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    Banned Books Week and the First Amendment: What’s It to You?

    Across the country, libraries, including OCLS, celebrate Banned Books Week September 24-30, 2017. This annual event highlights the freedom to read and the value of free and open access to information.   Libraries emphasize Banned Books Week to draw attention to library patrons’ First Amendment rights and the challenges those rights face. The First Amendment of

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  • Sunshine State Author Series

    A Conversation with Kelly Barnhill

    Newbery award-winning author Kelly Barnhill kicks off the Orange County Library System’s Sunshine State Author Series with an author event on October 18 at our Winter Garden Branch, followed by a writing workshop at the library’s Alafaya Branch on October 19. Library staff member Mira Tanna got a few minutes with her recently to ask

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  • An Interview with Margarita Engle

    An Interview with Margarita Engle

    Margarita Engle is a multi-award winning, Cuban-American author of children, teen and adult literature. She is the reigning Young People’s Poet Laureate and is the first Latino to be chosen for the prestigious honor. For Hispanic Heritage Month, Margarita Engle, along with illustrator Mike Curato, will be visiting our Chickasaw Branch to talk about their

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    Book Buzz Recommendations: August

    Back to school is nearly upon us! Teachers have begun preparing lesson plans and students are ready to shop with their parents for new school supplies. But just because the Summer Reading Program is over and school is about to begin, doesn’t mean that recreational reading has to end. Parents can relieve anxiety over a

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  • Love YA

    Build A Better World: Inclusion in Young Adult Fiction

    While the Summer Reading Program is drawing to a close and we have a lot to look back on with fond memories, one of our most poignant events held this summer was Love YA.: A Celebration of Diverse Young Adult Literature. Young Adult authors Alex Sanchez, Shaun David Hutchinson and Jenny Torres Sanchez came together

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  • Isaac Asimov

    Asimov—A Pillar of Science Fiction: Part 3 (Empire)

    The Empire series is the shortest and does little to advance the saga as a whole. Instead, each book for this sequence has its own independent story. They are vignettes, depicting a Galactic Empire in the process of becoming established, and the turmoil that is experienced by those living under its extensive rule. “Asimov's Galactic

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  • Books for Pride Month

    11 LGBTQ Titles for Adult Readers

    In honor of LGBTQ pride, here is a show-stopping book list that describes the lives, struggles, and strengths of LGBTQ characters and people, fact or fiction. These 11 books celebrate the spirit of the movement and implore us, at any age, to build a better world. Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, 1956 (Fiction) An American,

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    9 LGBTQ Titles for Young Readers

    In honor of LGBTQ pride, here is a show-stopping book list that describes the lives, struggles, and strengths of LGBTQ characters and people, fact or fiction. These books—ranging from children’s picture books to works of fiction—all celebrate the spirit of the movement and implore us, at any age, to build a better world.   Beyond

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    An Interview with Jonathan Maberry

    The Orlando Book Festival is a daylong celebration of books at the Orlando Public Library. Our closing keynote speaker will be Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestseller and five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author. He is the author of Rot and Ruin, Marvel comics, X-Files novels, Dark Horse comics, and more. Staff member and author Sarah Fisk interviewed him ahead of the

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    An Interview with Adam Silvera

    The Orlando Book Festival is a daylong celebration of books at the Orlando Public Library. Our opening keynote speaker will be New York Times bestselling author Adam Silvera. He is the author of More Happy Than Not and History is All You Left Me. Staff member and author Sarah Fisk interviewed him ahead of the Orlando Book Festival. Sarah Fisk: What are you most

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