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From the Director, January 2020

From the Director,January 2020

The New Year is here, and our staff is ready to hit the ground running! We have an exciting month ahead for you in January, starting with the reopening of our Southeast Branch, which has been closed for a refresh since December 1. When the branch reopens on January 7, expect a fresh new look, including new carpeting, paint and a very special mural in the children’s area created by our very own Lead Graphic Designer Ben Garcia. Stop by soon for a visit and let us know what you think.

Later this month, we also partner with WUCF for an exclusive after-hours foodie experience to celebrate the release of Season Two of No Passport Required, a PBS series hosted by chef Marcus Samuelsson that offers viewers a culinary and anthropological adventure across America. Enjoy a sneak peek of the premier episode and an informal chat about Central Florida’s vibrant immigrant food culture with Faiyaz Kara of Orlando Weekly, Ricky Ly of TastyChomps.com and Bruno Fonseca of The Foreigner – A Culinary Experience. Explore the rich diversity of Central Florida’s local food scene with free tastes from restaurants covering a wide range of cultures and cuisines. This will be a popular event, and seating is limited, so you’ll want to register early.

We’re also excited to announce the launch of another partnership with WUCF that’s a truly unique collaboration between our two organizations. Every month, we open our Melrose Center audio studio for Melrose in the Mix, during which local musicians are invited to perform live in-studio before an intimate audience. Their recording sessions are captured on video, and we’ve been working with WUCF to produce a new TV series so even more people can experience the magic that takes place during these sessions. The first episode of the show is scheduled to air on WUCF on January 24, and we can’t wait for you to see it.

There’s a lot of exciting new things happening at library branches all across the system – if you haven’t stopped by in a while, make it a New Year’s resolution to stop by your nearest library branch soon. We’ll be happy to show you around!