Orange County Library System

If you live in Orange County and don’t have a library card SHAME ON YOU! The OCLS has so many awesome resources beyond just books, you are missing out! Just walk up to the desk by the entrance, bring your ID and a bill confirming you’re a resident, and bingo bango, you got a card that opens up the possibilities to so many cool features.
Aside from having many locations all over the county, the downtown location is huge, and boasts the Melrose Center, with classes that cover your every interest.
The Melrose Center hosts a ton of resources, including a recording studio, 3D printer labs, a simulation center (looking to fly a plane?), and classes and resources to encourage your creative brain.
They also offer computer classes, so you can brush up on the ever-​changing Microsoft Office. And a computer lab for those days when your lap top crashes and you still have work to do.
And, with options to have your library books delivered to your home for FREE, or using Overdrive to check out E-​books, you can enjoy what OCLS has to offer without even leaving home– so stay in your pajamas and have the library come to you.
Seriously, our library here in Orange County is so great. Get out there and enjoy everything our Orange County Library System has to offer!

I stumbled upon the public library on a rainy day. From the outside it seemed like any other public library. When I came in, I was amazed at how modern and clean the library was. It was virtually spotless and smelled like a hotel. There were so many places to sit and subtle jazz music playing in the background. The ambience was perfect to study.
The chairs are very comfortable. The only downsides to this place are the crying children and the lack of wifi. I couldn’t really find a network to connect to so I ended up streaming from my personal hot spot. The bright side is that the library was EXTREMELY organized and had a huge selection of everything.

THE BEST LIBRARY EVER!!! So huge, great selection, people are nice and it’s cool literally in downtown Orlando! Loved the library! Thought it strange that wifi isn’t free unless u have a library card otherwise u can pay $ 10 for a week but still give it 5 stars. U can even eat and drink on the reference floor where there are work tables. How cool is that! This library made me want to live in Orlando!

I love libraries but have an extremely love-​hate relationship with the Orange County Public Library. This one is the worst that I’ve been to. Yes, the Orange County Public Library has a decent selection and some great offerings (classes, home delivery, electronic media) but customer service is below par. This particular library is the worst. The breaking point for me was when they made feel like a thief because they screwed up and didn’t properly deactivate the sensor on a book I had. Every time I have been to this library I’ve had some kind of unpleasant experience because of the staff. It really is a shame, considering it is a beautiful library.

Learning does not cost much so come learn all you can while working your mind. We have some much free things that no one make use of but its time to learn so we can shape the future.

How does Dude living 15.3 miles away — in another COUNTY — get to be Duke with a gazillion check-​ins? As a volunteer for Mayor Buddy Dyer’s Book Club — assigned to the downtown library for the past 18 months or so — I get the privilege of coming here every Thursday and reading books with kiddies. So as such, I’m a guest here, and not eligible for any privileges that the natives enjoy. I thought I could get a ‘guest card’ or something, seeing how I’m donating a chunk of my precious time! I’m told that even if Mayor Dyer’s mother wanted a library card, she’d have to pay if she lives outside of Orange. The figure quoted unofficially was north of a Benjamin Franklin.
That’s a shame, because this really is a fantastic facility. With Book Club finishing at 530, I usually stick around until traffic clears up before I make my trek back to that OTHER county — that means I’ve had the chance to explore. At 5 sprawling floors high, the first words you can think of might be «spacious» and «expansive»: books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, talking books … I’m sure I haven’t even begun to touch on half of what they have to offer. There are lots of electronic gadgetries available; the second floor, for instance, has a huge bank of computers that seem to be always half occupied. There are meeting rooms, gift shop, and other facilities.
One thing I like — which others may not — is their attitude toward (and treatment of) the homeless. Being where they are located, there’s always a parade of scraggly folks in the bathroom, cleaning up, often carrying all their worldly possessions in a backpack or a little cart that trails them. It always give me pangs to see folks in such a state. «There, but for the grace of God, go I!» So I like the fact that the library is somewhat tolerant of these visitors, giving them some measure of shelter where otherwise they may have none. There are obligatory signs saying «No bathing» or some such warning, but I’ve never really seen it policed, nor does it seem necessary, as the facilities are more tidy than 95% of the ones you’d encounter in any given gas station. They DO take the ‘precaution’ of not providing paper towels — nothing but pretty old and worn-​out hand dryers here.
So now that I’ve given you 4-​stars, Ms. Orange County Library system, do I get a free guest pass? No? Is it on account of it being ‘only’ 4-​stars? I’d gladly change it to ‘5’! Still no? What do you mean it’s against ‘Yelp’ policy? I can talk to Jeremy about that. Put him on the line this minute…

I’ve been to this library many times throughout my life and will continue to visit this location. Currently sitting at a table writing my review. Very quiet here and very respectable area to study. I love the amount of events, activities, and resources this library gives to cardholders such as the commuter programs. I have completed most of the Microsoft programs thanks to the library for free! These programs look great on my résumé! :)
I just wish there was free parking, let alone more parking.

Substantive library in downtown orlando. Interesting historic building, nice children’s area, close proximity to lake eola park. Nice and easy family activity.
A few negatives: lack of free parking, maybe not the safest area to walk through alone in the dark

I love this place! I mean, what’s not to love?! Free children’s events and computer classes, plus, the fabulous new Technology and Innovation Center on the 2^nd floor is a can’t miss! The collection is great too, and you can return materials to any one of the OCLS locations.

This is, by far, one of the most amazing libraries I have been in. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but I promise, it is so worth it. This was the closest branch that was open on a Sunday and I needed some new books, so I decided to drive the extra distance to check it out.
I don’t often drive in downtown Orlando, so parking was a little bit of a challenge. I really hate paying for parking, but ended up just parking in the garage across the street. It’s $ 2/​hour which isn’t too bad.
The library has 4 humongous floors. The 1^st floor has the children’s books, CDs, and fiction. There is more than enough of a selection to choose from. There was also a children’s play going on when I arrived, which was interesting to see. The 2^nd floor has the largest computer lab that I have ever seen at a library and it was packed. There is also a wonderful used bookstore and everything is very cheap. I bought a couple of fiction books for $ 1.50 each. The 3^rd floor has a huge selection of reference books, a number of private meeting rooms, and lots of tables for people to work at. The top floor has even more reference books. Both the 3^rd and 4^th floor were very quiet, so these would be a good place to go to get some work done.
I think I spent almost 2 hours wandering around this library and probably could have spent more time if I didn’t have anything to do that day. I was really blown away by all of the resources they have and there was always someone from the library on each floor to ask questions. I will definitely be back.

4^th floor great place to read or study with a view of downtown. Laptops are welcome, plugs a’ plenty. One caveat though, it is used by many homeless so expect a moderate amount of noise like in any college library. I rectify this problem by bringing headphones and playing tunes.
Geneology dept is great too. check it!

Downtown Orlando! Great location!
I love libraries and this one does not disappoint!
I stopped in needing to print a document and to do so as quickly as possible. Ended up not doing that but had a moment to enjoy the beautiful library centrally located in beautiful Downtown Orlando!
The price of printing for a visitor who does not have an Orlando library card is $ 5 for a pc card, .50 for a print card and .15 cents a page. Considering I only needed to print one sheet of paper and didn’t have the cash option they would only accept.
But if you happen to live in Orlando and are looking for a beautiful library to use, I’d urge you to consider this location.

I guess it is hard not to love a building full of books… books are my happy place. Some libraries do exceed expectations, and this is one of them. On my first visit with my brand spanking new card in hand (you can order it online, how cool is that??) I was genuinely impressed with the size of this Library.
Yes it is the main library, so that is to be expected. It is however quite complete — I found Christopher Rice and Anne Rices latest novels on the shelf the day after their release, and got slightly distracted at the rows of books. By slightly I mean I totally ended up spending a long time just browsing.
There are classes, for free! Yup check them out online, and also special events. It is the Halloween season, so scary movies for adults (as an empty nester I appreciate adult only events), ghost stories and more.
Everyone I had contact with, which by the way was because they were asking me if I needed help, not me trying to get help and not getting anyone like in other cities (cough, cough Miami) here they really go out of their way and are truly pleasant.
If there is a but… which there kind of is… it is the fact that it is downtown and therefore has no parking lot for patrons. If you are in your car you have to pay for parking. Street parking has a two hour limit and as a very nice gentleman who works there explained, it is a limit per zone which means that even if you move your car you better make sure you are not in the same zone, otherwise you get a ticket. There is a parking garage that charges $ 2 per hour. So street parking would be cheapest.

Ok, so I’m gonna do what we all do at some point. Drive up I95. Way up. So, I swung by the OCLS, and was just blown away by the size of the collection. I was just looking for one or two books on CD, and walked out with about 30 selections. I’m completely overwhelmed.
Don’t be intimidated by it’s look. Don’t worry that much about the parking– although it’s not free…
Enjoy your Library. It’s magnificent!