The Osceola Library System is a public library system located in the Kissimmee, Florida area of Central Florida. The main branch is the Hart Memorial Central Library in historic downtown Kissimmee. The system has four large branch locations in Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Buenaventura Lakes, and Poinciana; two smaller branches in West Osceola (Celebration), and Kenansville; and one annex library in Narcoossee. Additionally, a fully automated lending station was installed at the Chambers Park Community Center with the help of an award from the Library Services Technology Act Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences to further provide resources to the community.
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The Osceola Library System was named Florida Library of the Year by the FLA for 2007 for Innovation in Customer Service.
History
Prior to 1989, the system had a cooperative arrangement with the Orange County Library System to provide library service for Osceola County residents. On April 1, 1989 the system began operations as an independent entity offering county-wide library service. Originally consisting of three small branches and a total book collection of approximately 70,000 volumes, explosive growth was experienced over the ensuing years.
Since operations began in 1989, the collection has increased to over 343,000 books and a combined audio/video collection of over 13,000. Located in the heart of one of the world's favorite tourist destinations, it has seen library visits increase to almost 500,000 a year with a circulation of over 625,000 resources.
In April 2007, Osceola Library System was named Library of the Year 2007 for Innovation in Customer Service by the Florida Library Association. The Library was recognized for the implementation of a new customer friendly service model that removed desks and the stereotypical image of the librarian, and replaced them with smaller checkout pods, approachable staff, and more interactive areas for children, families, and teens.
On January 3, 2012, the Osceola Library System became the first library system in Florida to outsource its management to the independent library management company, LSSi (Library Systems & Services LLC).
In early 2016, it was announced that four branches would undergo $5 million in renovations for upgrades and are expected to be completed at the beginning of 2017.
Services
Each full-service library has reference librarians, public internet access computers, a wide range of in-library online databases, fiction and non-fiction books, magazines and newspapers, audio-visual resources featuring DVDs, books on CD and music, as well as adult, teen, and children's programming.
The library often hosts community events and the reference department participates in Ask-a-Librarian.
Osceola Library System is among the first wave of libraries embracing the concept of Web 2.0. The Library website incorporates blogs, rss feeds and e-notification features, Facebook with a Calendar of Events, Flickr photo albums, and other forms of social networking.