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  • Book with "women" scratched out of title to read "Great Artists" next to a red, pink and black collage in the style of Lee Krasner

    Lee Krasner: Not a Peripheral Talent

    I love hosting art programs at Alafaya. I like profiling artists that aren’t often taught in schools. Kids have heard of Picasso and da Vinci, but do they know Lee Krasner? Krasner may be one of my favorite artists, and I wasn’t even aware of her until several years ago. Born Lena Krassner in Brooklyn…

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  • three Julia Child books fanned out on background of food item drawings

    Julia Child, Teaching America to Cook

    For Women’s History Month this year, I’m presenting a children’s cooking program on Julia Child. In preparing for the program, I learned so much about her fascinating life! She grew up in California in the early 1900s, attending boarding school and playing sports. When World War II broke out, she tried to enlist in the…

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  • Black woman wearing glasses pulls book from cart with books by Black and African American authors

    The Best Time to Read Black Literature

    So many little things have become intrinsic to me as a person through reading. There are lines that I quote daily. There are passages I tear up just thinking about. There are words that have become essential to my vocabulary. I can barely begin to express in words how much reading has changed my life.…

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  • National Library Week

    National Library Week: The Melrose Center

    My name is Kaylie Pasternak, and I will be taking you through this year’s National Library Week at Orange County Library System! National Library Week is a time to bring libraries to light and show support for all they do. The Melrose Center was founded in 2014 by a grant from the Melrose family foundation…

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  • From the Director, March 2024

    From the Director, March 2024

    Every year, Orange County Library System holds a Staff Development Day in November, where we bring everyone together to learn, network and get to know their colleagues. A big part of the day is celebrating milestones. We’re lucky to have a lot of staff who’ve made working for the library not just a job, but…

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  • Meet You There. Stylized logo with a map pin containing an orange. Photos of library staff at outdoor events overlayed on an orange map of Orange County.

    Meet You There

    As you’ve read in Books & Beyond over the past year, Orange County Library System is committed to breaking down barriers to access, so everyone can take part in what our libraries have to offer. That commitment extends far beyond library walls. In 2024, our goal is to plant deeper roots in the community by…

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  • Q&A with Youth Services Intern Amanda Sarro

    Q&A with Youth Services Intern Amanda Sarro

    Hi, my name is Amanda Sarro and I am the intern in the Youth Services department for the summer this year. I am currently a University of Central Florida student studying Early Childhood Development and Education. This means that I am studying and learning about how children ages 0-8 grow and learn throughout those most…

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  • Q&A with Youth Services Intern Emily Gingras

    Q&A with Youth Services Intern Emily Gingras

    Emily Gingras has been interning at the library throughout the summer, working in the Youth Services department. As her internship comes to a close, we caught up with her to learn about her time working at OCLS and the upcoming blog series she’s writing for the library. What’s your major/minor at UCF and why were…

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  • Get Ready to Shell-a-brate Adult Summer Reading!

    18 Reasons Why Adult Summer Reading is Fin-tastic!

    Gather around, sea-mates! We hope by now you’re ready for Adult Summer Reading. In case you need a little pier-pressure, we asked our colleagues what they’re looking forward to this year. We’re shore the answers shared by your favorite OCLS branches and departments will convince you to participate. Grab your umbrella, towel and sunblock because…

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