Almost 60 kids, their dolls and families celebrated Women’s History Month at Central Library on Wednesday, March 25.
Our American Girl Tea Party included crafts, games and refreshments:
Learn more about the American Girl Lending Program.
American Girl Lending Program
Happy Valentine's Day from Ivy
Letters from Our Friends!
When our American Girl dolls go home with our young patrons, they often come back with letters and pictures telling us about their amazing adventures. Read more of their journal entries on Flickr.
Learn more about the American Girl Lending Program.
Love Victoria, Age 9
We Love The Notes You Write
We read this in a recently returned American Girl Doll journal:
Learn more about the American Girl Doll Lending Program.
What Volunteers Do: American Girl Doll Maintenance
Keeping Dolls Healthy and Beautiful
In March 2013, Library started an innovative program to make the library (and reading) more fun and accessible to young readers.
The American Girl Lending Program has made American Girl doll kits available for 1-week checkout; each kit contains an American Girl historical doll, the associated “Meet [the doll]” book, an Arlington County historical fact sheet, a journal, and a carrying case. Young readers play with the doll while reading her book, learn about life in Arlington County during the time period covered in the book, and share the doll’s adventures by writing in her journal.
American Girl Doll Maintenance at Central Library
Dolls on hold, waiting to be picked up
Function: Take care of American Girl dolls
Current number of volunteers: 2
Hours: 1 hour/week
Special Skills: Must love dolls
The American Girl doll program has been very successful.
The number of kits has grown from 30 to 60 in less than a year, and readership of the American Girl doll books has grown in tandem; in fact, even with 60 kits, the books routinely are on hold for other readers. The program is expanding to include other activities, such as LEGO® kits and books. In addition, eight other library systems from across the country have contacted the Arlington County Library System for help in starting American Girl doll programs.
According to Anne Womack, Collection Development Librarian at Central, American Girl doll volunteers are critical to the success of this program.
The volunteers maintain the doll kits, so that each reader can receive a like-new doll. When a kit is returned, volunteers use special “American Girl doll” brushes and picks to brush out and re-style the doll’s hair. They also clean the doll’s face and hands, and inventory the kit to make sure nothing is missing or broken. Finally, they photocopy the journal entries, so that these accounts eventually can be posted to the Library’s blog. Once this work is completed, the kit is ready for its next recipient and the fun continues. Anne noted that readers and volunteers have taken such good care of the dolls, that no doll has been broken. But if one ever is, she can be admitted to the American Girl Doll Hospital for care!
Currently, there are two American Girl doll volunteers: a mother-daughter team who work one hour each week, after school. However, Anne noted that one or two more parent-child volunteer teams would be welcome! No special skills are needed, just a love of dolls!
– by volunteer Laura West and librarian Anne Womack
Interested in becoming a Library volunteer? Check out the Current Openings on our Volunteer Page.
Doll Quilts on Display at Columbia Pike
Small Works of Historic Art
Six of the historic quilts created for the Library’s American Girl Doll Lending Program by the Scrapbaggers Quilt Group are on display at the Columbia Pike Branch Library for the month of February:
The quilts will be on display at several other Library branches before going into circulation with their dolls.
Learn more about the American Girl Doll Lending Program.
Historic Quilts for American Girl Dolls
An Exciting New Addition to the American Girl Doll Lending Program
We recently received a donation of nine quilts, each one designed and created specifically for one of our historic American Girl Dolls.
The quilts were created by the Scrapbaggers Quilt Group, from the southern suburbs of Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Each woman in the group researched patterns and colors of quilts from the era of one of the dolls, then created a quilt just for her. Each quilt includes a label with the doll’s name, and the initials of quilter.
See detailed photos of each quilt on flickr, including the backs and labels.
The quilts are currently on display on the first floor at Central Library, but each one will eventually circulate with one copy of each American Girl Doll.
This remarkable donation is the brain-child of Laura Nagel, president of Minnesota Quilters, Inc and a librarian at Eagan High School, MN.
Nagel, who also teaches quilt classes and lectures on women’s history as revealed through quilts, read about the American Girl Doll Project in School Library Journal, and decided our program would make a great service project for her Scrapbagger group.
Before making their way to Arlington, these quilts were shown at the Minnesota Quilters monthly meeting, where they were very well received. Members now plan to also make create a quilt for Kaya and Samantha (our more recent additions to the American Girl Doll Lending Program).
We are thrilled to have inspired such a remarkable project, and honored to have received such beautiful examples of American History.
Donate Your Historic American Girl Doll
And Help Us Promote Reading and History in Arlington
Donate the Historic American Girl doll taking up space in your closet to the American Girl Lending Program!
We are currently most in need of Kaya, Felicity and Samantha:
We will also happily take donations of other Historical Character dolls, in any condition and with as much of their clothing and accessories as you have.
The Library’s American Girl Lending Program allows members to check out a historic American Girl Doll for one week, along with her first book and information about growing up in Arlington during her era. Since its spring 2013 launch, the program has been a huge success, receiving national media attention and rave reviews from both children and parents – and creating hundreds of holds for each doll.
Did you know that the American Girl company occasionally retires a doll?
It happened to Samantha (the Victorian era doll) in 2009, to Felicity (the Colonial era doll) in 2010, and will happen soon to Molly (the World War II doll).
The Library can’t buy retired dolls to add to our collection, so when someone donates a Samantha or Felicity doll, we really need to find more of each in order to meet the holds!
Contact Anne Womack via email at awomack@arlingtonva.us or 703-228-3349 for more information.
Congratulations to our Josefina Doll Winner!
Ava is the happy new owner of Josefina
Ava is the lucky winner of the Josefina drawing that took place after the Valerie Tripp author talk.
Want to learn more about Josefina? Read all about her in the American Girl books.
You can also borrow Josefina as part of the Library’s American Girl Lending Program!
Special thanks to author Valerie Tripp, and to American Girl for donating Josefina.
Author Valerie Tripp Delights Audience
American Girls (Big and Small)
[youtube]http://youtu.be/pTX9VIUj1fo[/youtube]
Valerie Tripp, author of many of the American Girl books, visited the Cherrydale Branch Library on Thursday, April 4.
Tripp discussed where specific story ideas came from, research and the creative process, and the joys of writing. Adults and children of all ages were delighted to see manuscripts, hear stories from their favorite books, and of course, meet the dolls.
Valerie Tripp is the author of many historical fiction books in the American Girls Collection, including those about Felicity, Elizabeth, Josefina, Samantha, Nellie, Kit, Ruthie, Molly, and Emily. Tripp graduated with honors from the first coeducational class at Yale University in 1973 and received a Masters of Education from Harvard in 1981.
Learn more about the American Girl Lending Program at the Arlington Public Library.
Columbia Pike Welcomes Cécile and Marie-Grace
Mardi Gras Masks and Sneak Reads
Over 75 children and caregivers attended the Welcome Party for Cécile and Marie-Grace at the Columbia Pike Branch Library on Tuesday, March 26.
The girls who attended filled out nametags that read “I’m an American Girl. My name is_______” at the door. Then Miss Desiree talked about Women’s History Month, and what Cécile and Marie-Grace go through in their stories (but she didn’t give away any spoilers).
Then Columbia Pike’s teen volunteers Lina and Kennya read the beginning pages of each doll’s book, and we had snack and made Mardi Gras masks. Several kids even got library cards!
Thanks so much to everyone who came – we had a great time too!
Learn more about the American Girl Lending Program at the Library.
