Arlington Public Library

header-right

Main navigation

App

Solar Eclipse Glasses Update

Update – As of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, we are once again out of solar eclipse viewing glasses.
Breaking News – Tuesday, Aug. 15 – Today we received a generous donation of 100 additional solar eclipse viewing glasses from PBS SpaceTime. They are available at the Connection: Crystal City Pop-Up Library, one per person, while supplies last. 

This summer, the Library received a limited number of Space Science Institute (SSI) solar eclipse viewing glasses, which were made available for distribution through a grant from the Moore Foundation.

Our supply has now run out, and we will not receive any more.

But you can still watch the eclipse safely:

Whether you plan to experience the eclipse here in Arlington, or in the “path of totality,” solar eclipse viewing glasses or some other method of indirect viewing is recommended, as looking directly at the sun can cause serious and permanent damage to eyes.

On August 21, 2017, a rare solar event, dubbed the “Great American Eclipse,” will be visible across the continental United States. During the event a roughly 70-mile path, stretching from Oregon to South Carolina and known as the “path of totality,” will experience a brief total eclipse.

VACo Honors Arlington’s Pioneering Energy Lending Library Program

Arlington County’s Energy Lending Library program has received the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) 2017 Achievement Award.

The award recognizes the program as an innovative effort to help residents save energy and leave a lighter environmental footprint. For 15 years, the achievement award has recognized model local government programs in Virginia. Arlington County’s Energy Lending Library program was one of 17 recipients of this year’s award.

Arlington’s Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE), in partnership with the Arlington Public Library, launched the first-of-its-kind Energy Lending Library program in 2016, with the goal of increasing energy awareness and encouraging residents to make their homes more energy efficient.

Through the program, residents can borrow free energy efficiency tools from their local library, along with the information needed to identify and act on energy efficiency opportunities. These tools include: a thermal camera, a sampler kit of 10 different LED lightbulbs, an energy meter to manage home electricity use, and Do-It-Yourself energy retrofit books.

Thermal cameras and LED samplers have proved so popular that cameras and bulb boxes have been added to the library to reduce the wait time. In conjunction with the lending library, Arlington County also introduced the County’s Home Energy Rebates to incent residents to insulate their homes and replace old equipment with energy efficient air conditioners, furnaces, and water heaters.

AIRE programs offer the community a variety of energy-saving resources to help rethink energy use and achieve the goals outlined in Arlington’s Community Energy Plan, which calls for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2050.

Arlington County will be presented with the Achievement Award at VACo’s 2017 Annual Conference in November.

To check out energy-saving tools and literature, visit the AIRE: Energy Lending Library webpage.

Learn more about Arlington’s Initiative to Rethink Energy.

Crystal City: Connection Pop-Up Library to Stay Open Through June 2018

From the County Press Release:

The Connection: Crystal City—Pop-up Branch Library will be open through June 2018,   thanks to an agreement reached between Arlington County and landlord JBG Smith.

“The Connection has proven to be an innovative and popular space for the Crystal City community,” Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz said. “Thanks to JBG for partnering with us to keep the pop-up branch library open through June 2018. When the business community and the government work together, the community benefits.”

The County opened the pop-up library at 2100 Crystal Drive in September 2016, with an initial operating term due to end in December of this year. It offers books, audio visual materials, games and tech access, along with community meeting space, workshops, book groups and other gatherings, including art exhibits. The goal was to meet patrons where they live and work in a low-cost way. Since its debut, the library has enlivened Crystal City Shops at 2100, 2117 Crystal Plaza Arcade and garnered an overwhelmingly positive response from the community.

“The revitalization of Crystal City is a top priority for JBG Smith,” said Andrew VanHorn, Executive Vice President of Development at JBG Smith. “The Connection is a prime example of the place-making efforts we are employing throughout the area, in that we are finding creative ways to provide value and utilize space. It has been especially rewarding to be able to work closely with Arlington County to provide a service that Crystal City residents and neighbors both need and enjoy.”Interior view of Crystal City Pop-up Library

JBG will continue to provide the 1,222 sq. ft. of space that The Connection occupies  rent-free. Beginning in January 2018, JBG also will be responsible for The Connection’s share of common area maintenance expenses, real estate taxes and electricity associated with the space the pop-up library occupies in the 2100 Crystal Drive Center.

Learn more about The Connection.

2017 LEGO Exhibit: Call for Entries

Submit Your Creation for the 5th Annual LEGO Exhibit

Open to LEGO builders age 18 and under, as well as teams that include at least one member under 18.

photograph of a lego diorama titled "My Lego City"

Submission Deadline: Sunday, Aug. 27
Exhibit: September 1 – 30

To apply, send an email to ceys@arlingtonva.us with the following included:

  • Photo  and name of your entry
  • Description and dimensions of your entry
  • Name and age of individual builder or team members
  • Name(s) and age(s) of builder(s)
  • Address and phone number
  • School attending in Fall 2017
  • Preferred location(s) for display: Central Library, Aurora Hills Branch, Cherrydale Branch, Columbia Pike Branch, Shirlington Branch, Westover Branch, or the Connection: Crystal City Pop-up Library. We will do our best to honor location requests, but may not be able to do  so given space limitations and size of entries.

Rules:

  • Entries must be ORIGINAL WORK. Instructions found in a book or online may be followed, but no entries built from commercial kits will be accepted.
  • Entries must fit on a 10×10″ baseplate. Please check with your local branch about height requirements.
  • Selected entries must be delivered to the assigned Library location for September 2017 exhibit, with name and description on a 5×7″ card.

 

 

Arlington Beach, 1927: an Arlington Voices Oral History Interview

Ruth Jones, born in March of 1913, began to visit Arlington Beach around 1927. The amusement park and beach were popular among area residents in the 1920s.

Arlington Beach occupied space around what was then known as the Long Bridge, and later became the Fourteenth St Bridge complex, from 1923 to 1929. The Washington Airport Corporation eventually bought the land for additional landing space, which then gave away to Pentagon construction.

In this soundcloud audio clip, Mrs. Jones recalls her teenage years spent at the beach with her friends and future husband.

You can find Ruth Jones’ interview in its entirety in the Center for Local History – VA 975.5295 A7243oh ser.3 no.71. For information about Arlington Beach, read the Center for Local History’s post, “A Day at the Beach.”

Photo: Arlington Beach Advertisement 1920; Source: Photographs of the Arlington Historical Society, PG 230-3447

 

The goal of the Arlington Voices project is to showcase the Center for Local History’s oral history collection in a publicly accessible and shareable way.

From June 2017 – May 2018, we will post one oral history clip and transcript each month, focusing on Arlington’s history, culture and identity.

What is the oral history collection?

Oral history is a popular method of research used for understanding historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of people’s personal experiences.

The Arlington Public Library began collecting oral histories of long-time residents in the 1970s, and since then the scope of the collection has expanded to capture the diverse voices of Arlington’s community. In 2016, staff members and volunteers recorded many additional hours of interviews, building the collection to 575 catalogued oral histories.

To browse our list of narrators indexed by interview subject, check out our community archive. To read a full transcript of an interview, visit the Center for Local History located at Central Library.

 

Share Your #LibraryBooksIntheWild

Where Will You Take the Library this Summer?

Composite image of people reading books

Any time you go somewhere interesting with a library item – whether you’re reading on vacation, carrying an American Girl Doll to the grocery store, digging in your garden with a hand rake, or playing board games in the living room with friends – snap a photo and share it on your social media account with the hashtag #LibraryInTheWild or #LibraryBooksInTheWild.

By using these hashtags, you’ll show the people in your circles that you’re a proud library user – and you may even inspire them to do the same thing.

And if your social media account settings allow, we’ll be able to find your photos when we search the hashtags, and we can share them or add them on Storify.

 

Sign Up for Summer Reading, Win Prizes, and Help Build a Better World

Summer Reading is a fun for everyone!

Summer Reading helps kids and teens avoid “summer slide,” and reintroduces them to the joy of reading for pleasure. It gives parents and kids an excuse to read or listen to books together, and it gives adults a reason to explore new books and authors.

How Summer Reading Works

  • Register Online Starting June 3 – Children 12 and under register with a parent or guardian’s permission.
  • Track your reading – Use the online Summer Reading site or your printed reading log.
  • Claim fun prizes 
  • Get optional weekly book recs (for kids age 0-12).

Important Dates

  • Kick-Off – Saturday, June 3
  • Last Day to Sign Up – Saturday, Aug. 19
  • End of Summer Ice Cream Party (grade 6-12) – Wednesday, Aug. 16
  • Summer Reading Ends (Last Day to Pick Up Prizes) – Sunday, Sept. 10

Go to full web version.

Summer Storytimes

Our age appropriate storytimes are designed to help you to help your child learn reading readiness, or Early Literacy.

  • No registration required – attendance is first-come, first-served until seating capacity is reached. Call 703-228-5946 for more information.
  • Reminder – On days when Arlington Public Schools or Parks are closed because of bad weather, all Library Kids Events are also cancelled.

Visit full site.

Exploring World War I

Looking Back 100 Years Through Words and Pictures

World War I photo of a car hit by a shell, with 3 soldiers. June 1918.

Car Hit by Shell, June 1918

While often in the shadow of the war that would follow, World War I saw conflict on a global scale: 17 million people were killed and large swaths of Europe’s landscape still bears visible scars.

The Great War saw the end of empires, and birthed the modern age, and at the end, it marked the entrance of the United States as a major player on the world stage. The crucible of World War I not only forged military leaders who would make their name in the next war, but also a generation of writers now firmly enshrined in the English-language canon.

Events at the Library

Explore the Library Collection

book jacket: Above the Dreamless DeadThere can be no way to showcase all of this history in a single booklist, so we’ve started with a World War I Overview, mixing fiction and nonfiction, and covering broad topics, trends and regions in order to present the best introduction our collection can offer.

But these titles are just a small selection of the Library’s collection on World War I. You can find more of our lists in the catalog by searching “World War I Collection Spotlight.”

You can also explore World War I in pictures and letters through our featured exhibit in the Center for Local History’s online Community Archive.

We will add more booklist topics throughout the year as we continue to commemorate and remember the war’s 100th anniversary.

Homepage image from the Center for Local History, 230-6659 Car Hit by Shell, June 1918.

 

Get it on Google Play
Download on the app store