Fairfax County Public Library
Encyclopedia
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Fairfax County, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Hennen's American Public Library Ratings (HAPLR) has ranked the system among the top 10 libraries in the United States (for its size of 500,000+ residents) five times in the past 10 years.
According to the library's timeline, the first Fairfax County Library opened in 1939.
, there are 23 library branches, eight of which are regional branches, 14 are smaller community branches, and one which assists people with disabilities. The library also oversees the county's Archives and Records Management Branch. The library's service area spans both the county and Fairfax City
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....
, serving nearly half a million registered users.
The library system is the largest in Virginia in terms of population served (over one million people between Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax).
In the library's 2010 fiscal year (through June 2010), nearly 14 million items were borrowed from its collection of nearly three million book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s, CDs, DVDs, magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s, and other items. Nearly 5.7 million visits were made to the branches, and website visits reached almost 5 million.
The library offers a wide variety of services both in the branches and via the Web site. The library has computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s for access to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, the catalog, ebooks, downloadable audiobooks, and databases. The library sponsors various programs: national and local author readings and book signing
Book signing
Book signing is the affixing of a signature to the title page or flyleaf of a book by its author. A book signing is an event, usually at a bookstore or library where an author sits and signs books for a period of time....
s, local musical concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s, and events for the diverse population.
, the library staff includes the equivalent of over 430 full-time employees, 125 of which hold Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
s in library science
Library science
Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...
. Volunteers donated over 153,200 hours in 2010. The Director of the library is Edwin S. Clay III, who has served in his current position for more than twenty-five years.
Branches
- Burke Centre Library (BurkeBurke, Virginia-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 57,737 people, 19,215 households, and 15,756 families residing in the community. Burke is the largest community in Virginia recognized by the Census Bureau, other than counties and incorporated cities . The population density was 5,008.0 people per...
) - Richard Byrd Library (SpringfieldSpringfield, VirginiaSpringfield is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States and a suburb of Washington, D.C. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs including North Springfield,...
) - Centreville Regional Library (CentrevilleCentreville, VirginiaCentreville is an unincorporated community in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a Census Designated Place , the community population was 71,135 as of the 2010 census and is approximately west of Washington, DC.-Colonial Period:Beginning in the 1760s,...
) - Chantilly Regional Library (ChantillyChantilly, VirginiaChantilly is an unincorporated community located in western Fairfax County and southeastern Loudoun County of Northern Virginia. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census designated place , the community population was 23,039 as of the 2010 census -- down from 41,041 in 2000, due to the...
) - City of Fairfax Regional Library (FairfaxFairfax, VirginiaThe City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....
) — includes the Virginia Room - Great Falls Library (Great FallsGreat Falls, VirginiaGreat Falls is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,427 at the 2010 census.Although primarily a bedroom community for Washington, D.C., one major attraction is Great Falls Park which overlooks the Great Falls of the Potomac River, for which...
) - Patrick Henry Library (ViennaVienna, VirginiaVienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,687. Significantly more people live in zip codes with the Vienna postal addresses bordered approximately by Interstate 66 on the south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to...
) - Herndon Fortnightly Library (HerndonHerndon, VirginiaHerndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area of the United States. The population was 21,655 at the 2000 census, which makes it the largest of three towns in the county.-History:...
) - Thomas Jefferson Library (Falls Church areaFalls Church, VirginiaThe City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within...
) - Kings Park Library (Burke)
- Kingstowne Library (KingstowneKingstowne, VirginiaKingstowne is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It is a master-planned community that lies amidst the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Springfield, Alexandria, and Lorton, Virginia and is centered around the intersection of South Van Dorn Street and Kingstowne...
) - Lorton Library (LortonLorton, VirginiaLorton is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population is 27,709 as of the 2008 census estimate.-History:...
) - Dolley Madison Library (McLeanMcLean, VirginiaMcLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
) - John Marshall Library (Rose HillRose Hill, Fairfax County, VirginiaThere were 5,683 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone...
) - George Mason Regional Library (AnnandaleAnnandale, VirginiaAnnandale is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 41,008 at the 2010 census, down from 54,994 in 2000 due to the splitting off of the western part of it to form Wakefield and Woodburn CDP's.-Geography:...
) - Oakton Library (OaktonOakton, VirginiaOakton is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. The population was 29,348 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 22124.-Geography:Oakton is located at...
) - Pohick Regional Library (BurkeBurke, Virginia-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 57,737 people, 19,215 households, and 15,756 families residing in the community. Burke is the largest community in Virginia recognized by the Census Bureau, other than counties and incorporated cities . The population density was 5,008.0 people per...
) - Reston Regional Library (RestonReston, VirginiaReston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 58,404, at the 2010 Census and 56,407 at the 2000 census...
) - Sherwood Regional Library (AlexandriaAlexandria, VirginiaAlexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
) - Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library (Tysons CornerTysons Corner, VirginiaTysons Corner is an unincorporated census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Part of the Washington Metropolitan Area located in Northern Virginia, Tysons Corner lies between the community of McLean and the town of Vienna along the Capital Beltway . The population was...
, Pimmit HillsPimmit Hills, VirginiaPimmit Hills is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 6,152 at the 2000 census. In practical terms, it is more of a neighborhood within a densely-populated urban area than a traditional town....
) - Martha Washington Library (Alexandria)
- Woodrow Wilson Library (Falls Church area)