Who We Are
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Hart Memorial Central Library

Vision

The Osceola Library System is a seamless part of people's life routine. The Library is a place of connections between people, information, the community and personal discovery.

Mission

Everyone is part of the Library, as the Library is part of everyone. Anyone who comes to the Library, regardless of method, will return to the Library as they would any other accepted aspect of their life routine.

A Short History

The Library District was created by County Ordinance 79-2, adopted March 26, 1979, and serves to provide comprehensive Library services to all County residents. The governing board of the Library District is the Board of County Commissioners. The Board levies the property taxes necessary to operate the Library District, adopts the annual budget, and approves debt issuances. Prior to 1989, the Orange County Library System provided library service to Osceola residents on a contractual basis. On April 1, 1989, the Osceola Library System began operations as an independent organization offering Library service to all residents of Osceola County. The Osceola Library System opened with three, small branches and a total book collection of 70,000 volumes.


Our Collections

The Library offers materials in many formats:
  • Popular Titles / Bestsellers
  • Adult Fiction and Nonfiction books
  • DVDs
  • Music CDs
  • CD books
  • Downloadable audio books
    • The Osceola Library System now offers downloadable audio books! After visiting your local Library location to register, you can download audio books from any computer connected to the Web and running Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher using NetLibrary. View the downloadable audio book help sheet to get started.
  • Juvenile Fiction and Nonfiction books
  • Teen collections including graphic novels, CD books and comic books
  • Easy books for babies to early readers
  • Spanish resources and World Language resources
  • Reference collection
  • Magazines and Newspapers
    • Each library subscribes to a wide array of magazines and newspapers. Current periodicals do not circulate but are left on display for customers to browse. At all locations, past issues of magazines can be checked out.
  • Law Library
    • The Law Library is in the Hart Memorial Central Library. This is a reference-only collection; no resources circulate. The majority of books deal with Florida and Federal laws, with some self-help books available. The WestLaw legal research database is available to in-library researchers. Limited reference service is available. Absolutely no legal advice will be provided per Florida Statute 454.23 which states that it is illegal to practice law without a license.
  • Online research databases
  • Genealogy
    • The Genealogy Lab is at the Hart Memorial Central Library. The collection consists of research tools such as passenger lists, marriage records, magazines, how-to guides, microfilm and research databases aimed at the amateur genealogist. Members from the Genealogy Club of Osceola County will assist you in your genealogy research. They are at the Central Library on Tuesdays from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. and Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
  • Interlibrary Loan
    • If you want a resource that is at least one year old and not part of our collection, we will request it for you, free of charge, through the Interlibrary Loan service. For more information about Interlibrary Loan, contact your nearest library in Osceola County.