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2022 Summer Reading: Oceans of Possibilities

June 1 - September 1

Washington Nationals Summer Reading Ambassador Sean Doolittle.

2022 Summer Reading Offers Hundreds of  "Oceans of Possibilities" Programs, Fun Prizes and Inspired Booklists for Everyone!

On June 1, 2022, Arlington Public Library will kick off its annual Summer Reading program which is made possible through the support of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library and the Washington Nationals. Between June 1 and September 1, readers of all ages are invited to immerse themselves in reading, participate in 500 free programs and to explore the 2022 theme "Oceans of Possibilities."

Summer Reading

Win Washington Nationals Tickets And Meet Summer Reading Ambassador Sean Doolittle

For each reader who completes the Summer Reading challenge the Washington Nationals will offer one voucher (good for two tickets) to select baseball games in August and September (while supplies last).

The Library will offer a special storytime with Washington Nationals Summer Reading Ambassador Sean Doolittle on June 18, starting 10 a.m., at Central Library. Help us celebrate the Library's partnership with the Washington Nationals by welcoming Sean Doolittle. This program is for children and families. Attendance is on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached.

RSVP for Storytime with the Washington Nationals

Read for A Cause

For each successful Summer Reading completion, the Friends of the Arlington Public Library will donate $1 to Potomac Conservancy, a local non-profit fighting to ensure the Potomac River boasts clean drinking water, healthy lands and vibrant communities. On June 4, the Potomac Conservancy invites the community to participate in several clean-up events.

Volunteer with the Potomac Conservancy

Participate in Hundreds of Free Summer Reading Programs

Between June 1 and September 1, the Library will offer over 500 free events for all ages and interests. Join us for Summer Reading celebrations at all seven branches during our kickoff weekend on June 4 - 5. No registrations are needed for the following Library events:

Saturday, June 4

Aurora Hills Library, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
This interactive program combines activities such as read-aloud stories, songs, rhymes and fingerplays. Join us after storytime for a bubble party. Sea glass craft making from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
MORE

Central Library, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Summer Reading Kickoff events to include games, treats, workshops, and prizes, including storytimes plus Q&As featuring Arlington children's book authors:

  • 1:00 p.m.: Camille and Kennedy Watkin, authors of "My Best Friend, Grandpa"
  • 1:30 p.m.: Nadia and Arrington Conyers, authors of "From Lee Highway to Langston Boulevard"
  • Scavenger hunt activities with EcoAction Arlington
  • 1:30 - 2:30 pm: Kona Ice Truck will offer free snow cones (while supplies last).

MORE

Cherrydale Library, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Children will enjoy a coloring activity, refreshments and prizes.
MORE

Glencarlyn Library, June 4, 12:15 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Celebrate Glencarlyn Day with indoor family storytime and finger puppets followed by a moon bounce and snow cones on the Carlin Hall grounds.
MORE

Shirlington Library, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Celebrate the beginning of Summer Reading with a sweet treat from the Kona shaved ice truck, art and games! We’ll have a signup table and various activities. .
MORE

Westover Library, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Children and families are invited to storytime, a bubble bonanza and free snow cones from the Kona Ice Truck.
MORE

Sunday, June 5

Columbia Pike Library,  2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Celebrate the beginning of Summer Reading with a sweet treat from the Kona shaved ice truck! We’ll have a signup table, games and a craft activity.
MORE

Find More Programs

Lubber Run Performing Arts Series

Throughout the summer, Arlington Public Library and Arlington Arts will host a Lubber Run Performing Arts Series on select Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Lubber Run Amphitheater, located at 200 N. Columbus St.

Meet Grammy award winning children’s performer Dan Zanes and Haitian-American jazz vocalist Claudia Zanes. Set sail with "Talewise"and join him on a thrilling action-packed adventure involving a crew of quirky pirates. Learn about conductor Cody’s Railroad Submarine where anything can happen with a bit of magic. And enjoy a modern rendition of a children's classic "Three Not So Little Pigs," presented by Blue Sky Puppet Theatre. All four programs are free and presented in partnership with Arlington Arts.

Big Book Podcast: King Lear / Fool

Revisting Shakespeare with Christopher Moore

Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the books first and come back later.

Ep.7: "King Lear" & "Fool"

For this episode we read both the play "King Lear," written by William Shakespeare, and the 2009 book “Fool,” by Christopher Moore. King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s tragic plays, and is based on a legendary 8th Century BCE king of Britain (which would have been around the founding of Rome), as recounted in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s pseudohistorical 12th-century History of the Kings of Britain. “Fool,” on the other hand, is a comedy. Reminder: this is a spoiler-filled podcast. So if you’re not into that kind of thing, read the books first and come back later.

Share your thoughts about this book, or anything else you’re reading, in our Facebook group, or on twitter using the #BigBookPodcast hashtag.

If you’d like to make a suggestion for future reading send us your recommendations on the Big Book Club Podcast page.

 

Episode Links

We're Reading

Upcoming Books:

"Beowulf: a New Translation” by Maria Headley and “The Mere Wife” by Maria Headley

Celebrate Pride Month

2022

Pride Month is celebrated each year in June, to recognize the impact that LGBTQIA+ individuals have had on our history - locally, nationally and internationally. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

A note about LGBTQIA+ These letters stand for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual. The + sign in this context recognizes that our understanding of labels and vocabulary is personal, and continues to evolve.

Photo of the Pride flag flying on the flagpole under the Arlington County flag at Central Library

Book Lists

LGBTQIA+ Science Fiction and Fantasy

Movies with Pride

LGBTQIA+ History for Adults

LGBTQIA+ History for Teens

LGBTQIA+ History for Kids

MORE BOOK LISTS

Events at the Library

LGBTQIA+ Stories and History

On This Day in LGBTQIA+ History

Happy Pride…

Oral History: LGBTQ Activist Lilli Vincenz

Video: Interview with Freddie Lutz

Oral History: Arlington’s First Openly LGBTQ Elected Official

Video: Arlington Reads with Kiese Laymon

A Conversation about Laymon’s Memoir “Heavy”

Watch now: https://youtu.be/YobRf9QsEJo

Available to watch online until June 19, 2022.

“Heavy” is a stylish and complex memoir, in which Laymon presents bittersweet episodes of being a chubby outsider in 1980s Mississippi. He worships his long-suffering, resourceful grandmother, who loves the land her relatives farmed for generations and has resigned herself to the fact of commonplace bigotry. Laymon laces the memoir with clever, ironic observations about secrets, sexual trauma, self-deception, and pure terror related to his family, race, Mississippi, friends, and a country that refuses to love him and his community.

Laymon is currently working on several new projects, including the long poem, “Good God,” the horror comedy, “And So On,” the children’s book, “City Summer, Country Summer,” and the film Heavy: An American Memoir.

Arlington Public Library Receives Large, One-Time Increase to its Collections’ Budget

On April 26, 2022, the Arlington County Board adopted the Fiscal Year 2023 budget and allocated $543,000 in one-time funding to the Arlington Public Library’s collections starting
July 1, 2022.

The budget increase will support the Library‘s aim to reduce wait times across the collections, re-engage the community after a two-year pandemic through creative programming, and invite more readers to explore the Library’s titles and participate in its various services.

"The additional funds will allow us to get more books into more hands, more quickly," said Library Director Diane Kresh. "A well-stocked, diverse collection benefits the entire community." 

With the budget increase, the Library will add 12,000 titles to its circulation and drastically reduce wait times for popular eBooks and eAudiobooks. "Our top priority is to ensure patrons have access to books and information in multiple formats," said Kresh. "Patrons should be able to read and access information, when and how they want it.”  

The demand for electronic titles is at an all-time high with an increase for eAudio titles by 210% and for eBooks by 98.5% respectively. 

In addition to reducing wait times for electronic titles, the Library plans to expand three existing popular collection services:

  • Provide additional print and eBook titles for the "Grab & Go" express book collection.
  • Increase the "Always Available" eBook and eAudiobook collection.
  • Expand the volume of Spanish language books.

Explore the Library’s collections and discover all its booklists.

Browse Booklists

Download the Arlington Public Library App, get 24x7 access to the Library’s collections and discover upcoming programs, such as Summer Reading launching June 1.

Download Library App

To find more information about the adopted $1.50 billion balanced Arlington County General Fund Budget for Fiscal Year 2023, visit https://www.arlingtonva.us. 

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

2022

In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.

The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history:

  • The arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843)
  • Contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad completed May 10, 1869

In 1992, Congress expanded the observance to a monthlong celebration, now known as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

(Source: Census.gov blogpost: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: May 2022)

AAPI month square

Books Highlighting Asian American / Pacific Islander Experience - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Explore over 20 hand-picked book lists for all ages and interests, featuring fiction and non-fiction titles by contemporary authors. Topics range from history and politics to civil rights, from picture books to graphic novels, sci-fi, romance, mystery and more.

Asian and Asian Heritage Romance

Viet Nam

Asian American Pacific Heritage: Food

Asian in America

Asian and Asian American Authors: eBooks and eAudio

Events at the Library

Little Saigon Walking Tour

Writer Kim O'Connell takes us on a journey through a part of Clarendon once named "Little Saigon," drawing on her personal story to tell part of Arlington's history.

The project, “Echoes of Little Saigon,” was made possible with a generous grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) and support from Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development; Arlington’s Historic Preservation Program in the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development; and the Arlington County Library’s Center for Local History. Read Kim's writing on her website.

The Center for Local History Aids in Global Effort to Back Up Ukraine’s Digital Heritage

Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO) is an all volunteer organization of more than 1,300 cultural heritage professionals — librarians, archivists, researchers and programmers — who are working together to identify and archive at-risk sites, digital content and data in Ukrainian cultural heritage institutions while the country is under attack.

Arlington Public Library’s Digital Archivist, Greg Pierce at the Center for Local History (CLH), has been part of global volunteer effort to back up Ukraine’s digital heritage, currently at risk of being erased by the Russian invasion.

Pierce’s involvement includes database verification, task and link wrangling, and internal communications with other volunteers.

He ensures that each submitted website is not already in the SUCHO system and verifies that digital content does not contain malware before programmers back up the website and databases.

"I’m incredibly grateful that my background as a digital archivist has given me the skills to help out in some way," said Pierce. "Though I can’t be there physically to help the people of Ukraine, I can certainly gather online with colleagues all over the world to help preserve Ukraine’s digitized cultural heritage. Librarians and archivists have long been the safeguards of cultural history and heritage during wartime and this is what it looks like in the age of the internet."

Pierce started to volunteer for SUCHO in mid-March. When he is not engaged in volunteer efforts, he can be found at the Library's Center for Local History preserving and archiving historical documents that tell the history of Arlington County.

Purple poster for SUCHO effort.Interested in getting involved in Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online? Visit SUCHO.org

2022 FOAL Spring Book Sale

The Massive Used Book Sale Is Back!

The Friends of the Arlington Public Library’s (FOAL) will be back in full swing with the 2022 Spring Book Sale on April 28 – May 1. The grand sale will be held at Central Library in the parking garage and will be stocked with thousands of books, games, puzzles and other items for all ages and interests.

Dates, Hours & Location

Members Only Night; Thursday, April 28, 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Public Book Sale; Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1, 2022
Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy St., parking garage

  • Thursday, April 28, 5 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (Members Only Night)
  • Friday, April 29, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
  • Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
  • Sunday, May 1, noon – 6 p.m. All books are half price.
Shoppers standing in line at the FOAL book sale.

Shoppers can find everything from rare literary gems, to signed books, to vintage comics and board games — all at incredibly affordable prizes!

Visa, MasterCard, checks and cash will be accepted. Please bring your own bags or boxes as FOAL volunteers will have limited paper bags for patrons to use. Teachers and librarians with school IDs receive 50% off purchases on Friday and Saturday, and everyone receives 50% off on Sunday (it’s half-price day).

Spring Book Sale

Members Only Night

Want to get first dibs at the sale? Visit the FOAL website and fill out a membership form. Lifetime and active members of FOAL will receive an invitation by April 15 with a ticket for entry to access the sale. Membership will not be available at the door.

Parking

FOAL is using the G1 floor of the parking garage during the sale. Please use G2 and G3 in the parking garage or park in the outdoor lots surrounding the Library. The closest Metro stations to Central Library are Ballston and Virginia Square on the Orange Line.

Masking

In Arlington County, Virginia the community level is Medium. If you are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions. Masks are optional in Arlington Public Library buildings.

FOAL Bookstores

There are FOAL Bookstores at every Library location, where you can find great books in all genres year round. The two largest FOAL Bookstores are located at the Central and Shirlington Libraries.

Want to Volunteer?

Contact volunteer@arlingtonlibraryfriends.org to find out more about volunteering opportunities for the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.

Helping Ukraine

The final day to donate is Friday, April 15, after which all items will be boxed and secured for shipping.

The Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) has organized a campaign to collect donations of much needed cold weather items for the more than 3 millions residents of Ukraine who have fled their county due to the Russian invasion.

Items to donate:

  • New/Gently Used Coats
  • New Blankets
  • New Pairs of Sweat Socks/Heavy Socks
  • New Pairs of Gloves

In Arlington, items can be dropped off at Central Library. The donation box is next the Quincy Street entrance, under the bulletin board near the Youth Services room.

Learn more about the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, including more places to drop off  donations, on the NVRC website.

photo of donation box

Wake Up and Read! April 3 – April 9

Celebrate National Library Week and Take a Stand for Books

Libraries and librarians nationwide play a vital role in transforming lives and strengthening communities.

The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom  recently issued a statement opposing widespread efforts to censor books in U.S. schools and libraries.

Unfortunately, Virginia has been subject to these censorship efforts, and in light of this, Arlington Public Library is taking a stand to build awareness of these challenged books.

What Can You Do?

Link to National Library Week blog post.

Stop by your local branch between April 3-9 and explore our collection. Pick up a free coffee and a challenged or banned book (while supplies last).

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