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Recent Awards & Recognition

Orange County Library System
www.ocls.info

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:

  • The Orange County Library System has been awarded a 2009 Workforce Central Florida Award of Excellence.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • OCLS was recognized with a 2008 Workforce Central Florida Award of Excellence for outstanding training provided to employees.

  • 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. 

  • 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.

  • 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.


  • 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.
  • 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 was awarded to the Orange County Library System.  More than 420 entries were submitted for this competition from across the U.S. and Canada.
     
  • 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 from the Downtown Orlando Partnership presented to OCLS Main Library for its public project of the 2nd floor renovation.
  • 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 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 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 for Orange County Library System’s Teen Library Corps.
  • 2006 Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) Best of Show Award for young adult reading club materials. 
  • 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.
  • 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, virtual 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), in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center, to present "Looking At: Jazz, America's Art Form.”  
  • $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 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 for providing library employees bus passes for their daily commute to work.
  • “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 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 received every year since 2003 from the Government Finance Officers Association.
  • 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. 

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