Library
Welcome to the 75th year of Arlington Public Library.
While it's hard to argue with balloons and confetti, we thought we'd mark the start of our 75th anniversary year doing what we do best: sharing information with our neighbors.
Picking up on the County initiative "Tell Arlington's Story," we're telling Arlington Public Library's story as a fun and interactive timeline. In the words of Board Chairman Christopher Zimmerman, it "means understanding where we came from and who we are, collectively."
Even a quick reading of the Library's timeline should detect some well-woven threads:
One chapter of the Library's story still seems hard to believe when seen in the rear-view mirror of a progressive 21st century county. Arlington, Va. practiced segregation even within its Library system, maintaining the Holmes Branch Library "for the colored people in the County" while American soldiers - black and white - were dying to defeat the Axis overseas.
As Lincoln said, "We cannot escape history."
The Library's Virginia Room at Central Library is the ideal reference source for creating a local history timeline such as ours. But credit also goes to Jeanne Rose, who as the Library's reference supervisor in 1960, had the foresight to write "A Brief History of the Arlington County Libraries" for the Arlington Historical Magazine. She followed up in the same publication with "Twenty Years After: The Arlington County Public Libraries, 1960-1980."
This is our story?for now. We look forward to writing the next 75 years with your help.So let's get started: If you've got a story of the Library changing your life in ways great or small, please take a moment and share the details with us so we can better reach out to others.
After all, our history is yours.
- Coming Soon: More Hours And Materials!
UPDATE 5/23: New hours will begin July 5, not July 1. This July marks the 75th anniversary of the Arlington Public Library, created by residents like you who believed in the value of a strong library system for all the County. It is both a fitting...
- Telling Our Story: Do You Know Where "wunders Crossroads" Used To Be?
When you start to Tell Arlington's Story, you find out lots of interesting trivia. Did you know that... The area where Glebe Road and Lee Highway meet was once known as "Wunders Crossroads" (sometimes spelled "Wonders") after the family whose farm...
- Arlington Historical Society Presents: Black Entrepreneurship In Segregated Arlington
Join us Thursday, Jan, 20, 7:00 p.m. at Central Library for "Black Entrepreneurship in Segregated Arlington County, Virginia," presented by Nancy Perry, on behalf of the Arlington Historical Society. Arlington County was segregated since its founding...
- Our Local History Collection Is Now On Flickr!
Lee Highway, 1895 - from the Places set Reading about local history is cool, but seeing it is even cooler - and now you can view hundreds of images of Arlington history online, thanks to the Virginia Room's Local History project. The Local History...
- The Arlington Years: Fiscal Year 2010 Recommended Arlington Public Library Budget
The Arlington Years Thoughts from County Native and Arlington Public Library Director, Diane Kresh Please read the proposed Department of Libraries budget for FY 2010.A news release was issued Feb. 21 on the County Manager's proposed FY 2010 for Arlington...
Library
Looking Back: Telling the Library's Story at 75
Welcome to the 75th year of Arlington Public Library.While it's hard to argue with balloons and confetti, we thought we'd mark the start of our 75th anniversary year doing what we do best: sharing information with our neighbors.
Picking up on the County initiative "Tell Arlington's Story," we're telling Arlington Public Library's story as a fun and interactive timeline. In the words of Board Chairman Christopher Zimmerman, it "means understanding where we came from and who we are, collectively."
Even a quick reading of the Library's timeline should detect some well-woven threads:
- Arlington residents love their libraries and always have
- The library system was built primarily by some very talented, forward-thinking women
- With a few exceptions (including the addition of a Central Library), neighborhoods that had libraries long ago have branch libraries still?the system's builders would still recognize the basic 1936 framework
- Arlington Public Library adapts well to new technologies
One chapter of the Library's story still seems hard to believe when seen in the rear-view mirror of a progressive 21st century county. Arlington, Va. practiced segregation even within its Library system, maintaining the Holmes Branch Library "for the colored people in the County" while American soldiers - black and white - were dying to defeat the Axis overseas.
As Lincoln said, "We cannot escape history."
The Library's Virginia Room at Central Library is the ideal reference source for creating a local history timeline such as ours. But credit also goes to Jeanne Rose, who as the Library's reference supervisor in 1960, had the foresight to write "A Brief History of the Arlington County Libraries" for the Arlington Historical Magazine. She followed up in the same publication with "Twenty Years After: The Arlington County Public Libraries, 1960-1980."
This is our story?for now. We look forward to writing the next 75 years with your help.So let's get started: If you've got a story of the Library changing your life in ways great or small, please take a moment and share the details with us so we can better reach out to others.
After all, our history is yours.
- Coming Soon: More Hours And Materials!
UPDATE 5/23: New hours will begin July 5, not July 1. This July marks the 75th anniversary of the Arlington Public Library, created by residents like you who believed in the value of a strong library system for all the County. It is both a fitting...
- Telling Our Story: Do You Know Where "wunders Crossroads" Used To Be?
When you start to Tell Arlington's Story, you find out lots of interesting trivia. Did you know that... The area where Glebe Road and Lee Highway meet was once known as "Wunders Crossroads" (sometimes spelled "Wonders") after the family whose farm...
- Arlington Historical Society Presents: Black Entrepreneurship In Segregated Arlington
Join us Thursday, Jan, 20, 7:00 p.m. at Central Library for "Black Entrepreneurship in Segregated Arlington County, Virginia," presented by Nancy Perry, on behalf of the Arlington Historical Society. Arlington County was segregated since its founding...
- Our Local History Collection Is Now On Flickr!
Lee Highway, 1895 - from the Places set Reading about local history is cool, but seeing it is even cooler - and now you can view hundreds of images of Arlington history online, thanks to the Virginia Room's Local History project. The Local History...
- The Arlington Years: Fiscal Year 2010 Recommended Arlington Public Library Budget
The Arlington Years Thoughts from County Native and Arlington Public Library Director, Diane Kresh Please read the proposed Department of Libraries budget for FY 2010.A news release was issued Feb. 21 on the County Manager's proposed FY 2010 for Arlington...