‘Bookmobile’ returning
In 1949, the women of the Orlando Sorosis Club raised more than $6,000 for a school bus outfitted to become a mobile library, to be used by the Orange County Library System.
Along with an additional $10,000 from the county commission to operate the bus as an extension of what was then called the Albertson Public Library, the “Bookmobile” program was born. At its peak, the buses circulated 13,000 books a month, before the service ended after 30 years.
The Sorosis Club, a women’s civic organization, is spearheading its return, presenting a $100,000 check to the Orange County Library System on Saturday to kick off its 100-year anniversary celebration. The money was raised through the $1.1 million sale of the clubhouse on 501 E. Livingston St., in 2021, the funds for which also paid for scholarship programs and other philanthropic projects.
“Donating funds to help the library realize their plans brings us full circle,” said Susan Piner, president of the Sorosis Club. “... Our future may be uncertain, but we are certain that we made a difference.”
The original Bookmobiles roved communities like Ocoee, Windermere and areas of east Orange, where residents lived too far to visit the Downtown Orlando library. Once aboard, visitors would be met with shelves of books to check out and later return during a later stop.
The program made Orange the first in Florida to have countywide library services. But the maintenance costs of the dilapidated vehicles and customers preferring to use mail delivery services and visit the newly-erected library branches forced its discontinuation in 1979.
The newest iteration of the Bookmobile hopes to expand the offerings of the original, to include wi-fi and other digital resources along with issuing library cards to the community, said Steve Powell, OCLS director and CEO.
There is no timeline for when the Bookmobile program will be introduced or how many vehicles will be deployed.
“My vision for the library is not just for people to come to us,” Powell said. “My team’s focus is how can we deliver library services where people are. Whoever we can partner with and do good work for, we’re willing to do that.”
Saturday’s announcement came as OCLS began its yearlong celebration of a century of its existence in the community. Held at the Orlando Public Library, the kick-off event celebrated its continued existence from its beginnings from a vast personal collection of books donated by retired New York Police Department Capt. Charles Albertson.
That collection of more than 12,000 books became part of the Albertson Public Library in 1923, which stood on the corner of Central Boulevard and Rosaline Avenue before it was replaced by the current facility
40 years later. OCLS’s reach has expanded countywide, with branch locations doubling since 1980.
The library system now serves more than a million Orange residents, not including Winter Park and Maitland, and has a collection of more than 1.7 million books and other materials, according to OCLS figures.
Orange and City of Orlando mayors Jerry Demings and Buddy Dyer read proclamations honoring the county library system as part of the initial celebration, and a ribbon was cut along with other local dignitaries to rededicate the downtown library.
“My first memory of coming to the library was as a kindergartner — the first book I remember ever reading and checking out at the library was ‘Black Beauty,’ ” Demings said. “Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to come and share various experiences here. This is a wonderful gathering place for all people in our community.”
Powell, who was appointed OCLS director last August, hopes to introduce “book bikes” in the next few months that would be used to visit farmer’s markets and other community events to offer library services before the Bookmobile program is reintroduced.
He said his vision for the next 100 years is to expand its reach to communities still unserved by the current system. In October, Powell announced OCLS had eliminated fees for late returns and erased the debts held by cardholders, calling them “a barrier that prevents those who need libraries the most from using them.”
“We have a couple quotes; now that we’ve got money, we can seriously talk to these vendors,” Powell said. “We’re going to work on that ASAP.”