Winter Reading is here – read three books, win a prize!

Escapism Book Club: "The Donut Trap"

The Journey: Tales of Africa to America

link to "The Journey" event on the Library calendar.

AARP Tax Preparation Help at the Library

You Belong Here

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OPERATIONS UPDATE: COVID-19 Related Staffing Shortages

Library Operations Update: January 17, 2022.

Oral History: Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Arlington

In the days leading up to the March on Washington, civil rights activists from across the country, including Dr. King, stayed at Lomax Fellowship Hall in Green Valley.

Link to post about January 5 reopening and new hours.

Library Open Wednesday, Jan. 5 on New Expanded Schedule

Expanded hours start this week across the Library.

Link to Books You Might Have Missed in 2021.

Great Books You Might Have Missed in 2021

Well-reviewed books that flew under the radar in 2021.

Reading Between the Lines: Year Two of Reading in a Pandemic

The Library Director’s 2021 Goodreads Reading List.

Library Joins Program to Distribute Free Rapid COVID-19 Tests

When available, test kits are dispensed on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn more.

Shop the FOAL Book Store this Holiday Season

Find affordable gifts for all ages!

link to The Chosen and the Beautiful podcast.

Big Book Podcast: The Chosen and the Beautiful

Ep. 3: Revisting Gatsby with Nghi Vo.

Too Cool for Yule, 2021

Pop, jazz, instrumental, New Orleans, country, bluegrass, R&B, old school pop, The Chipmunks, and more on Diane’s annual playlist.

Yellow sign depicting New Operating Hours."

New Library Operating Hours and Re-Imagined Bozman Library

Effective Monday, January 3, 2022, Arlington Public Library will implement a new schedule of operating hours.

Video: “Off Our Chests” Author Talk with Dr. John and Liza Marshall

A surprisingly open memoir co-authored by the married duo of a world class oncologist and a cancer survivor.

Video: “We Refuse to Be Enemies: How Muslims and Jews Can Make Peace One Friendship at a Time “

Two American citizens, a Muslim woman and Jewish man, concerned with the rise of intolerance and bigotry in our country along with resurgent white nationalism.

Video: Marcia Chatelain, Author of “Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America”

A surprising history of fast food companies, black capitalists, and civil rights leaders in the fight against racial inequality.

White woman with long brown hair faces the camera.

Video: Arlington Reads with Emma Brown

Brown discussed her book “To Raise a Boy,” an investigation into how we teach boys to be men—and how we can do better.

Video: Interview with Freddie Lutz

A lively conversation with the owner and operator of Freddie’s Beach Bar, Arlington’s only LGBTQ+, straight friendly restaurant and bar.

Photo of a white woman with long curly dark hair facing the camera.

Video: Arlington Reads Signature Author Laila Lalami

Laila Lalami discusses her life, her work, and the question, “What does it mean to be American?”

White woman with brown hair, looking at the camera

Video: Arlington Reads with Jenny Offill

Acclaimed fiction writer joins us for a conversation about her latest work, “Weather.”

MLK holds banner under the words "Poor People's Campaign"

Video: Multiracial Coalitions in the Civil Rights Era

The Poor People’s Campaign was held in Washington, D.C., during the spring of 1968.

Video: New APL Kids YouTube Channel

Storytimes designed to help your child learn reading readiness.

Video: Live from Diane’s Living Room

Diane speaks with Arlingtonians who have made a difference in our community.

Video: Book Covers Project

Artists, their books, and their creative processes.

Video: Stepping Stones to Early Literacy

Help your child get ready to learn to read!

Video: Alexis Coe in Conversation with Diane Kresh

Recorded for Arlington Reads, Tuesday, April 28, 2020.

Library Service News and Updates

Get the Latest News

Winter Reading Starts January 1

Learn More

REAL Archives Project:
Re-Encuentro de Arlington Latinos

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NextReads Newsletters

Subscribe: Receive monthly new book updates via email on your favorite genres.

Read and Listen

eAudiobooks from OverDrive

Fiction, nonfiction, sci-fi, detective, romance and more.

eBooks from OverDrive

Fiction, nonfiction, sci-fi, detective, romance and more.

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eNews

Read today’s headlines and the latest magazines.

Literary Classics

Free from Audible Stories, as long as schools are out.

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Request Personalized Reading Recommendations

We’ll help find your next great book.

SYNC Audiobooks

Get two free YA audiobooks each week, April 30 – August 4.

Staff Picks

Born to be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey

This is a substantial look at writer and illustrator Edward Gorey, detailing both his life and his works, and especially his relationships with other people. It's a strong attempt to know someone who desperately wanted NOT to be known.

Heather C.

Arlington Public Library

2021-03-24T16:38:15-04:00

Heather C.

https://library.arlingtonva.us/testimonials/born-to-be-posthumous-the-eccentric-life-and-mysterious-genius-of-edward-gorey/

The Women in Black

This delightful book about four women and a teenage intern, who work at a high end Sydney clothing store in the 1950's during the busy holiday season, will make you laugh and smile throughout its 200+ pages. For once the blurbs on the cover are accurate - a wonderful read.

Mike N.

Arlington Public Library

2021-03-24T16:43:18-04:00

Mike N.

https://library.arlingtonva.us/testimonials/the-women-in-black/

Midnight Riot

When Peter Grant tries to take a witness statement from someone who turns out to be a ghost, he finds himself reassigned to The Folly, a forgotten branch of the Met that handles all the “weird stuff.” The first in a series that is the perfect blend of British police procedural and magic.

Jennie R.

Arlington Public Library

2021-03-24T16:47:49-04:00

Jennie R.

https://library.arlingtonva.us/testimonials/midnight-riot/

I Left the House Today!

Life not working out quite how you expected? Calin's short and expressive illustrations reflect how it feels when everyday things don't go as planned. Relating to these small, life adventures put a smile on my face.

Sarah C.

Arlington Public Library

2021-03-24T16:53:07-04:00

Sarah C.

https://library.arlingtonva.us/testimonials/i-left-the-house-today/

Submission

In a near-future France, François, a middle-aged academic, is watching his life slowly dwindle to nothing. In a late-capitalist society where consumerism has become the new religion, François is spiritually barren, but seeking to fill the vacuum of his existence.

David B.

Arlington Public Library

2021-03-24T16:55:48-04:00

David B.

https://library.arlingtonva.us/testimonials/submission/

Scary Stories for Young Foxes

What kind of scary stories do foxes tell? The yellow disease...Mr. Scratch...the witch with the silver claw... Each interlocking story reads like a folk tale, but describes a very real threat to the fox heroes. Did you love "Watership Down" or "Charlotte's Web"? Try this!

Charlotte M.

Arlington Public Library

2021-03-24T17:00:29-04:00

Charlotte M.

https://library.arlingtonva.us/testimonials/scary-stories-for-young-foxes/

The Fire Next Time

This short essay provides examples of what it was like to live as a Black man in the civil rights era, how to evolve our way of thinking less of someone, and what Americans need to do to achieve lasting change. It is a warning and it is about hope.

Brit A.

Arlington Public Library

2021-03-24T17:03:38-04:00

Brit A.

https://library.arlingtonva.us/testimonials/the-fire-next-time/

Real Murders

If you're looking for a bit of an escape and mystery than "Real Murders" is for you. It's a great audio listen for your morning walks. You'll be right there with Aurora mulling of over details and working to solve the murder. Can't get enough? There are 9 more in the series!

Karen S.

Arlington Public Library

2021-03-24T17:08:38-04:00

Karen S.

https://library.arlingtonva.us/testimonials/real-murders/

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power

Meticulously researched and painstakingly argued, this book unfolds like a real world dystopian novel. It made me think about technology, democracy, and society in a whole new light.

Amy S.

Arlington Public Library

2021-03-24T17:14:05-04:00

Amy S.

Meticulously researched and painstakingly argued, this book unfolds like a real world dystopian novel. It made me think about technology, democracy, and society in a whole new light.

https://library.arlingtonva.us/testimonials/the-age-of-surveillance-capitalism-the-fight-for-a-human-future-at-the-new-frontier-of-power/

Atchafalaya Houseboat: My Years in the Louisiana Swamp

In the early 1970s, two idealistic young people decided to leave civilization and re-create the vanished simple life of their great-grandparents, building and living on a houseboat for eight years in the heart of Louisiana's million-acre Atchafalaya River Basin Swamp.

Sara Z. K.

Arlington Public Library

2021-03-24T17:19:39-04:00

Sara Z. K.