Be Connected to Your Library in 2025
Welcome to a new year at Orange County Library System. Whether you are new to our system or a long-time library user, discover fresh ways to connect with us through opportunities and experiences at our 15 locations.
Writers, let us help you make 2025 the year you finish and publish a novel. The OCLS Writers Conference, held virtually January 11 & 12, will provide the tools and knowledge you need to reach your writing and publishing goals.
Authors and publishing professionals will teach workshops on both craft and business topics.
Families and youth can learn about and celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through hands-on art activities that support his teaching and writing, including a collaborative chalk program at Chickasaw Branch on January 18.
Eatonville Branch offers an array of programs in anticipation of the annual ZORA! Outdoor Festival of the Arts, celebrating writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston. Zora-inspired activities begin January 2 and culminate with the Meet the Author event featuring Jerry Craft, New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the graphic novels New Kid, Class Act and School Trip, part of ZORA! Festival’s Education Day on Friday, January 31. Attend free events, peruse the library’s special collections and learn about Zora’s impact on the historic Town of Eatonville.
And if you haven’t already heard, on January 24, we host An Evening With New York Times Bestselling Author John Green at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and we hope you will join us for what is sure to be an entertaining and thought-provoking conversation. You can learn more about Green’s writing, educational videos and humanitarian efforts on pages 18 and 19 of our January issue of Books & Beyond. This event is the first in our annual Lillian Louise Pharr Author Series, made possible by a generous endowment to the Friends of the Orange County Library System by longtime Orlando resident, Roger Pharr. Please visit the OCLS Blog to read more about Pharr’s remarkable life.
A new year offers new possibilities for growth and learning and your library is a great place to start.
