• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Alert

Westover Library Has Sunday Hours. More Info

Home - Arlington County Virginia - Logo
MENUMENU
  • Join Now
  • My Account
    • Login
    • Borrow, Renew, Return
    • Holds
    • About My Account
    • My eAccounts
  • Hours & Locations
    • All Hours & Locations
    • Holiday Closings
  • News
  • Contact Us

Arlington Public Library

MENUMENU
  • Search
      • Browse New
      • Browse All
  • Events
    • Arlington Reads
    • Featured Events
    • Calendar
    • On Demand Programs
  • eCollection
    • eAudiobooks
    • eBooks
    • Digital Magazines
    • Learning Tools
    • Research Tools
    • All eCollection
  • Research
    • Research Portal
    • Research Tools A-Z
    • Local History
  • Library Services
    • Accessibility Services
    • For Book Lovers
    • Garden Tool Library
    • Maker
    • Meeting Rooms
    • Notary
    • Public Computers
    • Teleconnect Space
    • More Services
  • Explore
    • Catalog
      • Catalog Search
      • Catalog Browse
      • Digital Archives
      • Borrowing Collections
      • Book Lists
    • Kids & Teens
      • For Babies and Preschoolers
      • For Elementary Schoolers
      • Middle and High Schoolers
    • Local History
      • Research Room
      • Community Archives
      • Online Exhibits
    • Support the Library
      • Donating Materials
    • Popular
      • Consumer Reports
      • Overdrive
    • EXPLORE MORE
  • Join Now
  • My Account
    • Login
    • Borrow, Renew, Return
    • Holds
    • About My Account
    • My eAccounts
  • Hours & Locations
    • All Hours & Locations
    • Holiday Closings
  • News
  • Contact Us

Explore World War II through Arlington's Memories

Published: April 6, 2016

Artifacts from Life on the Homefront

On display at Central Library, April 2016.

26247377461_897c4ceef2

Just in time for Arlington Reads 2016, Central Library is hosting an artifact-rich exhibition on Arlington County in World War II.

It’s the story of a community undergoing rapid transition from fading farms to new homes to the Pentagon, all while sending its young men to fight in Europe and the Pacific.

The exhibition also highlights the often unheralded role of women who served essential roles in the war effort and maintained domestic life amid sacrifice.

“We’re stepping back to the 1940s with this exhibit and these visiting authors to show how quickly the world changed at home and overseas,” Library Director Diane Kresh said. “But ultimately the themes of human suffering and surprising courage appear timeless and seem to confront every generation.”

The displays at Central draw from the collection of the Library’s Center for Local History and items loaned by the Arlington Historical Society.

Scrapbooks from the Woman’s Club of Arlington document a number of local wartime enterprises, including the Arlington Recreation Center for Servicemen.

The displays range from poignant letters home, combat boots, banners, music albums and “Victory” cookbooks to sometimes-grisly Horrors of War trading cards meant as social commentary, folk art and propaganda. The exhibition also includes a listening station of Arlington-at-war recollections culled from the Center’s hundreds of recorded oral histories.

 

Arlington Read 2016

  • Thursday, April 7 at Washington-Lee High School Auditorium – Anthony Doerr, author of “All the Light We Cannot See.”
  • Thursday, May 5, 7 p.m. at Central Library – Julie Otsuka discusses “When the Emperor was Divine,” her acclaimed debut novel based loosely on her family’s history with a Utah internment camp for Japanese Americans during the Second World War.
  • Thursday, May 19 at 7 p.m. at Central Library – Richard Reeves discusses “Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II.”

 

Arlington Reads is the Library’s one-theme, one-community reading initiative. It is made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.

 

News release written by Peter Golkin, County Communications Office.

 

 

April 6, 2016 by Web Editor Filed Under: Art News, News

Footer

About Us

  • Mission & Vision
  • Center for Local History
  • News Room

Administration

  • Policies
  • Library Staff
  • Job Opportunities
  • Propose a Program

Support Your Library

  • Friends of the Library
  • Giving Opportunities
  • Donating Materials
  • Volunteer Opportunities

Our Mission

We champion the power of stories, information and ideas.

We create space for culture and connection.

We embrace inclusion and diverse points of view.

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. YouTube. Flickr. Newsletter.

download appDownload the Library App

Arlington County | Terms & Conditions | Accessibility | Site Map
· Copyright © 2023 Arlington County Government ·