History of Orlando’s African American Libraries

ABOVE: Alice Grace at Booker T. Washington Library

Plaque Commemorating the Booker T. Washington Library

On December 30, 2001, the Orange County Library System and the Shiloh Baptist Church celebrated the history of the former Booker T. Washington Library with the placement of a commemorative bronze plaque at the previous site of the library at 528 West Jackson Street. The building now houses the T. C. Collier Center, which belongs to the church.

History of the Booker T. Washington Library

John Martin of the Orange County Library System, prepared a brief history on the Booker T. Washington Library. The collection of documents, newspaper articles, annual reports and advertisements accumulated to create the history contain interesting information on the need for the new 1954 library and its construction.

Searchable History of the Booker T. Washington Library (Use the Ctrl F keys and insert a search term.)
Part 1 – 1924-1925      Part 2 – 1926-1952      Part 3 – 1952-1954      Part 4 – 1955-1962      Part 5 – 1963-1984

In the beginning – 1924

The Booker T. Washington Branch of the Albertson Public Library served residents of the west Orlando community. The original Booker T. Washington Library opened on June 11, 1924 in what had been the rectory of St. John’s Episcopal Church at 107 South Terry Street.

Above: St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Booker T. Washington Library in the former rectory, and the church Day Nursery.

Officers of the library commission that oversaw the library in 1924 were Dr. T. V. Williams, president; R. L.  Ellerson, secretary; and Nurse K. B. Taylor, treasurer. An executive committee included Dr. William Wells, Dr. Henry Wooden and L. C. Jones.

The Booker T. Washington Branch of the Albertson Public Library served residents of the west Orlando community for thirty years in this building. 

The City of Orlando began construction of the new Booker T. Washington Library building at 548 West Jackson Street in April 1954. Mrs. Thelma Jackson, president of the BTW Friends of the Libreary and Z. L. Riley of the Negro Chamber of Commerce participated in the groundbreaking ceremony on April 28, 1954. The new library was completed and opened to the public in August 1954.

ABOVE: Blueprint showing elevations of the 1954 Booker T. Washington library. View all the blueprints under Images below.

The library continued to serve the community until 1984 when it was incorporated into the Washington Park Library in the Lila Mitchell Community Center on Raleigh Street.

ABOVE: The new Booker T. Washington Branch on West Jackson. Photo from the 1962-1963 Orlando Negro Chamber of Commerce.

The City of Orlando owned the building until 1994 when the Shiloh Baptist Church purchased it. The Church renamed the building the T.C. Collier Center in 1995.

Listen as Orange County Library System storyteller Crystal Sullivan interviews librarian Alice Grace about the history of the Booker T. Washington, Washington Shores, and the Washington Park branch libraries in this interview from January 25, 2012.

LISTEN (2:55) Alice Grace

Librarians

Eddie Thomas Jackson – Orlando’s First African American Librarian

ABOVE: Mrs. Eddie T. Jackson, Orange County Library System’s first African American Librarian. She was assisted by nurse K. B. Taylor who did public health work in the schools.

Mrs. Linda Reddick became the librarian in 1946 when Mrs. Jackson retired. Mrs. Dorothy McDuffie Butts stared working at the BTW library as early as 1942. She continued to work at the library in various capacities for more than thirty years. She served as the Branch librarian from 1948-1953.

Mrs. Gloria Riley Merriett became the branch librarian in 1953, and facilitated the move to the new building at 548 Jackson Street in 1954. Mrs. Nareda H. Hunt succeeded Mrs. Merriett as librarian in 1955.

Mrs. Del Jupiter served as branch librarian from 1958-1962 and Mrs. Dorothy Burns joined the staff of the branch in 1958. She succeeded Mrs. Jupiter as branch librarian in 1962, and was still librarian when the Booker T. Washington and Washington Shores branches merged and moved in the to new Washington Park Library in the Lila Mitchell Community Center on Raleigh Street in April 1984. Mrs. Burns’ dedicated service to the community at BTW and Washington Park spanned more than three decades!

Read more about Eddie T. Jackson’s life and legacy on the Orange County Library System’s blog.

Explore the Images and Documents below under Attachments. Click on the first image to begin the slide show.