history
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Our History Speaks Volumes: Remembering Glenn F. Miller (1937–1996)
On November 1, 1970, Library Director Clara Wendel retired having served 27 years as head of Orange County Library System. She was succeeded by Glenn Miller, who became only the third library director in OCLS’ nearly 50-year history. Originally from Saginaw, Michigan, Miller began his career in library service in 1958, working as a reference…
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The Story of Pride
In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City became the unlikely catalyst for the struggle for LGBT+ rights. At that time, there were laws against being homosexual which extended to prohibiting the sale of alcohol to homosexuals and dancing with someone of the…
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Our History Speaks Volumes: Sorosis Women’s Club
In 1893, 10 Orlando women gathered to organize a study and social group. They named their group the Sorosis Club, after the Latin word for sisterhood, and shortly thereafter began meeting regularly at members’ homes to discuss literature and civic matters. With Sorosis growing, regular club events moved to the Knox-Bacon Building, an historically preserved…
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Our History Speaks Volumes: Captain Albertson’s Gift
One hundred years ago, a private citizen donated his personal library to the City of Orlando. The rest is history. The year 1921 was an important one for Orlando: Before Disney World had made Central Florida a landmark tourist destination, Orlando was an up-and-coming city whose growth was fueled primarily by citrus farming. In that year,…
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Our History Speaks Volumes: Bookmobile
On November 22 1949, Orlando Public Library, in partnership with Sorosis Club of Orlando, unveiled Orange County’s first mobile library: A $6,000 Studebaker bus uniquely equipped to deliver library services to the outlying areas of Orange County. At the time, there were only three library locations within the county, and they were mostly centralized to the…
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Native American Heritage Month: Cory Osceola
This photo of Cory Osceola comes from a postcard sold at the Musa Isle Indian Village in Miami around 1929. Musa Isle was the first Seminole tourist camp, founded in 1907. At this time, the Seminole people were struggling to make ends meet in a natural environment that was constantly changing due to industrial expansion.…
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What Does Hispanic Heritage Month Mean to You?
In 1968, President Johnson commemorated the first Hispanic Heritage Week to honor the cultures and contributions of Latin Americans in our country. Twenty years later, President Reagan expanded the week-long celebration from September 15 through October 15, thus creating Hispanic Heritage Month. But why does it start in the middle of September? September 15 is…
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Our History Speaks Volumes: Children’s Library
In July of 1998, work began on a project to relocate the Children’s Library from its original location in the basement of Orlando Public Library, to the east wing of the first floor. The move – which was overseen by then Library Director Dorothy Field – was part of a concerted effort to enhance Orange…
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Our History Speaks Volumes: Light Waves Sculpture
Created by artist Christopher Janney, Light Waves is a unique glass sculpture comprised of four colored bands that bathe the western facade of Orlando Public Library in different spectrums of color depending on the position of the sun. The sculpture also includes a series of touch plates which, when pressed in a specific order, will…
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Art 101: Ancient Greek Pottery
I normally teach our Art 101 events in-person, but since we’re unable to do that for the time being in this post I would like to share a little bit of information about ancient Greek pottery and how you can create your own Greek style flowerpot for your home. Pottery served many functions in ancient Greek…
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