Lake Nona—One Step Closer to a Library

LAKE NONA—

ONE STEP CLOSER to a LIBRARY

BY ASHLEY CISNEROS MEJIA

Returning your library books just became quite a bit easier for Lake Nona area residents. The Orange County Library System (OCLS) recently worked with the leadership of Valencia College–Lake Nona to install a new return drop box on campus. Local residents have discussed the need for a library branch in the Lake Nona area for some time. The library’s home-delivery program makes it easy for patrons to request books and materials on the library website OCLS.info and to have them delivered to their homes for free. Returning borrowed materials used to require a trip to a brick-and-mortar branch outside of the area.

Instead of having to drive north to the branch on Semoran Boulevard or southwest to the branch near Hunters Creek, Lake Nona area residents can pull up to the drop box at Valencia College–Lake Nona to return books, DVDs and CDs easily and efficiently right here in our community. Items inside the drop box are picked up by the library six days a week— Monday through Saturday.

To find the drop box, head to the Valencia College–Lake Nona campus at 12350 Narcoossee Road and circle around to the parking lot behind the building. The drop box is located on Andric Lane near the college parking lot area that’s closest to Lake Nona High School. Getting materials delivered to your doorstep for free isn’t the only perk of having an OCLS library card. You can also download audiobooks, digital magazines and Kindle books. Your library card allows you to use free apps to learn languages or new skills and grants you access to free classes, online events, and free admission to local theaters and museums. Register for your card online and it will be mailed to your home: ocls.info/using-library/get-or-replaceyour-card

The library administration and Board of Trustees are currently considering several potential locations for a possible future branch in the Lake Nona area. One cost-effective opportunity is to co-locate a branch within the City of Orlando at a planned new government center on Dowden Road. To share your support for a library in our community, please sign and share the community petition at: change.org/nonalibrary l