Memories
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...
Events
Pull for the library! - 1980 Campaign for Library Expansion
1980 Campaign for Library Expansion
Pull for the Library!
After expecting a library expansion millage referendum to be on the ballot "any time now" since 1976, the measure was finally put before voters in the Orange County, Florida, district served by the...
Events
Orlando Public Library Dedication 1966
Dedication of the Orlando Public Library - Sunday, August 7, 1966
The Orlando Public Library at Ten North Rosalind was dedicated on Sunday afternoon, August 7, 1966. Mayor Robert S. Carr cut the ribbon and presented the building to the people...
Organizations
Library Scrapbook - January 1945 to January 1949
Library Scrapbook - January 1945 to January 1949
A fragile scrapbook with treasures from January 1945 to January 1949 was recently found and scanned to preserve its contents. Newspaper clippings, flyers, brochures, and photographs paint a vivid picture of 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 ...
Organizations
Albertson Public Library - Books and Beyond
ABOVE: "A Woman's War Record" donated by Captain Charles Albertson.
When the Albertson Public Library opened to the public in November 1923, most of the books in the collection were gifts from individuals and organizations. A number of books were also...
Organizations
Albertson Public Library - Financial Crisis
Financial Crisis
Correspondence, financial statements, newspaper clippings and annual reports indicate that the library encountered financial difficulties after the stock market crash in October 1929.
In a letter dated June 5, 1929, Librarian Olive Brumbau...
Organizations
Albertson Public Library - In the beginning 1921-1931
Offer Made and Agreement Signed
On November 10, 1921, Captain Charles L. Albertson, a winter resident of Orlando and a retired Police Inspector from Waverly, New York, met with the Orlando City Commissioners and a committee from the Chamber of Commerce to...
Organizations
Albertson Public Library - Furnishings 1923
The Library Bureau
Library Bureau catalog pages, blue prints, orders, and correspondence provide an interesting look at the process of choosing the furnishings for the new library.
Captain Albertson appears to have made the first contact with the Library B...
Organizations
Albertson Public Library - Monthly Reports 1923-1931
Above: Photograph of the 1923 Albertson Public Library.
Monthly Reports November 1923 - December 1931
The Albertson Public Library staff first welcomed Orange County residents to their new library on November 8, 1923.
Beginning that month, a monthly repor...
Topics
Celebrating Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary
A collection of memorable stories and images shared with the Orange County Library System that celebrate Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary.
[caption id="attachment_28061" align="aligncenter" width="420"] Lloyd Bridges filming at Epcot 1983. Submitted b...
Organizations
Oral History Interview with Library Director & CEO Mary Anne Hodel
All of the things in our society that are changing so very rapidly. How do we harness ourselves to those trends, and provide services that customers in our community would want, and need, and benefit from? That’s very critical that the...
Places
History of Orlando's African American Libraries
ABOVE: Alice Grace at 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 wi...
Topics
Eddie T. Jackson
Above: Librarian Eddie T. Jackson - Story time at the Booker T. Washington Branch Library circa 1927
Eddie Natalie Byrd Thomas Cromartie Jackson
Eddie Jackson was born Eddie Natalie Byrd Thomas on March 25th, 1902, in Tampa, Florida. Her mother, Woodie Julia...
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...
Places
Historic West Orange County
The following photographs belonged to long time Central Florida residents Rollo and Minnie Thoren. They were found after the passing of their son John, and shared with library staff for inclusion on Orlando Memory.
Minnie Thoren is the sister of beloved...
Organizations
Zonta Orlando-Winter Park
Zonta International
Zonta International, founded on November 8, 1919, was different from many other women's clubs in existence at that time, as Zonta was open only to women holding executive positions based on a classification system. Read about the history of...
Events
Footnotes 1966-1970
ABOVE: Young Adult program, mentioned in the March 1970 Footnotes, featuring OPD K-9 Squad members Conrad Kilian, Charles Gibson, D.A. O'Dell and Karate demonstration by OPD Sgt. Bill Liquori (2nd from left), Jimmie Swett, Alana Jones, and William Lutz.
Footn...
Organizations
Minutes of the Albertson Public Library Board of Directors 1923-1930
ABOVE: Albertson Public Library photo by Dixie Studio pasted on the back of the first page in the 1923-1930 minutes book.
Albertson Public Library Board of Directors
The minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors of the Albertson Public Library...
Places
The Beacham Theatre: The Early Years
The Beacham Theatre: The Early Years
Braxton Beacham Sr.
Born in Dublin, Georgia, in 1864, Braxton Beacham moved to Florida in 1883, first settling in Maitland and then a year later, moving to Orlando. He first found work in a dry goods...
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-lon...
Organizations
Friends of the Library Newsletters 1993-1995
The Orlando Public Library Footnotes and the Friends of the Library Newsletters are the ancestors of the library's current monthly magazine, Books and Beyond!
Each newsletter has information on special events, display cases, art on display, and bookstore ne...
Organizations
OCLS Extension Department 1966 - 1983
ABOVE: Arnold Sobel at the Northgate Library in 1983.
OCLS Extension Department Scrapbook
Photographs of employees who worked in the Extension Department and the library Annex from 1966 to 1983, were collected and carefully and lovingly arranged in a scrap...
People
Olive Brumbaugh - Orlando's Librarian 1923-1943
The Duties of the Head Librarian
The duties of the “librarian” enumerated in Article IX of the library’s Articles of Incorporation (pp. 3-4) indicate that, in addition to serving as a librarian, the person hired as head librarian oversaw all department...
Events
Albertson Library Staff Party - December 1963
Former staff at the Albertson Public Library were invited to a staff Christmas party on December 14, 1963. The date is significant because in September 1964, the Albertson library was demolished to make way for the new Orlando Public Library....
Organizations
Guide to Orlando's Afro American Heritage
Central Florida Society of Afro American Heritage
The Central Florida Society of Afro American Heritage was formed in 1986 to preserve the heritage of the African American community in Orlando. The Florida Division of Corporations lists Deborah Murphy as pres...
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