The Orange County Library System has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions over the last three years. Further, as a recognized national leader in providing cutting-edge library services, representatives of the Orange County Library System are regularly invited to present at major national conferences. A partial listing of recent awards appears below:
OCLS honored for providing Right Service
The Florida Department of State commended the Orange County Library System with Exemplary Project Recognition for its Right Service at the Right Time resource helping users navigate e-government services.
Disney awards OCLS for Helping Kids Shine
Disney Prize Patrol swept through the Orlando Public Library to award OCLS a $20,000 grant for its Summer Reading Program. The award came through Disney’s Helping Kids Shine grant program which assists organizations that build better futures for children through ongoing programming.
Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations Recognizes OCLS
OCLS was awarded two Best Friends Awards for two categories: Print Newsletters (Public Library Friends Group without paid staff) and Membership (Public Library Friends Group without paid staff). ALTAFF’s Best Friends Awards recognize Friends groups around the country for print and electronic materials that promote the group and its special programs and projects.
Silver Brick Award
OCLS was bestowed a Silver Brick Award in the Special Event category for the annual Step Off competition program. The award was given by the Downtown Orlando Partnership to honor projects that positively affect the Downtown Development District and contribute significantly to its quality of life - making Downtown Orlando a more exciting, interesting and desirable place to live, work and play.
FLA picks OCLS for Library Innovation Award
The Florida Library Association picked the Orange County Library System as the recipient of the 2011 Library Innovation Award in recognition of The Right Service at the Right Time. The award recognizes Florida libraries that have displayed innovative methods, projects, products, or organizational enhancements, such as using current and emerging technologies for library processes or information service delivery.
ALA Names OCLS Library of the Future
The American Library Association has named Orange County Library system of Orlando, Fla., the 2011 winner of the ALA/Information Today, Inc. Library of the Future Award. This award is presented annually to a library that demonstrates innovative planning and development of patron training programs about information technology in a library setting. The winning initiative was Orange County’s Technology and Education Center, offering 1,200 technology classes each month at 15 locations. In 2010, nearly 50,000 patrons participated in the technology training program. Classes are offered in English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole.
Smart Investing @ Your Library Continued
The Orange County Library System has been awarded a $51,150 grant to continue its partnership with the Rollins Crummer Graduate School of Business to serve the financial and investor education needs of lower-income and Spanish-speaking residents, especially wage earners in the region’s hospitality industry. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation and the American Library Association (ALA) have gave $1.4 million in grants to 20 recipients as a part of the Smart investing@your library® initiative.
ALA Recognizes OCLS Shake It App
The American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) has recognized the Orange County Library System’s Shake It! Application as a best library practice using cutting-edge technology. “We want to showcase libraries that are serving their communities with novel and innovative methods and provide the library community with some successful models for delivering quality library service in new ways,” said Christine Lind Hage, Chair of OITP’s America’s Libraries for the 21st Century Subcommittee. The Shake It! Application, designed for the iphone/ipod/ipad platforms, provides users with a novel and fun way to select materials from the OCLS collection, and its integration to the Library’s circulation system allows the user to check availability and even order the item from their device. The award will be presented at the American Library Association Annual Meeting in 2011.
Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce B.I.G. Award
The Orange County Library System was chosen as honorable mention for the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce B.I.G. Award for its video entry on changing the technological landscape in the library industry.
Workforce Central Florida Award of Excellence
The Orange County Library System has been chosen as a Workforce Central Florida Award of Excellence winner. The award was presented during the luncheon of the State-of-the-Workforce Summit on October 26 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort. OCLS was recognized as a pioneer in offering cutting-edge library services and as an organization that has embraced new technology to deliver improved library services to the community. OCLS uses innovation champions within the organization to help drive change.
Bright Ideas Program
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, announced 173 government programs selected for its newly-created Bright Ideas program including the Orange County Library System's MAYL home delivery program.
Orange County Board of County Commissioners 2010 Best Partner
The Orange County Board of County Commissioners named OCLS a 2010 Best Partner for its library programming on water conservation and sustainability.
Golden Brick Award
OCLS was bestowed a Golden Brick Award receiving top honors in the Special Event category for the kick-off ceremony for the Citizenship Inspired program. The Annual Golden Brick Awards given by the Downtown Orlando Partnership honor projects that positively affect the Downtown Development District and contribute significantly to its quality of life - making Downtown Orlando a more exciting, interesting and desirable place to live, work and play.
2010 Florida Library of the Year
The Orange County Library System was named the 2010 Florida Library of the Year by the Florida Library Association.
Workforce Central Florida Award of Excellence
The Orange County Library System has been awarded a 2009 Workforce Central Florida Award of Excellence.
Honorable Mention - OverDrive's Outreach Program Contest
OCLS received an Honorable Mention in OverDrive's Outreach Program Contest. OCLS was selected as a winner based on the creativity and effectiveness of a video campaign to reach new patrons.
2009 Rethinking Resource Sharing (RRS) Innovation Award
OCLS was recognized with a 2009 Rethinking Resource Sharing (RRS) Innovation Award for its work on Orlando Memory, a digital archive and social networking community where the users select and contribute content.
2008 Workforce Central Florida Award of Excellence
OCLS was recognized with a 2008 Workforce Central Florida Award of Excellence for outstanding training provided to employees.
2008 Fit Friendly Companies
OCLS has been named one of the American Heart Association’s 2008 Fit Friendly Companies. The American Heart Association recognizes workplaces that champion the health of their employees by offering programs and resources to help them live longer, heart-healthier lives.
Recipient National Leadership Grant
OCLS is the recipient of a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in the amount of $120,603. Titled Citizenship Inspired, the grant project will focus on service to the pre-naturalized residents of Orange County (numbering over 100,000). Using technology and social networking, and capitalizing on our strong learning platform, OCLS will empower immigrants who have settled in Central Florida to be fully prepared to pass the U.S. Naturalization Test and thereby become full citizens.
Fit for Life
Libraries for the Future has chosen the Orange County Library System to participate in Fit for Life, a program of Libraries for the Future, made possible through the generous support of the MetLife Foundation. In this very competitive grant, OCLS was one of 17 library systems nationwide selected to promote lifelong health and wellness through community responsive programs. OCLS was awarded the $20,000 to fulfill the grant proposal.
Smart Investing @ Your Library
The Orange County Library System has been awarded a $96,360 grant to promote investor education.The library system is one of 13 nationwide selected for participation in Smart Investing @ Your Library®, a joint grant program sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation.
20th Annual Florida Print Awards: 2007 Best of Category
The Library’s Books & Beyond newsletter won the 2007 “Best of Category” award in the four-color newsletter category in the 20th Annual Florida Print Awards.
2007 Best of Show Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) Winner for Young Adult Reading Club Materials
2007 Best of Show Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) Winner for Young Adult Reading Club Materials was awarded to the Orange County Library System. More than 420 entries were submitted for this competition from across the U.S. and Canada.
2007 Urban Libraries Council (ULC) Joey Rodger Fund for Library Leadership
Assistant Director Debbie Moss of the Orange County Library System received a 2007 award from the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) Joey Rodger Fund for Library Leadership.The award provides $5,000 for a senior-level library administrator to participate in a leadership program or professional development opportunity.
2006 Golden Brick Award
2006 Golden Brick Award from the Downtown Orlando Partnership presented to OCLS Main Library for its public project of the 2nd floor renovation.
2006 National Leadership Grant
2006 National Leadership Grant for $185,439 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to help job seekers become more employable. A key component involves increasing the number of computer classes offered in Spanish and Haitian Creole. The project also expands current courses and resources for small business owners or employed individuals seeking professional development.
2006 Library Services and Technology (LSTA) Grant
2006 Library Services and Technology (LSTA) Grant for $110,234 for the project “Technology and Language Training for Employability.” As part of the project, OCLS offers training to provide basic computer skills and English language skills for the workplace.
2006 Thomson Gale Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services
2006 Thomson Gale Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services in recognition of the development of eGuides, an innovative reference and teaching tool. eGuides offer topical resources in one easy-to-use Web interface.
2006 Urban Library Council Highsmith Award of Excellence
2006 Urban Library Council Highsmith Award of Excellence for Orange County Library System’s Teen Library Corps.
2006 Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) Best of Show Award
2006 Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) Best of Show Award for young adult reading club materials.
2006 Live Homework Help Innovator Award
2006 Live Homework Help Innovator Award received from Tutor.com for integration of Live Homework Help into the Online Public Access Catalog – accessible to cardholders from home or in the library. Online homework help is offered in both English and Spanish.
2006 Be Innovative Award
The Library’s Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) was honored with a 2006 Be Innovative Award for the most innovative public services application. The Orange County Library System received the award for its Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). The OPAC is a collection of non-standard material such as databases, games, Self-Paced Online Classes and downloadable books which have been cataloged with icons so patrons can visually identify these items either from the library or via Web access. This award is given annually by Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
2006/07 Grant from The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office and National Video Resources (NVR)
2006/07 Grant from The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office and National Video Resources (NVR), in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center, to present "Looking At: Jazz, America's Art Form.”
National Library of Medicine Grant
$40,000 grant from the National Library of Medicine to produce a series of health classes on 10 current countywide health problems. These classes are brought to the community through effective partnerships with the Orange County Department of Health, Vision TV, Orange County Commission on Children and the Neighborhood Community Centers.
2005 Award of Excellence in Public Library Management
2005 Award of Excellence in Public Library Management from the Urban Libraries Council, Library Systems and Services (ULC/LSSI) for the Spectrum Program, an innovative program that cross trains library managers in several facets of the system. Managers in the Spectrum Program are rotated to new positions every six to nine months.
2005 LYNX (the Central Florida Transportation Authority) Regional Transportation Award for Excellence in the Public Sector
2005 LYNX (the Central Florida Transportation Authority) Regional Transportation Award for Excellence in the Public Sector for providing library employees bus passes for their daily commute to work.
2004 Award of Excellence
“Club Central” – an area of the main library designed by teens for teens has received multiple awards including 2004 Award of Excellence for the new Face of the Library given by the Downtown Orlando Partnership, an Associated Builders and Contractors Eagle Award for interiors under $1 million, an American Architects Award and a Golden Brick Award from the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce. “Club Central” offers music-listening stations, flat screen TV for movies and a wide variety of genres for teen readers.
2003 Outstanding Library Programs Award for Continuing Education and Staff Development
2003 Outstanding Library Programs Award for Continuing Education and Staff Development from the Urban Libraries Council, Library Systems and Services(ULC/LSSI) for the Ready, Set, Go! Program. Ready Set Go! is a training and development program for support team members.
Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting
Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting received every year since 2003 from the Government Finance Officers Association.
Grants
The Orange County Library System has been the recipient of numerous grants in varied amounts for its worthwhile programs including awards from the Target Corporation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wal-Mart and the MetLife Reading America Program among others.
