On January 7, when we officially kicked off our 100 Year Celebration, we shared the news that Sorosis of Orlando Woman’s Club had donated $100,000 to help us bring mobile services back to Orange County. We’re using that money to support the purchase of book bikes and a bookmobile that can help us get books, library card applications and other resources into the community.
Well, I’m thrilled to share that our first book bicycle has made its debut in downtown Orlando! In mid-July, staff piloted the bike into Lake Eola Park to test it out in public. They learned a few things about how it works (it turns out the turning radius on a cargo bike is extremely wide), and they’re now preparing to bring it to an event near you!
At this time, we hope to bring the bike to some select events happening in August, including the Florida Kids and Family Expo at the Orange County Convention Center August 12–13, and the BLK Joy festival, taking place August 19 at Lake Lorna Doone Park.
The bike will be equipped with library literature, giveaways and (of course) books!
Keep an eye out for our book bike the next time you’re at an event or enjoying a local park. Take a photo or a selfie with the bike and post it to social media with the hashtag #OCLSBookBike and tell us what you think. Many thanks to Sorosis of Orlando Woman’s Club for helping us bring this book bike to life.
And looking ahead, we have a partnership in the works with OUC to bring a second book bike to Orlando. As you may know, OUC is also celebrating 100 years of service in 2023 and kicked off its celebration on June 26. We’re proud to partner with them in honor of this shared milestone, and we’re looking forward to working with them on some exciting projects in the coming year. Congratulations, OUC!
