reading
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Kick Off Your Summer Reading Challenge with the Friends of the Library
Summer at Your Library is back at Orange County Library System! We’re ready for an exciting summer, jam-packed with fun, free, entertaining, air-conditioned programming! But most importantly, we’re cheering you on as you take on our Summer Reading Challenge. This year we’re encouraging EVERYONE to read for 30 days this summer – and giving kids (ages 0-18) a free book. Visit a library location near you to
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From the Director, June 2026
Welcome to Summer at Your Library School is out and Orange County Library System is ready to help you make this your best summer ever with Summer at Your Library, June 1 to July 26. Stop into any OCLS location and pick up your free reading challenge booklet. These booklets are full of games, reading
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From the Director, January 2025
Your Library Offers Unlimited Value in the New Year Welcome to a new year with your library! January is a time to look ahead and plan for a successful year, and your OCLS library card can help you do just that – often in surprising, money-saving ways. If you’re paying for newspapers, magazines, audiobooks or
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From the Director, December 2025
The Best Books You May Have Missed in 2025 December is a great time to relax with a book, and book clubs, blogs, celebrities and newspapers are releasing their Best Books lists for 2025 – a fun way to find your next book. I love discovering new authors and I find as much time as
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How Ancient Epic Poetry Shaped Modern Fantasy
Poetry is often overlooked, yet its influence on storytelling is profound. I have always been captivated by the rich history of poetry, which holds a special place in my heart. The oldest form of it, epic poetry, has shaped literature for centuries, inspiring everything from novels to films. These grand narratives explore heroism, fate, and
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Supporting Women’s Rights – and Wrongs: An “Unhinged Women” Reader
Women’s History Month sets aside time annually to explore the contributions of women throughout history and celebrate pioneers of women’s rights, but narratives centering and created by women can always top your TBR list. The ongoing work of feminist thinkers and activists has seen women in media move from the wings to center stage, claiming
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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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NEW! LOTE4Kids: Storytime in Your Language
LOTE4Kids (Languages Other Than English) is the newest language learning platform for Orange County Library System users! Explore a digital collection of picture books (eBooks and audiobooks) in a diverse range of world languages. Some of the languages available are: American Sign Language (ASL), Arabic, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish (Mexican and Latin American) and Tamil.
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Women’s History Month: Retelling HER Story
The Stories we Gain by Reshaping Myths with Women as the Main Characters Modern authors are myth-busting familiar tales by passing the pen to the side characters – women. Centuries of mythology across the world has historically centered around and celebrated male narratives: their origins, battles, journeys, wins and losses. Female characters, whether damsels or
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From the Interim Director, July 2022
We are heading into summer with some good news – our 2022 Summer Reading Program is off to a strong start. We announced that we would be offering in-person events this summer, in addition to virtual selections, and the response has been fantastic. Hundreds of kids and their parents are showing up for events at
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