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Arlington Public Library

Director's Blog

On the 25th Anniversary of September 11

“Never Forget.”

When I hear that phrase today, I think of the promise we collectively made after the United States endured a devastating terrorist attack that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people. It was a vow born from grief and a call to action that emerged as the fires were extinguished at the Pentagon here in Arlington.

An American flag draped over a portion of the Pentagon near where the structure was hit by a plane during the 9/11 attack. Photo by Diane Kresh. Charlie Clark Center for Local History, 133-01-02-01-107.

On September 11, we pause as a nation, a county and a community to remember the terrorist attacks that occurred twenty-five years ago at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center in New York City and aboard Flight 93 near Shanksville, PA.

Today, more than one-third of Americans are too young to have personal memories of September 11. This reality makes the task of remembrance, and our promise to “never forget,” even more important.

Libraries play a vital role in that work. We collect, preserve, verify and share the stories that help us remember. Through access to trusted information and historical records, libraries help communities understand, process and heal from tragedy.

Former Library Director Ann M. Friedman, who led Arlington Public Library from 1995 to 2006, reflected on this responsibility in her article, "Libraries in Times of Emergency—Lessons Learned,"(opens in new tab) published in the January-March 2002 issue of Virginia Libraries. She described the essential role libraries play during times of crisis, serving as trusted sources of information.

Two firefighters draw plans to work on the impact site at the Pentagon following the 9/11 attack. Photo by Michael Defina. Charlie Clark Center for Local History, 133-0030.

Beginning in 2006, on the fifth anniversary of the attacks, and continuing through today, the Charlie Clark Center for Local History has conducted a series of oral history interviews with first responders, school personnel and Arlingtonians about their experiences on September 11, 2001, and in the days that followed.

Transcripts of the oral histories(opens in new tab) are available online. They include the voices of Fire Chief James Schwartz, Fire Captain Gary Tobias, Firefighter/EMT Charles Cake, Deputy Police Chief Stephen Holl, H.B. Woodlawn Principal Ray Anderson, fifth-grade teacher Gail Klein, American Muslim Yasmine El-Droubi and many others.

During this week of remembrance, whether you are reflecting on your own memories or learning about this devastating chapter in American history, I encourage you to explore the Library’s September 11 resource page, created in partnership with the Charlie Clark Center for Local History.

I invite you to spend time with the print and digital materials, including first-person accounts, oral histories, transcripts and photographs. Whether you are piecing together your personal recollections or learning from the experiences of others, every act of reading, reflecting and learning is a way of answering the call to “never forget.”

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Additional 9/11 Programs of Remembrance and Renewal

Writings on 9/11 Response from Director Ann Friedman

Libraries in Times of Emergency—Lessons Learned

The following article was first published in the January-March 2002 issue of Virginia Libraries by Ann M. Friedman, who served as Director of Arlington Public Library from 1995 through 2006.

On the morning of September 11 around 9 o'clock l was doing what library directors frequently do: standing at a library construction site and explaining to the foreman why the endless delays (weeks) in finishing a library are unacceptable. The only difference this time was that the library site was one half mile from the Pentagon.

As the events of the day and the following weeks unfolded, I learned and relearned many lessons about the importance of librarians' skills and the value of libraries to communities. I also recognized some of the limitations we as a profession
need to overcome if we are to become what we all envision as essential: a widely recognized, vital force in the community.

Lesson one: Librarians know how to organize information-not just "library" type, fairly static, information, but, more broadly, content. Because these skills have long been recognized here in Arlington and because in a small government all "recognized" skills are utilized, the library system manages the county, as well as the library, web site; the government cable channel; and the I & R service, which answers the county's main phone number. As a consequence of all these responsibilities, I also chair the Arlington County Communications Emergency Task Group.

The need to organize information and use it across formats was dramatically seen in the Information and Referral service. Within hours of the incident, the I & R service was overwhelmed with offers of help—from food to cranes to off-duty emergency personnel wanting to volunteer. Some of the services were desperately needed, but the question quickly became how to capture the information in a usable format-usable by multiple players in real time in multiple locations.

Libraries think databases—a library staff member quickly created one. The phone offers were entered directly into the database—almost 1,000 in the first week. For the first few days the I & R service operated 24 hours a day. Firefighters located badly needed supplies; Human Service workers found needed counselors; food for workers was directed to the right place. At the end of the critical emergency period, thank-you calls were made to the donors using the information captured in the database.

Lesson two: Complete, absolutely accurate, information delivered long after the need has passed is less useful than more limited information dellvered in a timely manner. During the 9/11 emergency, the information on local conditions was changing so rapidly that a daily newspaper could not provide adequate coverage. Consequently, the cable channel and the county web site transformed themselves from mostly passive repositories of local-interest programming and information, much like libraries, to active news sources. The county web site was reformatted to include a news page with local information, including massive and changing road closings, bus rerouting, and links to broader news stories at the state and federal level. The visual aspects and design of the site were also changed to reflect the emergency in the county and in the country.

Lesson three: Information must be re-purposed and used across all delivery formats—from video to web to print. Arlington is the fire department of the Pentagon and local police are responsible for the roads and access points around the Pentagon. Consequently, the twice-daily news briefings at the Pentagon, which involved local police and firefighters, were of great local interest. These briefings were not fully reported in the national media. The local government cable channel taped and edited the briefings and broadcast them on the local cable channel within hours. The briefings were then transcribed and put into a news format on the web site.

Lesson four: Public access to e-mail is an important public utility in an emergency. During this emergency operation, the seven public libraries in the county remained open for business, closing only one evening on the first day. In the first few days because telephone circuits in the area were overwhelmed, libraries, particularly in the multi-ethnic areas near the Pentagon, were heavily used for e-mail. Families made connections with other family members in their homelands to say they were all right. Others sought information about friends and family in New York.

Lesson five: Symbols of a government in control and continuing to operate are critical to community stability in an emergency. Arlington County libraries were one of those symbols. They were a sign of normalcy. The-government was working and delivering services as usual. The community appreciated the symbolic and real service.

This formal rethinking and "lessons learned" might give the impression of a well-oiled machine waiting for the right emergency to show its stuff. Hardly! It was a raggedy operation with panic often dose at hand. We never knew what we would be called on to do next, and fatigue set in as time passed. Anthrax was not a welcome visitor, nor were the tornado winds that swirled through the neighborhood of the newly opened library. This leads me to a final lesson.

Lesson six: Libraries in their traditional role are important builders of stable communities, but they also must not be afraid to use their very great skills broadly. In the words of business plans in a competitive, Internet-driven economy—we must shorten the time between product development and the marketplace—and we must market our skills and products broadly in order to remain competitive.

Letter to the Editor

The following letter to the editor from Ann M. Friedman was published in the November/December 2021 issue of American Libraries.

At the time of the attacks on September 11, 2001, I was director of Arlington (Va.) Public Library. Arlington is a small, densely populated community located outside Washington, D.C., and it's home to the Pentagon. Our fire departments were deeply involved in the response to the attacks, and when I recently attended the annual commemoration events here, it all felt close and personal.

I appreciated the articles in American Libraries' "The Legacy of 9/11" package (Sept./Oct., p. 28) but felt something was missing. More attention should have been paid to what public libraries did in response to the incident itself as it was evolving, and what was learned. I remain deeply proud of Arlington Public Library's immediate response to the attacks and its contributions to the long-term recovery.

The flexibility of public libraries and their ability to act and respond as a crisis is evolving is one of the often forgotten reasons that a public library plays such an important role in its community. I was reminded of that recently when I learned from a Washington Post article about public libraries distributing free COVID-19 tests. The community trusts public libraries, and libraries are to be commended for taking action.

Remembering Arlington Reads Author Wendell Berry (1934-2026)

It is with sadness that Arlington Public Library acknowledges the recent death of Wendell Berry, literary legend and recipient of the National Humanities Medal. He was born on August 5, 1934, in Henry County, Kentucky.

Library Director Diane Kresh in conversation with author Wendell Berry. Central Library, May 4, 2010.

Berry was a passionate farmer, environmental activist and prolific writer of poems, stories, novels and essays who published more than 40 books including The Memory of Old Jack.

He urged writers and readers to honor and reconnect with the soil through his declaration that “eating is an agricultural act.”

And he was an early advocate for the sustainability movement, inspiring writers and food activists Michael Pollan and Alice Waters.

On May 4, 2010, I was in conversation with Wendell Berry for the fifth annual Arlington Reads program. It was Arlington Public Library’s first big draw and my first outing as an interviewer. The Barbara M. Donnellan Auditorium was packed and spilled over into the lobby with more than 300 Berry fans who collectively (I dare say, ecstatically) rose to their feet as he slipped through the garden doors.

I remembered that evening with this reflection:

"It wasn’t the Beatles at Shea or Hendrix at Woodstock. Or even the Jonas Brothers at Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

But it might have been. For when farmer-writer Wendell Berry slipped through the side door of the Central Library Auditorium, he caused an unprecedented eruption of goodwill and generosity, the likes of which he had never before witnessed. And neither had we.

…presided over by a courtly storytelling philosopher who kept his audience both spellbound and hopeful. His messages were simple: keep faith with yourself, your community, your land…"

When we ended our conversation, he turned to me and said, “You did a good job.” My heart sang.

Wendell Berry left an indelible impression on the world and the audience who joined us that magical night. We will always remember his wisdom when he told us to “know and be proud of our space… to stop using too much. To buy local… to value hard work, to be useful. To have hope, to look within ourselves for the strength and courage to beat back the false idol of bigger, better.”

Truer words were never spoken.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Additional Resources

Director’s Message: Thank You

Dear friends,

Arlington County government conducts Resident Satisfaction Surveys to assess resident perceptions, experiences and priorities related to County services, programs and community conditions. Seven of these studies have been administered since 2004, and each offers County leaders opportunities to celebrate successes and identify areas for improvement.

Director Kresh addresses a crowd from a podium.
Director Kresh addressing the crowd at an Arlington Reads author talk. Photo by Daniel Rosenbaum.

I am excited to share that the survey conducted earlier this year and released last week revealed Arlington Public Library earned a resident satisfaction rate of 89% across library services and programs. Indeed, according to the consultant’s report, “the County’s library system was one of the most well-regarded County services, earning very high marks across the survey.”

View Full Report
A couple dancing at Pride Prom.
Attendees dancing at the Library's Pride Prom.
The Truck at National Night Out.
The Truck at a National Night Out event.

I’m not going to lie. It feels good to be liked and to know the work the staff and I do each day is appreciated by so many of you.

However.

High ratings do not mean we can rest on our laurels. There is always more we can do to improve the quality of life in Arlington, and we will continue to try and connect with residents for whom the Library is not central to their lives. We want to know who you are and how we can help you. We strive to meet the needs of all our residents.

Children playing at Courthouse Library.
Arlingtown at Courthouse Library's grand opening. Photo by Daniel Rosenbaum.
A mother reads to her daughter.
Patrons at a Spring FOAL Book Sale.

Thank you for allowing your children’s teddy bears to attend our sleepovers.

Thank you for taking tea with our American Girl dolls.

Thank you for bringing us into your homes with our streaming author talks.

Katie and Vincent's wedding at Central Library.
Katie and Vincent's wedding at Central Library. Photo by Alex Sakes.
A Memory Café gathering.
A Memory Café gathering.

Thank you for reading our newsletter; it ranked above “Mom” as a trusted source of information in the survey.

Thank you for checking out more than 3.9 million items in FY26, a record high for us.

Thank you for bringing your loved ones to Memory Cafés.

Basheer Kareem performs a storytime.
Basheer Kareem performing a Tunes & Tales Storytime.
Teen volunteers at the library.
Teen library volunteers welcoming Teen Takeover attendees.

Thank you for encouraging your teenagers to volunteer with us.

Thank you for showing up.

Libraries are needed now more than ever. Thank you for cherishing this one.

With gratitude,

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Director’s Message: Pride Month

Words Matter

Arlington Public Library staff marching in the 2025 D.C. World Pride Parade.
Arlington Public Library staff marched in the World Pride Parade held in Washington, D.C. June 7, 2025.

As we celebrate America 250 alongside Pride Month this year, let us reflect on the culmination of public action that brought us to where we are today. Pride Month is a time to celebrate and support the culture and contributions of the LGBTQIA+ community—from riots to parades to a Presidential Proclamation.

Coining of the slogan “Gay Pride” is attributed to L. Craig Schoonmaker, one of the organizers of the event to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots of 1969. A few years later, the first rainbow flag appeared, designed by activist and artist Gilbert Baker at the behest of Harvey Milk for the June 25, 1978, San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. More recently, flags have been designed to further inclusion and bring to the fore marginalized LGBTQIA+ communities of color, those living with HIV/AIDS, and trans and non-binary persons.

Unfortunately, the word “pride,” chosen to connote unity and self-acceptance among a group of people, is now among many words—freedom, patriotism, valor, equity, diversity, immigrant—being weaponized either in support of policy agendas, or to “trigger” the other side, whomever or whatever that is.  Such wordplay can result in behaviors ranging from "owning" and trolling to dangerous dehumanizing of our fellow Americans. That’s both disturbing and frankly un-American.

Gay and lesbian demonstrators protest Virginia’s "crimes against nature" law.
Several thousand gay and lesbian demonstrators protest Virginia’s "crimes against nature" law. Photograph by Ray Lustig, courtesy of the DC Public Library Washington Star Collection © Washington Post.
Gilbert Baker during the 2012 San Francisco Pride Parade.
Gilbert Baker during the 2012 San Francisco Pride Parade. Photo by Gareth Watkins. 

As we reflect throughout this year on the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation, we cannot know for certain what the Founders would have thought about gay rights, or civil rights, or feminism, or any of the other movements that have helped our nation grow and forge our collective identity.

Key words and phrases from the Declaration of Independence suggest that given their foundational principles, they would have been supportive. Phrases like: “all men are created equal,” “inalienable rights” granted by the Creator and not the government, and the right to “life, liberty and happiness” as chosen by the individual and not the state.

They might not have landed on the word Pride, known in their day as one of the seven deadly sins along with fan favorites: envy, sloth, etc. But no matter. Their words matter and have been used countless times as rationales to right wrongs, demand social change and become our best selves. As was intended and reinforced a dozen years later in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution which proclaimed:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence (sic), promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Happy Pride.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Director's Note

While L. Craig Schoonmaker made contributions to the Pride Movement, I must condemn the harmful beliefs he held against women and gender nonconforming people.

Celebrate Pride at the Library.

Check out Director Kresh's list of LGBTQIA+ titles for Pride Month 2026.

Pride Guest List

Learn more about Pride history and activism with the Library's LGBTQIA+ Timeline.

Learn More

Director’s Message: National Poetry Month

I Hear America

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

April is National Poetry Month, and I am reminded of two poems I first read in elementary school: “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “I Hear America Singing.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a 19th-century celebrity poet whose "Paul Revere's Ride,” published in 1861, was written to inspire patriotism and unity among his fellow Americans on the eve of the Civil War. Composed in a propulsive anapestic tetrameter to mimic the hoofbeats of galloping horses, the poem made a folk hero of Revolutionary War patriot Revere and evoked the valor of those who thundered off to give rise to a new nation.

“Listen my children and you shall hear 
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere" …
Dum dada dum dada dum dada DUM.

Decades after his ride, Revere established the Revere Copper Company (later Revere Copper and Brass, Inc.)—producer of Revere Ware—a staple of mid-20th-century household kitchens. I wonder how many cooks featured in this year’s Arlington Reads “Stirs It Up” series got their start using these copper-bottomed pots and pans in their parents’ kitchens?

Leaves of Grass.
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
Walt Whitman.
Walt Whitman, photo by George C. Cox. Feinberg-Whitman Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Lot 12017.

Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” was included in the third edition of Leaves of Grass, published in 1860. It is a paean to the dignity, pride and individual voices of working-class Americans—uplifting, patriotic and joyful. And yet, the song of a harmonious America was not sung by all. Whitman’s optimism was soon enough shattered by the brutality of the Civil War he saw in Washington, D.C., while nursing wounded soldiers.

Author Langston Hughes.
Langston Hughes, photo by James L. Allen. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library.

Langston Hughes published “I, Too” in 1926—the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As a Black American, Hughes despaired of realizing the essential truth of the document, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” An homage and counterpoint to Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing,” Hughes asserts Black Americans will one day claim their rightful “seat at the table.”

Longfellow, Whitman and Hughes, each writing in a different context and time, appealed to our better natures to unite in common cause and reach the promise of freedom from oppression; equality among genders, race, and religions; and justice for all.

At the close of the Constitutional Convention in September 1787, Elizabeth Willing Powel—a power player in Philadelphia society and political circles which included George Washington—famously asked Delegate Benjamin Franklin, “What have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin replied, "A republic... if you can keep it."

The question is no less relevant today.

Happy National Poetry Month.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Director’s Message: Women’s History Month

In Praise of Women

Members of the Organized Women Voters at their 31st Anniversary Luncheon in 1954. Charlie Clark Center for Local History.

The community of Arlington has been enriched by the work of women leaders, whose impact has been felt in civil and voting rights, education, business, government and human services. Women have served with distinction on our elected boards and their names grace many of our public buildings and spaces. Women like Mary Norris Lockwood, Ellen Bozman, Emma Violand-Sánchez, Elizabeth Campbell, Dorothy Hamm, Mary Marshall, Evelyn Syphax and her sister-in-law Marguerite Reed Syphax. Many of their stories are represented in the archives of the Charlie Clark Center for Local History.  

Thanks to research done by Bridgette Wisdom, an Adult Services Librarian at Central Library, here are more stories of heroic women with an Arlington connection.

The Ball-Sellers House is owned and operated by the Arlington Historical Society.

With her husband, John Ball, Elizabeth Payne Ball (1716-1792) helped build what is now known as the Ball-Sellers House, Arlington’s oldest standing house. After Ball’s death in 1766, William Carlin, a tailor in Alexandria whose clients included George Washington and George Mason, bought the house. In that era, widows customarily left their homes to move in with their children, but that didn’t suit Elizabeth. She gave her dowry to Carlin in exchange for staying put, and she went to court to enforce a provision of British law that, despite the sale, granted her lifetime occupancy of one third of the property. Today, the Ball-Sellers House is operated by the Arlington Historical Society.

Adapted from "In Arlington’s Oldest House, a Layered Past" and "County’s oldest residential property approaches a milestone anniversary."

Selina Norris Gray with two of her daughters.
Selina Norris Gray with two of her daughters. National Park Service image.

Selina Norris Gray (1823-1907), a second-generation Arlington enslaved woman and personal maid to Mary Custis Lee, was entrusted with the care of Arlington House during the Civil War. When the Lee family fled Arlington House in 1861 under the threat of Union occupation, the keys were left with Selina who was tasked with protecting the family's home and heirlooms, many of which belonged to George and Martha Washington.  Gray saved the Washington heirlooms from looters when she prevailed upon Union General McDowell to remove the pieces to the U.S. Patent Office for safekeeping.  Selina and her children were freed in December 1862 and continued to live at Arlington House until they purchased 10 acres in Green Valley, where they grew and sold produce until her death in 1907. Selina Gray Square, located at 1201 South Ross Street, is named in her honor.

Adapted from "Selina Gray," "Selina Norris" and "Life of Gray Family."

Grace Hopper with three other programmers and the Univac I computer.
Grace Hopper with three other programmers and the operator's console of the Univac I computer, 1957. Courtesy of the Computer History Museum.

Grace Hopper (1906-1992) was a trailblazing computer scientist and U.S. Navy rear admiral. She helped program the Harvard Mark I during WWII, created one of the first compilers, and played a key role in developing COBOL, a programming language for business applications. Hopper's commitment to making computers accessible to all, regardless of their background, laid the foundation for the widespread use of computers today. Admiral Hopper is buried at Arlington National Cemetery and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. The Grace Murray Hopper Park is located at National Landing near the River House Apartments, where she lived until her death in 1992. The Grace Hopper Center, currently under construction, will be the innovation hub for Arlington Public Schools, housing new and growing programs available to APS high school students.

Adapted from "Rediscover Grace Murray Hopper" and "Grace Murray Hopper: Mathematician, Navy Veteran, Arlington Resident."

Police shot of Joan Trumpauer Mulholland
Police shot of Joan Trumpauer Mulholland. Jackson Mississippi, 1961.

Joan Mulholland is an American civil rights activist who was active in the 1960s. Rejecting segregated norms, she was one of the Freedom Riders who was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961, and was confined for two months in the Maximum Security Unit of the Mississippi State Penitentiary (known as "Parchman Farm"). The following year she was the first white student to enroll at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, and served as the local secretary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.  After her retirement from teaching, she founded the Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation dedicated to civil rights education. 

Adapted from "Joan Trumpauer Mulholland: Taking a Stand" and The Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation.

Torri Huske is an American competitive swimmer and Olympic champion known for her dominance in the butterfly and freestyle events. Born in 2002 in Arlington, Virginia, she began swimming at age six with Arlington Aquatic Club. Huske rose quickly through swimming age group competitions, breaking national records in high school before joining Stanford University. She has earned multiple Olympic medals and set American and world records. Huske has become one of the most decorated American swimmers of her generation with standout performances at the 2020 Olympics, 2022 World Championships and numerous collegiate and international meets. 

Adapted from "Torri Huske, Arlington’s Best-Known Olympian, Talks About Her NoVA Roots and What’s Next" and "Torri Huske’s winding road to Tokyo continues with an American record at the U.S. Olympic trials."

These women, along with an endless list of others, have left their mark on Arlington and the world—and inspire us to make our own.

Celebrate Women’s History Month and explore our diverse women’s voices book lists or find more stories about Arlington women from the Charlie Clark Center for Local History at Arlington Public Library. Always free. Always open.

Women's Voices Book Lists(opens in new tab)
Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Editor's note: The title "In Praise of Women" references the works of William Dunbar and Stephen Sondheim in name only.

Director’s Message: Black History Month

Feb. 11, 2026, Correction: In the previous message, it was stated that John Adams, along with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, was a slave owner. John Adams did not own slaves. Thank you to our conscientious readers who brought the error to our attention. For more information, visit the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. Revised message is below.

We are the story keepers now.

The President's House, Philadelphia, PA.
The President's House, Philadelphia, PA. National Park Service photo.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Philadelphia. City of Brotherly Love. Home of cheesesteaks, Philly Soul, the “Rocky” steps. And the President’s House site where George Washington and John Adams lived as the White House in Washington, D.C. was under construction. 

The site is part of Independence National Historical Park, and until late January of this year, featured a memorial consisting of videos and plaques about Washington's slaves who accompanied him to Philadelphia. The irony is obvious, a Founding Father who fought for freedom was himself a slave owner.

The National Park Service removed the plaques as part of a broad effort by the current administration to recast the American story into one of triumphal virtue. The drafters of the Declaration of Independence—Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Franklin—could be both for freedom and, all but Adams, own slaves. They were not perfect men; their views were complicated and framed by their times. They excused slavery and ignored the rights of women. To deny or paper over those facts does a grave disservice to those men and to all of us.

The Library Company of Philadelphia.
The Library Company of Philadelphia.

I’ve also been thinking about another historical site: the Library Company of Philadelphia founded as a scholarly club in 1731 by a 25-year-old Benjamin Franklin whose aim was to provide affordable access to books. While initially a subscription library, by 1741 the Library had opened to non-club members, providing an early framework for today’s public library.

The Library’s collections were broad. This description from a 1976 text by Edwin Wolf claimed the Library contained “virtually every significant work on political theory, history, law and statecraft (and much else besides) could be found on the Library Company's shelves, as well as numerous tracts and polemical writings by American as well as European authors. And virtually all of those works that were influential in framing the minds of the Framers of the nation are still on the Library Company's shelves.” The Library has been in continuous operation since its founding and recently became affiliated with Temple University.

National Park Employees remove signage related to slavery from the President's House. Photo by Mijuel K. Johnson.
National Park Employees remove signage related to slavery from the President's House. Photo by Mijuel K. Johnson.

I think about these two Philadelphia landmarks because they illuminate an essential question of our current times: whose narrative matters? And who has the right to tell it?

Clint Smith, the author of the brilliant article "Those Who Try to Erase History Will Fail," posited in The Atlantic that it will be up to private museums to preserve our nation’s history.  As a history buff who grew up feasting on the Smithsonian exhibits, I hope it doesn’t come to that.  Private means money, fees and privilege, and such projects will be undoubtedly difficult to establish and maintain. And those who have the means and choose to build them may not be inclined to share their fruits. 

This is why libraries and other public institutions are so important and necessary: to understand our past and prepare for the future, to exalt in achievements and be humbled by the shameful.  We went to the moon and back, and we treated American citizens as “less than” for centuries.  

Rather than hide our blemishes, we should embrace them–and vow to do better.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Director’s Message: Arlington 250

Libraries, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

A U.S. Naturalization Ceremony at Central Library.

2026 marks the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding.

What began in 1776 as an audacious experiment launched by leaders of 13 colonies with a combined population of 2.5 million has grown into a nation of 50 states, the District of Columbia and territories with more than 300 million people. Over the centuries, people immigrated to this country from all points of the globe in pursuit of personal freedom, to escape persecution and achieve a better quality of life they could not access in their home countries.

From the very beginning, libraries have been part of America’s “experiment”—doggedly supporting intellectual freedom, accepting people as they are and offering spaces filled with books and possibilities to anyone who calls America home.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photography Division, 102.
Arlington 250(opens in new tab)

In today’s fast-paced, interconnected world, communication is instantaneous, distinctions between fact and opinion are often blurred, and narratives are increasingly shaped by those in power. By contrast, libraries protect the collective narrative.

Libraries reveal life as it is lived—by people both ordinary and extraordinary—and commit to preserving the inconvenient truths that accompany growth and progress. By their very purpose, libraries assert the sanctity of the human spirit and the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Their presence in cities and rural towns across the United States is integral to creating an informed citizenry, where the voices of the powerful and powerless blend in service to a just and representative government. To strive for anything less is to diminish the bold and fearless ambition of our founders—while not perfect yet nonetheless dedicated to the ideals of equality we, as a nation, still hope to achieve.

Arlington Public Library will mark this milestone with a yearlong celebration featuring a community read, author talks, HistoryFest 250 in partnership with Arlington Historical Society in May, a summer festival in July, an oral history project and more.

The Library's Arlington 250 programming is made possible by the generosity of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.

County Manager Mark Schwartz reads a story during the reopening of Courthouse Library. Photo by Daniel Rosenbaum.

As we reflect on this significant historic milestone event, we invite everyone to take part and lend your voices and your wisdom as we consider where we have been as a community, a nation, a world—and where we are going. And as with all journeys, the destination is secondary to the journey itself.

Thank you for being part of our journey to be the best we can be for the community of Arlington we are proud and privileged to call “home.”

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Director’s Message: A Year of Reading and Fellowship

Our Year in Review

Arlington Public Library experienced a productive year in 2025, achieving several notable milestones.

Over 4,200 library programs attracted thousands of participants, while our staff conducted 400 outreach events in partnership with Arlington Public Schools, numerous County departments, and community development and housing organizations such as Affordable Homes & Communities (AHC) and True Ground.

Library patrons—numbering over 95,000—accessed more than 2.1 million physical books and 1.8 million digital media resources. Numerous titles offered both valuable insight into and relief from current events.

My 2025 reading list is available below, accompanied by commentary on the most noteworthy books.

I was already familiar with Lily King and Amy Bloom; the remaining three are notable new authors I intend to follow closely. The common theme among them is the exploration of love and family—whether it involves those we are related to by birth or those we select throughout life. Love and family. Frankly, what else is there?

Diane's 2025 Reading List(opens in new tab)

As I reflect on this past year, I am proud of the work we have done to serve and support the community of Arlington. Here are some highlights:

Katie and Vincent smile while they walk down the aisle after getting married at Central Library.
Photo by Alex Sakes Photography.

The Arlington Reads theme, “Share the Love,” was showcased through four distinguished author events featuring Julia Quinn, Curtis Sittenfeld, Casey McQuiston, and David and Nicola Yoon. Additionally, the program included Central Library's inaugural public wedding, attended by more than 300 guests including library patrons, in celebration of love and community.

The Community Picnic and Joining Fair brought hundreds to Central Library, where 29 local clubs recruited new members. Earlier in the year, a screening of “Join or Die” highlighted social scientist Robert Putnam’s research showing that democracy relies on robust civic connections.

Over 200 teenagers, including volunteers of the Teen Network Board, took part in a “Teen Takeover” after-hours event at Central Library, gaining exclusive access to The Shop and fun activities like fort-building, ZTAG and manicures.

Patrons visit a table at the Community Picnic and Joining Fair.
Director Diane Kresh smiles in front of a crowd of Pride paraders in Washington D.C.

During WorldPride 2025 in Washington, DC, local libraries joined the Pride parade, with staff members marching alongside a "Freedom to Read" banner to support literacy and access to information. Hearing the enthusiastic cheers from the crowd for both librarians and the LGBTQIA+ community—which I am proud to belong to—was both uplifting and exciting as we started along the parade route.

The “From Barriers to Ballots” exhibition highlighted the achievements of Arlington and Northern Virginia voting rights activists. Reverend Dr. DeLishia A. Davis closed the event with moving remarks and led a communal singing of “We Shall Overcome.”

Furloughed federal employees received comprehensive support, including access to meeting facilities, wellness initiatives, legal assistance, peer support groups, career development services and additional resources.

Our partners are vital: the Friends of the Arlington Library fund all Library programs and equipment for The Shop; One More Page Books supports our author events; and our County government colleagues and Arlington’s non-profits provide valuable expertise.

Engaging with patrons is a rewarding aspect of my role as Library Director. Arlington resident Susan Senn and her book club, active for over 40 years, have impressively completed 532 books.

A large group photo of Arlington Public Library staff enjoying a holiday party.

The values guiding our work—love, empathy, family, social justice and community—continue to shape our future direction. Thank you for your continued support of Arlington Public Library. We exist because of your engagement, and we deeply value the trust you've given us to be responsible and compassionate stewards—a responsibility we will always honor.

Always Free. Always Open. And wishing you all the best in the new year.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library



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