Libraries
In 1924, the Booker T. Washington Branch of the Albertson Public Library in downtown Orlando opened to serve Parramore and West Orlando at a time when the deeply segregated city did not welcome black residents into its main branch. The library was housed in the former rectory of St. John's Episcopal Church, and had two reading rooms and a collection of over 1,000 books. The first head librarian, Eddie T. Jackson, was also the first black librarian in Orlando. Jackson was a member of the NAACP and the National Council of Negro Women and an Orange County school teacher for 34 years. The Booker T. Washington Library continues today in its current location in the Lila Mitchell Community Center in the MetroWest neighborhood of west Orlando. In recent years, the Little Free Library program has brought books into the Parramore community again. This national book exchange program began in 2009, and now has two dozen locations in Orlando, with several in the Parramore neighborhood. The small book depositories provide book borrowing for free, with the expectation that the borrower will return the book after reading. Donations of books are encouraged. In the spring of 2013, a Little Free Library opened at 212 S. Parramore Avenue to provide residents with a free way to access and share literature. The library is sponsored by the Orlando City Soccer Club and New Image Youth Center. In May 2021, Orlando Utilities Commission helped to open four new Little Free Libraries in Parramore. These are located at John H. Jackson Neighborhood Center, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Shiloh Baptist Church of Orlando, and the New Image Youth Center. ==References==