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Arlington Public Library

Library Communications Officer

Black History Month: Come Celebrate With Us!

National Black History Month has its origins in 1915, when historian and author Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. This organization is now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

We have curated a terrific lineup of programs to celebrate Black culture and stories. Acclaimed food author and culinary historian Michael W. Twitty returns! Bright Star Touring Theatre and Uncle Devin will delight young and old audiences alike with their action-packed and fun performances. With help from the Library of Congress, we will learn about the stories of formerly enslaved Virginians. And we will discover local history and learn about Roberta Flack’s career and the Green Valley Pharmacy. Come join us!

Talk by Michael Twitty, Author of “Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew”

Thursday, Feb. 16, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Central Library

Twitty returns! Join us for an author talk with the acclaimed author of “Koshersoul” as we honor Black History Month. The talk will be followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing. 

In person and live streamed. RSVP to receive a live stream link and an event reminder.

RSVP

Black History Heroes, Soldiers and Spies

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 4:30-5:30 p.m. 
Central Library

History is filled with Black American heroes! In this Bright Star Touring Theatre production, audiences learn the stories of some of the most amazing figures like Colonel Charles Young of the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen as they take flight to help achieve victory in World War II, and Mary Elizabeth Bowser, whose work as a spy helped the Union during the Civil War. An exciting and interactive production that is sure to intrigue young and old alike! 

Children Grades K-5. RSVP for an event reminder.

RSVP

Virtual Program: Narratives of Enslaved Virginians

Thursday, Feb. 9, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 
Online

Researching can be perilous, but even more so for Black historians during the Jim Crow era. In the 1930s, Federal Writers’ Project researchers with the Works Progress Administration interviewed formerly enslaved Virginians to preserve their stories. Special presentation by the Library of Congress.

Adults, registration required for Zoom link

RSVP

Roberta Flack Documentary at Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse

Sunday, Feb. 19, 7-9 p.m.
Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse
2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA 22204

Join Arlington Public Library at Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse to enjoy a new PBS Documentary, “American Masters: Roberta Flack.” It provides an intimate look into Flack’s artistry, life and triumphs over racism and sexism within and outside of the recording industry. This film screening is offered courtesy of PBS, American Masters, and The WNET Group, in partnership with WETA and The Black Heritage Museum of Arlington.

Adults, registration required

RSVP

Green Valley Pharmacy: A Community Gathering Place

Thursday, Feb. 23, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Shirlington Library

Join us in exploring local African American history with Portia A. Clark President of the Green Valley Civic Association, for a special presentation on Arlington's landmark Green Valley Pharmacy. The longest-operating African American pharmacy in Arlington County and likely the first African American owned pharmacy in the county, the Green Valley Pharmacy has helped shape and define the local community for over 60 years. 

Adults and teens Grade 9+, registration required

RSVP

Two Live Performances with Uncle Devin, ABC’s of Percussion

Tuesday, Feb. 28
ABC's of Percussion Storytime: 10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m., Central Library
Uncle Devin Live Show: 6-7 p.m., Columbia Pike


Both events are good for families.
Join us for an interactive, musical storytime at Central Library where children can hear and see the percussion instruments mentioned in the book, The ABC's of Percussion Children's Book by Uncle Devin.

RSVP

For the live performance at Columbia Pike, The Uncle Devin Live Show uses original songs, funky grooves, and the DC tradition of call-and-response to have children and families experience the infectious energy of a live Go-Go that does not stop. Children will have an opportunity to hear and see some of the percussion instruments.

RSVP

Amina Luqman-Dawson Wins Two Prestigious National Awards

First Woman to Win Both the John Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Book Award

On January 30, the American Library Association (ALA) awarded Arlington-based author Amina Luqman-Dawson the John Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award for her novel “Freewater.”

The Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of “the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children.” The Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizes an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.

ALA announced the top books, digital media, videos, and audiobooks for children and young adults—including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery, and Printz awards—at ALA’s 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans.

“We are beyond happy for Amina Luqman-Dawson and her extraordinary achievement,” said Library Director Diane Kresh. “Freewater" is an important story and deserves to be read by every middle school student.”

Set in the Great Dismal Swamp, “Freewater” is a middle-grade novel about a secret community of formerly enslaved people. “Freewater” is published by JIMMY Patterson/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Luqman-Dawson is the first woman to win both the John Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award.

Several female authors have received the Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award in the same year including Renee Watson for “Piecing Me Together” (2018), Jacqueline Woodson for “Brown Girl Dreaming” (2015), Rita Williams-Garcia for “P.S. Be Eleven” (2014) and “One Crazy Summer” (2011). The Honor books are those that were not the first place of the year but deserve honorable mention.

Angela Johnson won the Coretta Scott King Award and the Printz for “The First Part Last” (2004).

“On the eve of Black History Month, congratulations to our talented Arlington author. Thank you for sharing your voice,” said Kresh.

Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh with local author Amina Luqman-Dawson.

Local author Amina Luqman-Dawson and Library Director Diane Kresh during a Juneteenth program hosted by Arlington Public Library on June 22, 2022.  

Digital Subscription of “The Economist” Discontinued

Effective February 1, the online format of the newspaper “The Economist” will no longer be available digitally through Arlington Public Library’s OverDrive digital magazines. All editions, including back issues, of “The Economist” will be removed from OverDrive. The last issue available for patrons to borrow will be January 28, 2023. 

The removal is a result of newly required lending model changes by “The Economist” that are not compatible with how magazines are available in OverDrive/Libby. 

The print edition of “The Economist” is currently available at Aurora Hills, Central, Shirlington and Westover Libraries. Starting this spring, print subscriptions will be available at Columbia Pike, Cherrydale and Glencarlyn Libraries. 

“The Economist” is available in text-only format through the free “Business Insights Essentials.” The Gale database encompasses all articles from 1988 to the present and includes the current issue. 

The Library offers similar publications and newspapers, such as “Bloomberg Businessweek” and “Forbes,” through its free Flipster, PressReader and OverDrive services.

New January Releases

Get Your Hands On These New And Upcoming Titles

Fiction readers will be drawn to the story of Geeta — a woman who didn’t kill her husband, but everyone thinks she did, so other women in troubled marriages start turning to her for help in "The Bandit Queens" by Parini Shroff. An all-Black town in Alabama is divided over calls for integration in 1957 in Jamila Minnicks’ award-winning debut, "Moonrise Over New Jessup."

Nonfiction readers will be captivated by the story of Ana Montes, one of the most dangerous American spies, who recently finished her prison sentence. Jim Popkin details her story in "Code Name Blue Wren." Explore the Chinese diaspora and the role of food by following Cheuk Kwan’s journey to interview workers at Chinese restaurants from Canada to Kenya in "Have You Eaten Yet?"

Younger readers will be excited to learn about animation pioneer Lottie Reiniger in the picture book biography, "Cut!" by C.E. Winters and illustrated by Matt Schu.

For teen readers, Crystal Simone Smith’s "Dark Testament" uses visually arresting blackout poetry to explore resistance against erasure in her poems about Black lives lost to violence.

Place Your Holds Now!

More Book Lists To Explore

Looking for something to pick up while waiting for your hold on "Spare" or after you’ve finished reading it? Check out these books!

Read-Alikes for "Spare"

Two Laser Cutters, Twice the Power

The Glowforge laser cutters can etch and cut multiple materials easily, including acrylic, leather, paper, rubber and wood.

For 2023, The Shop now offers twice the availability for our Glowforge laser cutters.

Our makerspace is equipped with the Glowforge "Basic" and "Plus" laser cutters which provide the same size cutting area and “superhero powers” so you can easily design and create your own masterpieces.

With the additional equipment, The Shop can accommodate more shop time and reservation availability to artisans and makers.

Both laser cutters can be used to make personalized gifts, enhance your next art project, boost your crafty merchandise store and experiment with laser engraving and cutting.

To use the Glowforge laser cutters, you must take the certification class. Once you are certified, reserve up to two hours per day at The Shop.

Don’t delay your next project! Reserve today, get to know other makers, exchange artist ideas and make things.

Reserve Now

The Library Director’s 2022 Reading List.

“Every reader his or her book. Every book its reader.”
— S.R. Ranganathan

If you have space in your life to read one more year-end list, I made one too. Books that will stay with me and I will recommend to others. Books that changed my thinking. Books by authors I had never heard of and could not believe I had not. The books I wanted to go on and on and on, the best kind of books. Here’s my list.

2022 Reading List

My tastes are eclectic.  

My guilty pleasure is the police procedural (the more noir, the better) followed closely by the coming-of-age novel. I read both fiction and non — have a fondness for memoir — although not biography.

I read “classics” I believe I should have read. I read author debuts. I am an occasional completist (Elizabeth Strout and Ann Patchett). Reading fantasy novels are still on my to-do list (Octavia Butler is on my bookshelf but has not yet made it into my hands) and authors from outside the United States. I am discovering Graphic Novels (“Black Hole” by Charles Burns is on my nightstand). I have occasionally judged a book by its cover (“Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus) and been pleasantly surprised – in a good way. 

Is reading one of your resolutions for 2023? Have you ever been a reluctant reader but want to read more?  

Here are some tips for creating and sustaining a reading habit. 

  • Try an eAudiobook. I’ve become an avid audiobook consumer which has the additional benefit that your listening skills improve as well.  
  • Ask a friend, coworker, family member or neighbor, “What are you reading?” It’s a great conversation starter. 
  • Frequent our Friends of Arlington Public Library bookstores, each purchase supports the library. 
  • Join a Library book club or the Winter Reading Challenge. 
  • And my favorite tip from Ron Charles, Book Critic at The Washington Post, “Dedicate this year to reading only works in translation. You’ll permanently expand your horizons.” 

If you are like me and have recommitted to a year of reading more, my final tip: there is no harm in setting aside a book and not finishing it. The library has the next one just for you.

Keep reading.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Arlington’s Top 25 Reads in 2022

Composite of 8 book covers with the top Arlington reads of 2022.

Are you curious what books our Arlington readers checked out the most this year?

It’s no secret that Arlington is a community of readers. Here is a breakdown of combined adult eBook, eAudiobooks and print checkouts that made the top 25 list this year.

In 2022, we saw six titles rising above the 2,000-checkout mark starting with “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr; “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid; "The Paris Apartment" by Lucy Foley; "Malibu Rising" by Taylor Jenkins Reid; “The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave; and our most in-demand title, "The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles.

Arlington loves books by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Emily Henry and both adults and teens can’t get enough of Sarah J. Maas.

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins made our young adult readers #1 spot for the most checked-out book in 2022 and our young readers continued to get mesmerized by J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

As we look forward to many new, wonderful releases in 2023, from big titles like Prince Harry’s “Spare” to exciting debuts like “Moonlight Over New Jessup” by Jamila Minnicks, we are grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve you — with our exciting book services, programs and diverse collections.

Curious which releases you might have missed this year? We have put together a curated list from our 2022 catalog of gems we believe should be on everybody’s reading list.

Always free. Always open. Always books!

Books You Might Have Missed

Adult Top 2022 Circulated Titles (eBook, eAudiobooks, print)

  1. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
  2. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
  3. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  4. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
  5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  6. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
  7. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
  8. Book Lovers by Emily Henry
  9. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
  10. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
  11. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
  12. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
  13. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
  14. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
  15. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
  16. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
  17. The Maid by Nita Prose
  18. It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
  19. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
  20. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
  21. Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
  22. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
  23. Verity by Colleen Hoover
  24. The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
  25. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Young Adult, ages 11-18, Top 2022 Circulated Titles (all formats)

  1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
  2. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
  3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
  4. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
  5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Children, ages 2-10, Top 2022 Circulated Titles (all formats) 

  1. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
  2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
  3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
  4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
  5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

 

You Brought Holiday Joy to Arlington.

Full of Gratitude for the Holiday Gift Nook: Free, Festive and Fun.

Library patrons at Central Library taking advantage of the free holiday shopping event.

The public enjoyed the free holiday shopping experience on Dec 10-11 at Central Library.

Last weekend, Arlington Public Library hosted the "Gift Nook," a free holiday market developed from thousands of items donated by the community.

Nearly a thousand children and adults participated in this free holiday shopping experience.

This successful initiative would not have happened without the generosity and goodwill of our caring Arlington community who donated thousands of quality re-giftable items at our Gift Nook drop-off boxes this fall. This economical and sustainable approach to holiday shopping for people on a tight budget exceeded all our expectations and put smiles on patron and Library staff faces.

Our Library staff and volunteers are thankful to all of you for playing a vital role in this wonderful initiative. Some of the positive feedback we received:

  • "You had the exact item I was looking for my son. This means so much to me."
  • "Love the selection of items."
  • "Will this happen again next year? Please come back!"

Always open. Always free. Always thankful.

Yours at Arlington Public Library.

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