you have a solution to - go with it and see where it goes....
Organizations
Oral History Interview with Bill Jennings, President of the College Park Historical Society
Bill Jennings, President of the College Park Historical Society at the Orlando Public Library, October 25, 2023. Photo by Orange County Library System Staff Photographer Amanda Murphy.
College Park has produced a lot of great people. I was in a meeting...
Places
Lake Ivanhoe Residential Historic District Marker
On October 24, 2023 City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer unveiled The Lake Ivanhoe Residential Historic District Marker with City of Orlando Commissioner Robert Stuart and College Park Historical Society Board Members. Pictured from left to right are Bill Jennings,...
Places
135 East Wall Street
From the Orange County Property Appraiser's site - 135 Wall Street circa 2022.
On Monday, October 30, 2023, shortly before the library opened, staff at the Orlando Public Library peered out the back windows facing Wall Street to discover what was...
Events
College Park Oral History Night 2023 with Educational Leader Gary Schadow
Reading is so important. I used to say to dads all the time, "Are you reading with your children?" And by the way, I have seven. I was an educator. But anyways, and I would say, "Read with them nightly....
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