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Director's Blog

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

Director’s Message

End-of-Year Reflections

"The word 'understand' … means 'to stand in the midst of.'"
— Andrea Elliott, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City."

Photo of Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh.

Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh.

Arlington Reads hosted Andrea Elliott in late November and since her visit, I have been thinking a lot about what “to understand” means to me in my role as director of Arlington Public Library. At a minimum, “to understand” means actively listening to others and putting one’s ego and preferences aside.

Easy, right? What’s harder — for me, anyway — is looking for and finding common cause in unexpected places and hearing from people I might not agree with. It is tempting to cut oneself off from deeper relationships based on biases and assumptions, be they political, cultural or historical in nature. And we must try to set them aside if we are to live in community with one another.

Over the past year, how has Arlington Public Library tried to understand the Arlington community better? 

The pandemic made more visible inequities in income, housing, education, and technology for many of our residents, inequities we sought to address through programs and services.

For example, we hosted six Kindergarten kickoff events in which we joined with parents and educators to prepare their children for Kindergarten. More than 400 children and families from across the County participated, with waitlists suggesting significant interest and a role for libraries in learning readiness.

Our "Arlingtown" play community at Central Library — think re-purposed Amazon boxes, designed and decorated to look like the streets and neighborhoods of Arlington — hosts nearly 2,500 of our youngest readers per month. It is a joy for our staff to see what a little paper, scissors, paint and glue can do to spark the imagination of children.

We designed a community gifting project and collected gently used (and sometimes new) items for a free holiday shopping experience. We launched the Teleconnect Space at Columbia Pike Library to provide a free, private room for telehealth, social service appointments, job and college interviews.

We fully refreshed the collections and the spaces of the library inside the Detention Center and hosted programs featuring Arlington Reads authors. The free indoor and outdoor WiFi hot spots were used 1,600,000 times, nearly double from the year before. For the first time, we joined a nationwide effort to celebrate "Welcoming Week," announced by a proclamation by Board Chair Katie Cristol, which offered activities to bring together neighbors of all backgrounds.

How have we begun to train ourselves to listen to the stories around us and to increase our understanding of others?

There are many ways we come together as a community. By joining our weekly storytimes, signing up for a sewing class, attending a U.S. Citizenship or foreign language or English conversation class, participating in our Community Quilt project or joining our Summer and Winter Reading programs. You could also submit materials for the REAL Archives Project, or el Re-Encuentro de Arlington Latinos, designed to illustrate the rich, vibrant history of the Latino community in Arlington County.

We have stood "in the midst" of challenging social issues with our signature author talk program Arlington Reads. We have been doing this since 2006 with our first book "Digging to America" by Anne Tyler in which we had conversations on adoption, immigration and what it means to be "other," an "outsider."

So, the question remains, are we there yet?

During our event with Andrea Elliott, she said that to understand "does not mean that we have reached an ultimate truth. Rather it means that we have experienced enough of something new and something formerly unseen to be provoked, humbled, awakened, or even changed by it."

Not a destination, a journey.

As we close this year and anticipate the next, all of us at Arlington Public Library leave you with a promise:

We will keep paying attention. We will keep showing up. We will keep listening. And we will continue to stand in the midst of others.

Will you join us?

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane KreshDirector, Arlington Public Library

Too Cool for Yule: #15

Photo of a vintage cassette and cover on a wooden surface.

For most of the years I have worked with Arlington Public Library, I have created a holiday playlist variously known as “Don’t Touch that Dial” or "Too Cool for Yule."

This annual tradition is deeply personal. It reminds me of the hundreds (thousands?) of hours I’ve spent over the years making mixtapes for friends, siblings, work colleagues, and often, just for me. Granted, with the likes of Spotify and iTunes, it’s a lot easier these days to put together a mixtape. No more painstaking searches through LPs, careful dropping of the stylus onto the correct groove, long waits by the radio to capture the perfect tune to fit the mood, person or occasion.

Like all art, holiday mixtapes tell a story. The best ones contain an eclectic blend of edgy and whimsical, happy and sad, a little silly, a little snappy, and occasionally, a little sappy. I had fun putting it together and I hope you have fun listening.

Open on Spotify

Every year I honor a few of the musicians who have left us. Norma Waterson, Loretta Lynn, Ronnie Spector, Jerry Lee Lewis … gone and not forgotten. And I close each list with a song I hope speaks to all of us. This year’s selection is Woody Guthrie’s "This Land" sung by the Staple Singers.

As 2022 winds down, take a break, grab a beverage, and give a listen to "Too Cool for Yule 2022." And don’t be shy about singing along. It will make you feel great.

From all of us at Arlington Public Library. Always Free. Always Open.

Diane Kresh
Director
Arlington Public Library

Scrawled signature of Diane Kresh

Taking it Personally: National Coming Out Day

Tuesday, October 11, marks the 34th anniversary of National Coming Out Day, an annual observance to raise awareness of the interests and rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. Arlington Public Library is honoring this date by displaying Pride flags.

Photo collage of Library Director Diane Kresh against a Pride flag and book shelves.

Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh

As a gay person, National Coming Out Day holds personal significance.

The below message was originally published three years ago, but it all remains true. In fact, it seems more than ever, the LGBTQIA+ community is threatened. Book bans are on the rise. A public library in Michigan was defunded following a controversy over LGBTQIA+ books.

I take it personally when we discover pages in our Library’s children’s books about gay moms and dads which have been deliberately torn or defaced.

I take it personally when a patron writes me and tells me that the Library’s Pride Month book displays promote sexually deviant behavior.

And I take it personally when a patron threatens to trash a branch library because it has displayed the Pride flag.

As an Arlington County leader, my support of National Coming Out Day means that I encourage Library staff to show up at work as they truly are — proudly and without fear of consequence.

As a public library director, National Coming Out Day reminds me that each day in a library is coming out day. Libraries are judgment free zones — safe spaces that welcome all who enter their doors, regardless of beliefs, preferences, country of origin, age, income status or appearance.

And as a gay person, National Coming Out Day affirms a commitment I made to myself: to respect and honor my choices and to be who I am, this day and every day.

Arlington Public Library: Always Free. Always Open. Always Welcoming to Everyone.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Stand Up for Books

Director’s Message

"Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” 

– Margaret Atwood, banned book author of "The Handmaid’s Tale."

Established in 1982 by the late Judith Krug, then director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office of Intellectual Freedom, Banned Books Week (September 18-24, 2022) promotes free and open access to ideas and information.

Hardly a week goes by when there is not a news story about a book challenge happening somewhere: "The Bluest Eye," "Maus," "Gender Queer," "The Hate U Give." Frequent targets are fiction and nonfiction about people of color, LGBTQIA+ protagonists, and books dealing with Jewish and Muslim religious/ethnic themes.   

Several Arlington Reads authors have been banned book listed: Kiese Laymon, Jacqueline Woodson, Judy Blume, Alison Bechdel, Tim O’Brien. And this year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication in the US of James Joyce’s "Ulysses," the standard bearer for book censorship.   

Challenges are on the rise. 

According to an article in the Washington Post (March 22, 2022), "School book bans are soaring. Although the vast majority of challenges go unreported, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom counted 330 incidents of book censorship in just the three months from September to November 2021 — marking the highest rate since the association began tracking the issue in 1990.”

And the rhetoric is getting hotter. 

Earlier this year, one Oklahoma lawmaker compared librarians to cockroaches. Less comically, we have been called groomers and pedophiles for having LGBTQIA+ books on the shelves.  Closer to home, two members of the Spotsylvania County School Board in Virginia advocated for burning certain books, and a lawsuit filed against two authors and a book seller in Virginia Beach hopes to prohibit the sale of books deemed obscene. Not great.

Books are transformational.

They challenge our beliefs and biases, expose us to different experiences and cultures. They help us learn to think for ourselves and not follow the group think of public opinion. Yes, they can be dangerous and offensive.  And that is how it should be.  Indeed, there is a book in every library that offends someone somewhere.  And if there isn’t, librarians are not doing their jobs.   

How can you help celebrate Banned Books Week?

Here are a couple of ideas:

  1. Become informed on the topic.  These are resources we have found particularly useful: https://pen.org/banned-in-the-usa/ and https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/oif.
  2. Commit to reading at least one challenged book.
  3. And if you have a child at home, ask your child to commit to reading one, too. The family that reads together, thrives together.

"Let the wild rumpus start.” 

– Maurice Sendak, banned book author of "Where the Wild Things Are."

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

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

For me, 2021 was marked by reading. A lot of reading. I read classics, I read detective, I read NYT Best Sellers, I read non-fiction. I read print and on my iPhone. I fell in love with audio books. And most of what I read was borrowed from the library.

At the beginning of the year, I set an arbitrary Goodreads goal of 65 books and surpassed that number months ago. Yet I kept going and am now closing in on 100. A personal best. But for me, the record signifies more than bragging rights on Goodreads.

Photo of book shelves in the library.

Let me explain.

I read widely because I can.  That is not the case everywhere in the world.  Books can be banned, press freedoms restricted, internet limited, if available at all. Disinformation is rampant and difficult, if not impossible, to check.  Censorship is not a new thing nor are attempts to ban and burn books.  Serious threats are raging just a few miles down the road from where we live in Arlington.

When America’s Founding Fathers were drafting the rules for a new government, they did not get everything right. What they did get right was understanding the value of free access to information.  All information — not just information officially sanctioned or promulgated by self-appointed arbiters.  And they backed up their belief with actions: Benjamin Franklin established the first lending library in Philadelphia and Thomas Jefferson’s gift of his personal library created the Library of Congress.

The shelves of Arlington Public Library are filled with books someone, sometime, is bound to find upsetting, ugly, false.  And that’s by design.  We purposefully build our collection to be both broad and deep. Whether one is looking to be entertained, informed, comforted — it’s all here and all free.

One of the most rewarding and most challenging responsibilities of a public librarian is our ethical obligation to provide access to materials that cover a wide range of viewpoints and opinions, even those with which we do not personally agree. We do not know the specific reasons why members of our community might choose to read a book, nor do we question their right to do so. Some might want to read a book because they agree with its perspective. Others might want to read it because they disagree. They might read it to gain a better understanding of one viewpoint in a national dialogue. In every case, we defend their right to read it.

We are thankful Arlington Public Library patrons have made us part of their reading journeys. And we appreciate their working with us to keep our collection diverse, welcoming of many viewpoints, and, yes, occasionally discomfiting.  Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison, whose “Beloved” was the subject of a recent local school controversy, had some things to say about banned books and censorship. This quote has stuck with me.

“The thought that leads me to contemplate with dread the erasure of other voices, of unwritten novels, poems whispered or swallowed for fear of being overheard by the wrong people, outlawed languages flourishing underground, essayists' questions challenging authority never being posed, unstaged plays, cancelled films — that thought is a nightmare. As though a whole universe is being described in invisible ink. Certain kinds of trauma visited on peoples are so deep, so cruel, that unlike money, unlike vengeance, even unlike justice, or rights, or the goodwill of others, only writers can translate such trauma and turn sorrow into meaning, sharpening the moral imagination.”

Stay safe, stay hopeful.  And keep reading.

Scrawled signature of Diane Kresh

Diane Kresh, Director, Arlington Public Library

Too Cool for Yule, 2021

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Since 2008, I have created a holiday playlist variously known as “Don’t Touch that Dial” or "Too Cool for Yule." (There is even a movement afoot to change the name to the “Ding a Ling Thing,” but I digress.)

Many years ago, I made mixtapes for my friends, my siblings, my work colleagues, and often, just for me. For those of you under the age of... fill in the blank... who might not have had the pleasure of methodically mining for nuggets in an LP collection, or waiting patiently by the radio for the hourly replay of the one tune that truly captures the essence of the person you are making the tape for, the mixtape can be a work of art. Each tape tells a story, and the best ones contain an eclectic blend of edgy and whimsical, happy and sad; a little silly, a little snappy and occasionally, a little sappy.

A couple of notes about this year’s edition. Each year I honor a few of the musicians who have left us. Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones, Graeme Edge of the Moody Blues, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, and Don Everly, the last surviving member of the Everly Brothers, sadly made it to the list. (I wanted to honor Nanci Griffith but could not locate a suitable holiday song.)

Open playlist in Spotify

Listeners will find pop, jazz, instrumental, New Orleans, country, bluegrass, R&B, old school pop, The Chipmunks, and more. Perhaps my favorite is a bluesy tune by the inimitable Fats Domino, who wants to “Stop the Clock.” Wouldn’t we all.

The last words and notes go to Dave Frishberg, brilliant jazz pianist and satirist, musical mainstay of Schoolhouse Rock (“I’m Just a Bill"), who died November 17. His talk-singing of “You are There” touchingly sums it up for anyone who misses special someones.

As Year Two of the pandemic winds down, take a moment (or 5760 -- thank you, Alexa), grab a beverage, any kind will do, and enjoy “Too Cool for Yule 2021.”

And above all…

Stay safe, stay hopeful.

Diane Kresh
Director
Arlington Public Library

Scrawled signature of Diane Kresh

Message from the Library Director on Masks and Social Distancing

Effective Wednesday, Aug. 18, all individuals, age two and older, who enter Arlington Public Library buildings will be required to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status.

We are taking this action to protect our community’s health and well-being due to the recent spike in cases of COVID-19 in our area. We also ask that you continue to maintain 6 feet of distance between yourself and people who don’t live in your household. These steps are consistent with actions being taken in Loudoun County, Fairfax and Alexandria library systems.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), and the Arlington County Public Health Division, COVID-19 continues to pose a risk, especially to individuals who are not fully vaccinated.

As always, thank you for your patience and cooperation as we strive to provide safe library services in this difficult time.

Diane

Scrawled signature of Diane Kresh

Diane Kresh
Director
Arlington Public Library

The Library Director’s 2020 Book List, Continued

Reading in a Pandemic

“Salvation is certainly among the reasons I read. Reading and writing have always pulled me out of the darkest experiences in my life. Stories have given me a place in which to lose myself. They have allowed me to remember. They have allowed me to forget. They have allowed me to imagine different endings and better possible worlds.”

Roxane Gay, "Bad Feminist"

In late December last year, I compiled a list of books I intended to read in 2020.  As with most “to do” lists and resolutions, I began with good intentions. And then the pandemic hit and the books on my list no longer seemed adequate. My reading tastes shifted along with everything else in both my work and home life.

Photo of hand written notes of a book list.

I’ve always been a reader, but I began reading voraciously, as if I was running out of time.

Barely was a book closed before another opened. My hold list in the library catalog grew and grew and GREW. I created booklists on scraps of paper and in the margins of the arts and style sections of the newspaper. I listened faithfully to The Book Review Podcast from the New York Times.

And I read. All the time. More than 50 books in all, across genres and styles, dating from the 19th century to the present.

Diane's 2020 Pandemic Reading List
Photo of book covers.

There were many standouts. Long a fan of coming of age novels, I read five that will stick with me. Each of these authors is known for other, more famous books. These are worth a look for everyone who wants to revisit the trials of adolescence and early adulthood.

I dipped into classics:

And on the lighter side because I needed a dose of hopefulness, “A Wrinkle in Time,” by Madeleine L’Engle.

Photo of book covers.

Race was very much on the national mind and steered me toward:

The 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and women being granted the right to vote drew me to women’s issues more broadly. I read:

For the pure pleasure of superior plotting and writing, I’ll mention “Disappearing Earth” by Julia Phillips.

Photo of book covers.

And finally, the wonderful Arlington READS authors whose books we featured in our 2020 series, “We the People.” In a year of reinvention of Library programs and services, we Zoomed the author talks, part of our new now.

And on a personal note, I discovered the joy (and ease) of audiobooks, especially when read by the author. What a delightful way to get lost in a story.

Diane's 2020 Pandemic Reading List

Reading was an anchor, a sure bet during months of uncertainty. With hours blending into days, into weeks and then months, I occasionally lost track of the day of the week, but never lost my place in a book. I had something to look forward to and there were always more books.

My stacks of books have not disappeared, and I am still adding holds in the Library catalog. At this moment, I am reading “Surviving Autocracy,“ by Russian-American journalist, translator and activist Masha Gessen, who I am excited to announce will be our first Arlington READS author in the new year.

In closing, thank you for your support of Arlington Public Library. It is a joy and an honor to serve this wonderful community.

Stay safe, stay hopeful and keep reading.

Diane

Scrawled signature of Diane Kresh

The Library Director’s 2020 End-of-Year Playlist

"Too Cool for Yule"

Funky Cassette Tape
Cassette Case Playlist

When I was younger, I made mixtapes for my friends, my siblings, my work colleagues, and often, just for me. For those under 35 who might not have had the experience of methodically pouring over your record and tape collection or waiting patiently by the radio for the replay of that one tune that really captures the essence of the person you are making the tape for, the hours you can spend with your two-slot cassette player are some of the most intimate and lonely, exhilarating and exhausting, optimistic and indulgent, and simply joyful experiences you can have (just ask your parents). Each tape is a story of a person. Some are goofy. Some are sobering. Some are topical. And some are just a hodgepodge of inanity. But each one is special. Every mixtape is a piece of your heart and glimpse of the “you” you are when no one is looking.

For the past 13 years, I have published a “Too Cool for Yule” playlist, as my love letter to the County and the people we serve. And while (sadly) Spotify has replaced the cassette tape, making the process easier, like much of 2020, this playlist was more difficult than ever to create.

How can I truly honor those that have left us too soon, the sacrifices we have all had to make, and the growing uncertainty of what next year will bring? How can I capture both the compassion and caring our neighbors have shown for one another throughout the pandemic, and our fervent wish for brighter days to come? So this was my attempt:

Open playlist in Spotify

From the mournful twang of Pete Seeger to the unbridled joy of Little Richard. With solemnity from the Boston Camerata and the eccentricity of Tom Lehrer, we hope this playlist has something for everyone. If you are alone for the holidays, please know, we are here for you. And let us hit pause for a moment to reflect on the immortal words of John Prine:

No Libra sun, no Halloween
No giving thanks for all the Christmas joy you bring
But what it is, though old so new
To fill your heart like no three words could ever do

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

As one of my wise colleagues recently told me, even though many of us cannot celebrate the holidays this year, if we’re lucky, there will be many, many more to come.

Stay safe, stay hopeful.

Diane

Scrawled signature of Diane Kresh
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