Your Orange County Library Card Does Much More Than Check Out Books — Wait Until You See the Melrose Center

Orange County’s public library system offers much more than books. Residents can record music in a professional studio, learn photography and video production, use 3D printers, take technology classes, borrow unusual equipment and even get free admission to some Central Florida attractions. Here’s what your library card can actually unlock.

When was the last time you used your library card?

If the answer is sometime around 1998, it may be time to take another look.

The modern Orlando Public Library isn’t simply a building filled with books.

And the broader Orange County Library System increasingly looks less like the library many of us remember from childhood and more like a combination of:

A library.

A technology school.

A makerspace.

A recording studio.

A photography studio.

A community center.

A career-development resource.

And, in some cases, even a way to get into Central Florida cultural attractions without paying admission.

The biggest surprise may be sitting on the second floor of the downtown Orlando library.

It’s called the Dorothy Lumley Melrose Center for Technology, Innovation and Creativity.

And if you’ve never heard of it, you’re probably not alone.

There’s a Technology Center Inside the Downtown Orlando Library

The Melrose Center occupies space inside the Orlando Public Library at 101 E. Central Boulevard, just a short walk from Lake Eola.

This isn’t a couple of computers sitting beside the reference desk.

The Melrose Center contains specialized facilities for audio production, photography, video production, 3D design and fabrication, simulation and other creative technologies.

Much of it can be used by eligible Orange County Library cardholders after completing the appropriate orientation and training.

That distinction matters.

The library isn’t simply letting you look at expensive equipment through a window.

It teaches you how to use it.

You Can Record Music in a Professional Audio Studio

This may be the most surprising service.

The Melrose Center contains a genuine professional-grade audio production studio.

Library cardholders who complete the Melrose Center’s general orientation and the required Audio Studio orientation and assessment can reserve free four-hour recording sessions.

And we’re not talking about a USB microphone connected to a laptop.

The current equipment inventory includes professional microphones from companies such as Neumann, Shure, Sennheiser, AKG and Royer, along with studio monitors, microphone preamps, mixing and recording equipment.

There are also instruments available, including electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitars, a drum kit, synthesizer equipment and even a Steinway upright piano.

Think about what that means for someone trying to get started.

Want to record a song?

Create a podcast?

Record narration?

Produce an audiobook?

Experiment with music production?

Normally, professional studio time can become expensive very quickly.

Orange County residents have access to something remarkably similar through their public library.

You Can Learn Professional Photography

There’s also a dedicated photography studio.

The Melrose Center offers a structured training path covering studio lighting, backgrounds, camera operation and photography equipment.

The current program includes hands-on training with DSLR and mirrorless cameras and specifically identifies Canon 6D Mark II and Canon R5 cameras among the equipment used in its training and access program.

You don’t simply borrow an expensive camera and hope for the best.

Participants can take:

Photography studio orientation.

Studio-equipment training.

Camera training.

And an access assessment demonstrating that they understand how to use the equipment safely.

Once trained, that opens some interesting possibilities.

Take professional-looking product photos for a small business.

Learn portrait photography.

Create photographs for a website.

Practice lighting techniques.

Develop skills before spending thousands of dollars buying your own equipment.

For someone wondering whether photography might become a hobby or even a business, that’s an unusually inexpensive way to find out.

There’s a Video Production Studio Too

Video has become an everyday communication tool.

YouTube.

TikTok.

Instagram.

Small-business advertising.

Training videos.

Online classes.

Interviews.

Documentaries.

Podcasts.

The Melrose Center’s general orientation includes access pathways for its Video Production Studio along with photography and audio production facilities.

That’s especially relevant today because professional content creation no longer belongs exclusively to television stations and production companies.

A local restaurant needs video.

A real-estate agent needs video.

A nonprofit needs video.

A teenager considering film school needs video experience.

A small business trying to reach customers online needs video.

Learning those skills at the library before buying equipment makes a lot of sense.

Yes, Your Library Has 3D Printers

The Melrose Center also operates a fabrication lab.

And this is where things get even more interesting.

The current Fab Lab training program includes 3D design and 3D printing.

Participants can learn to create objects using software such as Blender and Moment of Inspiration before learning how to prepare those objects for physical printing.

The library teaches the entire basic workflow:

Design something digitally.

Turn it into a three-dimensional model.

Prepare the model for printing.

Set the printing parameters.

Then manufacture the physical object.

The Melrose Center requires orientation and an access assessment before users independently book its 3D printers.

That’s a good thing.

These are real fabrication tools, not toys.

Why 3D Printing at a Library Is More Useful Than It Sounds

You don’t need to be an engineer to find this useful.

Imagine a plastic bracket breaks on an older appliance and the replacement part is no longer manufactured.

You could potentially learn to model it.

A student needs to create something for a science project.

Design it and print it.

An entrepreneur has an idea for a product.

Build a prototype before paying a manufacturer.

Someone wants to learn computer-aided design.

Start with an actual object you can hold in your hand.

This is where libraries are becoming something very different from what they were 30 years ago.

They’re not just giving people access to information.

They’re increasingly giving people access to tools.

The Melrose Center Has a Simulation Lab

The center also includes a Simulation Lab, another facility introduced during the required general orientation.

That’s particularly appropriate in Orlando.

Central Florida has one of the country’s most significant modeling, simulation and training industries, driven partly by the military training commands and defense companies clustered around the region.

Simulation technology is used in aviation, defense, medicine, transportation, entertainment and education.

A teenager experimenting with simulation at the public library could be getting an early introduction to an actual Central Florida career field.

That’s one reason we think parents of middle- and high-school students should know the Melrose Center exists.

You Don’t Have to Know How Any of This Works

This may be the most important point.

You aren’t expected to arrive knowing how to operate professional recording equipment or a 3D printer.

Teaching you is part of the service.

The Melrose Center offers a General Orientation that introduces its Photography Studio, Video Production Studio, Audio Production Studio, Fab Lab and Simulation Lab.

Individual facilities then have their own training tracks.

For example, someone interested in 3D printing can progress through design classes, printer orientation and a machine-access assessment.

Someone interested in photography follows the photography training path.

That’s much more useful than simply placing expensive equipment in a room.

The Rest of the Orange County Library System Is Worth Rediscovering Too

The Melrose Center may provide the attention-grabbing technology, but the broader Orange County Library System offers plenty of resources people overlook.

Orange County’s library system has historically operated 15 locations, with major expansion projects underway to serve fast-growing areas such as Horizon West and Lake Nona.

Individual branches offer computers, educational programs, children’s activities, technology classes, meeting spaces and specialized resources.

The West Oaks Branch Library and Genealogy Center in Ocoee, for example, serves as the system’s major genealogy center.

Other branches specialize in serving their surrounding communities.

But you don’t necessarily have to visit a branch to benefit from the system.

The Library Can Deliver Books to Your House

This is another service many Orange County residents don’t realize exists.

It’s called Books by MAYL — Materials Access from Your Library.

The program grew out of Orange County’s long history of providing library materials to residents who weren’t close to a branch.

OCLS says the service continues to deliver library materials directly to customers throughout Orange County.

So in some situations you don’t have to drive to the library to pick up the book.

The library can come to you.

That’s particularly useful in a county as geographically large as Orange County.

The Library Has Loaned Wi-Fi Hotspots

OCLS has also expanded the definition of what a library can lend.

Its Library of Things initiative has included Wi-Fi hotspots, health-related equipment and educational and craft resources.

The system previously purchased 1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots for lending to adult customers who lacked internet access at home for educational needs. Demand became so strong that all 1,000 were checked out and a waiting list developed.

The library subsequently decided to continue funding the service after its initial federal connectivity funding ended.

That makes sense.

In 2026, access to information doesn’t simply mean owning books.

It means having internet access.

You May Even Be Able to Borrow a Blood-Pressure Monitor

Here’s another unusual library item.

Through its Libraries with Heart program, OCLS partnered with the American Heart Association and HCA Florida Healthcare to provide blood-pressure monitoring kits that customers can check out using a library card.

Library staff have also offered programs teaching residents how to properly measure and monitor their blood pressure.

That’s an excellent example of how the concept of a “Library of Things” works.

Instead of purchasing an item you might need only temporarily, the community owns a collection that residents can share.

Your Library Card Can Also Get You Into Orlando Attractions

This may be the benefit families will appreciate most.

OCLS operates a program called Local Wanderer.

The concept is wonderfully simple:

Check out admission to a cultural attraction almost like you’d check out a book.

Participating organizations provide passes that eligible library cardholders can reserve online. Depending on the participating organization, a pass may provide admission for the cardholder and sometimes additional guests.

Past participating institutions have included the Orlando Science Center, Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Offerings and ticket availability change, so don’t assume a particular attraction will always be available.

But that’s precisely why it’s worth checking regularly.

A family could potentially save a substantial amount of money by using a library benefit they already have.

That’s a Very Different Definition of a Library Card

Think about everything we’re talking about.

Books.

E-books.

Home delivery.

Internet access.

Technology classes.

Professional recording.

Photography.

Video production.

3D design.

3D printing.

Simulation.

Cultural attraction passes.

Community events.

Career resources.

Health equipment.

Genealogy research.

That’s why describing the Orange County Library System as somewhere to “borrow books” doesn’t really explain what taxpayers have built.

Parents Should Take Their Teenagers to the Melrose Center

Of all the people who could benefit, teenagers may have the most to gain.

Ask a teenager:

Would you like to try photography?

Record music?

Make a video?

Design a 3D object?

Learn Blender?

Explore simulation?

Create digital content?

Those questions tend to produce a different reaction than:

“Would you like to go to the library?”

And yet they’re talking about the same place.

More importantly, these activities expose young people to skills that can turn into careers.

Photography.

Audio engineering.

Film production.

Game development.

3D modeling.

Engineering.

Digital design.

Simulation.

Manufacturing.

A teenager doesn’t have to know which career they want.

That’s the point.

Let them try things.

Small-Business Owners Should Pay Attention Too

The same applies to adults.

Suppose you’re starting a small business.

You need product photography.

A promotional video.

Graphics.

Maybe a prototype.

Perhaps a podcast.

Professional services for all of those things can become expensive.

Learning how to create some of them yourself won’t replace a professional when professional work is required.

But it can dramatically reduce the cost of experimentation.

The library becomes a place where an idea can start before someone has the money to build a studio or workshop.

Start With the General Orientation

If the Melrose Center interests you, don’t simply arrive expecting to walk into the recording studio.

Start with the General Orientation for the Melrose Center.

That introduction explains the available creative spaces, upcoming classes and the training required for specialized equipment.

After that, choose what you actually want to learn.

Audio.

Photography.

Video.

Fabrication.

Simulation.

You don’t need to learn everything.

Pick one.

The Melrose Center is located inside the Orlando Public Library at 101 E. Central Blvd. in downtown Orlando.

Current Melrose technology information and class tracks are available through the Melrose Center website, while general library services, cards and events are available through the Orange County Library System.

Maybe It’s Time to Get a Library Card Again

Libraries face an interesting problem.

Almost everyone knows what a library is.

But that familiarity can actually hide what modern libraries have become.

We remember shelves.

Reference books.

Encyclopedias.

The librarian reminding us to be quiet.

Those things formed our idea of a library decades ago.

Meanwhile, Orange County’s library system kept evolving.

Today, someone can walk into the downtown Orlando library and learn how to operate a professional camera.

Or record music.

Or create a three-dimensional model.

Or learn fabrication.

Or experiment with simulation technology.

Or find out whether a Central Florida attraction is available through Local Wanderer.

And yes, you can still check out a book.

Sometimes one of the most useful things to do in Orlando isn’t something new that just opened.

It’s something that’s been here all along that we stopped paying attention to.

The Orange County Library System may be one of them.