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 with the placement of a commemorative bronze plaque at the previous site of the library at 528 West Jackson Street. The building now houses the T. C. Collier Center, which belongs to the church.

History of the Booker T. Washington Library

John Martin of the Orange County Library System prepared a brief history on the Booker T. Washington Library. The collection of documents, newspaper articles, annual reports and advertisements accumulated to create the history contain interesting information on the need for the new 1954 library and its construction.

Searchable History of the Booker T. Washington Library (Use the Ctrl F keys and insert a search term.)
Part 1 – 1924-1925

Part 2 – 1926-1952

Part 3 – 1952-1954

Part 4 – 1955-1962

Part 5 – 1963-1984

In the beginning – 1924

The Booker T. Washington Branch of the Albertson Public Library served the African American residents of the west Orlando community. The library opened on June 11, 1924, with a collection of 1500 books in what had been the rectory of St. John’s Episcopal Church at 107 South Terry Street.

Above: St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Booker T. Washington Library in the former rectory, and the church Day Nursery.

Officers of the library commission that oversaw the library in 1924 were Dr. T. V. Williams, president; R. L.  Ellerson, secretary; and Nurse K. B. Taylor, treasurer. An executive committee was formed and included Dr. William Wells, Dr. Henry Wooden and L. C. Jones.

In the beginning the branch was only open three days a week from 3 p.m. to 8:30 because librarian Eddie Jackson was also an elementary school teacher in Winter Park. Eddie Jackson retired in 1946. In 1950 the operating hours at the branch were extended to six days a week.

The Booker T. Washington Branch of the Albertson Public Library served residents of the west Orlando community for thirty years in this building. 

The New Booker T. Washington Library – 1954

The City of Orlando began construction of the new Booker T. Washington Library building at 548 West Jackson Street in April 1954. Mrs. Thelma Jackson, president of the BTW Friends of the Library and Z. L. Riley of the Orlando Negro Chamber of Commerce participated in the groundbreaking ceremony on April 28, 1954. The new library was completed and opened to the public in August 1954.

The blueprint above shows the elevations of the 1954 Booker T. Washington library.
View additional blueprints under Images below.

The new Booker T. Washington Branch on West Jackson.
Photo from the 1962-1963 Orlando Negro Chamber of Commerce Business Directory.

The advertisement below is from the 1967-1968 Negro Chamber of Commerce business directory featuring information on the Washington Shores and Booker T. Washington libraries, including names of staff: librarians Mrs. Dorothy L. McDuffie and Mrs. Betty D. Chandler and library clerk Gladys W. Woodard.

1967-1968 Orlando Negro Chamber of Commerce Business Directory, page 47.

The Booker T. Washington Library continued to serve the community until 1984 when it was incorporated into the Washington Park Library in the Lila Mitchell Community Center on Raleigh Street.

The City of Orlando owned the building until 1994 when the Shiloh Baptist Church purchased it. The Church renamed the building the T.C. Collier Center in 1995.

Washington Shores Library

Washington Shores Station at St. John’s Episcopal circa 1972.

Orange County Library System storyteller Crystal Sullivan interviewed librarian Alice Grace about the Booker T. Washington, Washington Shores, and the Washington Park branch libraries in this interview from January 25, 2012.

1972 – Alice Swilley Grace at the Washington Shores Branch

LISTEN (2:55) Alice Grace

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Alice started her career at OCLS as the librarian of the Washington Shores Branch which was located at St. John’s Episcopal Church in what Alice describes as a “little closet like space with quite a few books.”

The Orlando Public Library 1975-1976 Annual Report states that the Washington Shores Station grew from 302 to 750 square feet during the year, clearly showing the need for additional space.

The library station eventually moved into a larger space in the foyer of the church. The neighborhood children would walk to the library every afternoon after school and Alice would read them stories. The Washington Shores library then moved to Bobby Wilcox and then to the Boy’s Club, eventually merging with the Booker T. Washington Branch to form the current Washington Park Library.

Excerpt from the April 1983 Friends of the Library Newsletter.

Excerpt from the January 1984 Friends of the Library Newsletter featuring Alice Grace.

Washington Park Library – 1984

The Washington Park Branch Library is located at 5151 Raleigh Street and serves the Carver Shores and Metrowest areas, along with the many other subdivisions and local businesses surrounding it. Although small, the library has a beautiful Children’s area and the glass walls on the front and back of the building create a bright, airy and comfortable atmosphere.

For information on the Washington Park Library visit OCLS.info.

Washington Park Library photo album features images of the library and special happenings, like Princess Tea Party, Eccelston Family Night, Story Time, the 2017 Solar Eclipse watch party, thank you notes from the community, and photos of staff including memories of Robin Oliver (1957-2009) and Maria del Carmen Ortiz (1949-2016).

Peruse the rest of the scrapbook under Images and Documents, below.

Librarians

Eddie Thomas Jackson – Orlando’s First African American Librarian

Mrs. Eddie T. Jackson was Orange County Library System’s first African American librarian at the Booker T. Washington Branch from 1923 to 1946.  She was assisted by nurse K. B. Taylor who did public health work in the schools. Mrs. Linda Reddick became the librarian in 1946 when Mrs. Jackson retired.

Mrs. Dorothy McDuffie Butts started working at the BTW library as early as 1942. She continued to work at the BTW library in various capacities for more than thirty years. She served as the Branch librarian from 1948-1953. There is a mention of librarian C. Miles in a November 3, 1951 article about the branch. It is included in this section of the history of the branch.

Mrs. Gloria Riley Merriett became the branch librarian in 1953 and facilitated the library’s move to the new Booker T. Washington building at 548 Jackson Street in 1954. Mrs. Nareda H. Hunt succeeded Mrs. Merriett as librarian in 1955.

Mrs. Del Jupiter served as branch librarian from 1958-1962 and Mrs. Dorothy Burns joined the staff of the branch in 1958. She succeeded Mrs. Jupiter as branch librarian in 1962, and was still librarian when the Booker T. Washington and Washington Shores branches merged and moved in the to new Washington Park Library in the Lila Mitchell Community Center on Raleigh Street in April 1984. Mrs. Burns’ dedicated service to the community at BTW and Washington Park spanned more than three decades!

Alice Swilley Grace

Alice Swilley was the librarian of the Washington Shores Library Branch in a small room at the St. John’s Episcopal Church beginning in September 1972. The story of how she came to be a librarian at OCLS was featured in the Orlando Sentinel on September 20th of that year entitled: Her Own Library — For Alice Swilley, It’s Wonderland Come True.

Alice Swilley Grace, Washington Shores branch librarian in September 1972.

The 25-year-old, who graduated from Florida A and M University in June, is well into her third week as librarian for Washington Shores Branch of Orlando Public Library and loving it. Seated at her small desk at the front of an even smaller room in St. John’s Episcopal Church into which some 6,000 books are tightly crammed — Alice’s enthusiasm is infectious. Read the rest of the story.

Explore the Images and Documents below under Attachments. Click on the first image to begin the slide show.