Celebrating Decades of History at the Orange Public Library

The earliest version of the Orange Public Library, established in 1885, consisted of 300 volumes, charged its subscribers dues of $2.00 to join, and predated the official incorporation of the City of Orange in 1888. With a history spanning over 130 years, the Library has changed location, shape, and size in order to meet the needs of the City. Throughout this time, the Library has celebrated its history and significance, marking anniversaries and major events.

The current version of the Library was dedicated in 2007 as the Orange Public Library & History Center. The Library was renovated and expanded to meet the needs of the community and to honor the history of that community. The City of Orange has a long tradition of preserving its history, which includes the Old Towne Historic District that consists of over 1,300 homes and buildings and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. With its expansion the Library was able to offer dedicated space to local history, enabling residents and researchers the ability to access its rich historical archive.

The current Library building, the Orange Public Library & History Center in 2007.

In 2017, the Library celebrated ten years of the Orange Public Library & History Center. This event marked a decade of library service that focused on one of the City’s strategic goals, to “Recognize, promote and preserve Orange’s rich heritage.” The staff-led celebration staged a variety of events and activities throughout the year designed to celebrate not just the ten years of the new Library building, but decades of library service to the community.

The 10 Year Anniversary Committee consisted of Library staff from various divisions including Administration, Adult & Branch Services, Children & Teen Services, Lending Services, and Local History. Those who participated were able to contribute ideas about how to best celebrate the Library in ways that would engage patrons and visitors of all ages. Library staff involvement was not limited to the committee members; other library staff assisted with the creation of promotional materials, programming, and organizing events.

Commemorative library card for the ten year anniversary in 2017.

The yearlong program, “OPL Through the Decades: Ten Years of the Orange Public Library & History Center” focused on highlighting the recent successes of the Library in serving the public, while also celebrating the long history of the Library in the City of Orange. The celebration kicked off on April of 2017 with an Open House event, featuring library tours, children’s activities, a photo booth, speakers, and refreshments. A booklet that highlighted library services and staff was also designed and made available to the public.

2017 Orange Public Library Board of Trustees at Open House celebration.

Topics of presentation at the Open House included the history of the Library, as well as the process that led to the renovation and expansion of the Library in 2007. Discussion of library history included its earliest days, when it was housed in the Orange Hotel in the downtown City Plaza. The collection was then donated to the City, and the Orange Free Library was established in 1894. In 1905 construction began on a Carnegie library building, which opened to serve the community in 1908. Since then, the Library building has continued to reside at the same location. The Carnegie library building was replaced by a larger, more modern building in 1961. After a renovation in the late 1990s, the growing needs of the Orange community dictated the need for a larger library, which led to a grant award of $9.13 million through the Library Bond Act for a new building.

The Open House celebration in 2017 was similar in concept to an event that was held to celebrate the Orange Public Library’s 55th anniversary in 1949. Featured in the local newspaper the Orange Daily News, the Open House was celebrated in conjunction with National Book Week in November of that year. During the weeklong event, Library employees conducted tours of the Library and featured a display of “a large collection of old pictures tracing the history of the Orange library from its founding as a free library in 1894 to the present” (Orange Daily News, November 14, 1949).

Orange Daily News, November 14, 1949.

While the 55th anniversary focused on a weeklong Open House, the 10th anniversary of the new Library building kicked off with an Open House, but continued with activities through to the end of the year. In addition to the creation of commemorative library cards, bookmarks, and tote bags for the public, monthly activities were scheduled throughout the Orange Public Libraries. This included highlighting divisions in the Orange Public Library & History Center and the two branch libraries, Charles P. Taft Branch Library and El Modena Branch Library. These activities offered library patrons the opportunity to learn more about the history of the Library and to win prizes funded by the Friends of the Orange Public Library and the Orange Public Library Foundation.

The Open House event and all activities throughout the year were supported by the Friends of the Orange Public Library and the Orange Public Library Foundation. These support groups provided funding for the celebration and assisted staff during the anniversary events and activities. They also promoted the anniversary celebration activities. Additionally, the Orange Public Library Board of Trustees volunteered to lead tours and participate in the Open House program that took place on April 22, 2017.

The Orange Public Library continues to celebrate its history; 2018 marks the 40th Anniversary of the El Modena Branch Library. This will be commemorated with an anniversary event in November focusing on its history and featuring the dedication of a new Seed Lending Library. 2019 will see the Charles P. Taft Branch Library celebrating 50 years of service. As a capstone to these celebrations, the year 2020 will see the Orange Public Library as an institution commemorating 135 years of outstanding service to the City of Orange.

Events celebrating the history of the Library are an important way in which to interact with the community. Through the celebration of library services, the community is able to celebrate their own history through their patronage of the Library. Library anniversaries and milestones can be marked in a variety of ways, large and small. The availability of funding can dictate the ways in which these are celebrated, which makes the involvement of library support groups very important. They can be asked to provide refreshments for events, fund the creation of booklets and pamphlets that celebrate library histories, or assist with tours and programs. Where funding is not available, there are many ways to commemorate anniversaries. Displays featuring photographs, books, and items with historic importance can be featured in a library. Slideshows can be created and made available on library websites.

As libraries evolve to serve the needs of the community, it is important to recognize significant milestones. Through its efforts to fulfill its mission statement, “Together we strive to preserve local history and to provide equal access to information, ideas and knowledge through books, programs and technology,” the Orange Public Library celebrates the community and its history.