Awards & Recognition

Orange County Library System has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions. 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 and grants received appears below:

  • Niurka Olivera de Ojeda givenaward

    Niurka Olivera de Ojeda receives FLA’s Outstanding Paraprofessional 2022 Award

    South Trail Branch Clerk Niurka Olivera de Ojeda meaningfully improves the lives of the numerous students that take her Citizenship Inspired (CI) classes. Pivoting to a virtual format in 2020, Niurka provides free classes that help local immigrant residents prepare for the Naturalization Interview and Test. Through her herculean efforts, she has taught CI over 160 times to over 3000 students and conducted 67 one-on-one mock interviews. At least 74 students have passed under her tutelage. Niurka’s passion for citizenship education extends beyond the classroom. She promotes CI through various media, provides guidance and assistance to other CI instructors, and has spoken at a regional library conference about the program to offer guidance about starting the series for libraries outside of Orange County.

  • imls_logo-01

    Orange County Library System Receives Federal Funding to Support Local Wanderer Program

    The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded Orange County Library System $49,983 to support the library’s award-winning culture pass platform, Local WandererThe grant will allow OCLS to dramatically increase the number of cultural offerings available through Local Wanderer, directly addressing a lack of accessibility to arts and cultural venues that has been exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

  • March08-14

    Grant Awarded For Author Series

    The library has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the Florida Division of Arts and Culture. This funding will be used to bring writers of children’s and young adult literature to OCLS, either in-person or virtually, for readings or workshops as part of our Sunshine State Author Series. Each featured author has written a book that has been on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award or Florida Teen Reads lists. Past authors include Zetta Elliott (Dragons in a Bag) and Christopher Eliopoulos (Cosmic Commandos).

  • May01-3

    OCLS receives four awards from Florida Library Association

    Orange County Library System has won four awards from the Florida Library Association including Library of the Year and a Lifetime Achievement award for Library Director, Mary Anne Hodel. These awards will be presented at FLA’s annual conference on May 20 in Daytona.

    The Florida Library Association is a statewide organization that promotes excellence in Florida libraries by advocating strongly for libraries and providing high quality professional and leadership development for a diverse community of library staff, volunteers, and supporters. For more information, visit https://www.flalib.org/

     

  • 2019June18-13-5

    Duke Energy awards OCLS $5,000 for Summer Reading Program outreach

    As part of twenty-three grants awarded from the Duke Energy Foundation to enhance educational programs focused on science, technology, engineering and math, Orange County Library System has received $5,000 to build access to Summer Reading Program resources in underserved communities. 

    To learn more about this year's Summer Reading Program, visit ocls.info/srpkids 

  • 2020June15-73-09

    OCLS employees recognized for excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services

    Sarah Q. and Allison R. of Orange County Library System's West Oaks Library & Genealogy Center have been awarded the Reference USA Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services. The award was given in recognition of the pair's creative and imaginative genealogy services during the Coronavirus pandemic.

    Established in 1990, the Reference USA Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services is a citation and $1,500 monetary award presented to a library or library system for developing an imaginative and unique resource to meet patrons’ reference needs.

  • September12-49

    OCLS receives Write Her Future grant from Proliteracy and LancĂ´me

    Orange County Library System has been awarded a Write Her Future grant for up to 24 licenses (valued at $3,000) for VoxEnGen, an ESOL online learning platform.  The licenses will be incorporated into a personalized curriculum to advance and support the language development of women learners who are studying remotely. Write Her Future is an initiative founded by ProLiteracy and LancĂ´me which empowers women with new opportunities and tools to increase their literacy skills and enrich their lives. For more information, visit https://www.proliteracy.org/write-her-future.

  • September12-17

    OCLS awarded Proliteracy Mobile Learning Fund grant

    Orange County Library System has been awarded $3,000 in subscriptions and licenses for adult literacy programs and digital education materials. The award was provided through the Mobile Learning Fund of Proliteracy, the largest adult literacy and basic education membership organization in the nation.  Funds will be used to develop personalized curriculum for students of the library's ESOL classes.

  • January22-1

    OCLS awarded Top Workplaces USA 2021

    Top Workplaces included Orange County Library System in their 2021 list of Top Workplaces in the USA. This award celebrates nationally recognized companies that make the world a better place to work together by prioritizing a people-centered culture and giving employees a voice.

  • 2020September04-2-14

    Orange County Library System ranked in Orlando Sentinel’s Top Work Places 2020 

    The Orange County Library System has been named one of the Orlando Sentinel’s Top Work Places 2020 in the Top Midsized Companies category. The Orlando Sentinel surveyed 94 Central Florida companies, combining a total of 10,000 employees. Out of the 94, 77 companies, including OCLS, were chosen for the list. The library placed 10th in the Top Midsized Companies category, which included companies with 150 to 499 employees.  

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Southwest Branch Closing for Maintenance

Southwest Branch will be closed on Monday, March 25 and Tuesday, March 26 for replacement of the HVAC unit. The book drop will remain open and we plan to resume normal operating hours on Wednesday, March 27.