The Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) is a public library system headquartered in Suite 324 of The Fairfax County Government Center in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States. Hennen's American Public Library Ratings (HAPLR) has ranked the system among the top 10 libraries in the United States (for its size of 500,000+ residents) five times in the past 10 years.

Description

According to the library's timeline, the Fairfax County Library was established in 1939. , there are 23 library branches—8 regional branches, 14 community branches, and one which assists people with disabilities. The library also oversees the county's Archives and Records Management Branch. The library's service area spans both the county and Fairfax City and several local jurisdictions through reciprocity agreements serving nearly half a million registered users. The library system is the largest in Virginia in terms of population served (over one million people between Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax). In the library's 2010 fiscal year (through June 2010), nearly 14 million items were borrowed from its collection of nearly three million books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, and other items. Nearly 5.7 million visits were made to the branches, and website visits reached almost 5 million. The library offers a wide variety of services both in the branches and via its Web site, including searching through its catalog, reserving items, applying for a library card, viewing calendar of events at libraries, and reserving meeting rooms. The library has

public computer A public computer (or public access computer) is any of various computers available in public areas. Some places where public computers may be available are libraries, schools, or dedicated facilities run by government. Public computers share simi ...

s for access to the Internet,

catalog Catalog or catalogue may refer to: *Cataloging **'emmy on the 'og **in science and technology ***Library catalog, a catalog of books and other media ****Union catalog, a combined library catalog describing the collections of a number of libraries ...

computers, ebooks, downloadable e

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

s, and subscription databases. The library and their Friends groups sponsor various programs, such as children's story times, national and local author readings and book signings, local musical concerts, technology classes and one-on-one sessions, and special events for the county's diverse population. The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees dropped to 379 in FY2014 from 430 at the end of FY2013 in the wake of the library's continuing budget cuts.

Volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

s donated over 124,000 hours in 2014. The Director of the Fairfax County Public Library is Jessica A. Hudson who, in mid-2016, succeeded previous Director Sam (Edwin S.) Clay III, who had served in that position for more than thirty years.

Branches

* Burke Centre Library ( Burke Centre) * Richard Byrd Library ( Springfield) * Centreville Regional Library ( Centreville) * Chantilly Regional Library ( Chantilly) * City of Fairfax Regional Library ( City of Fairfax) — includes the Virginia Room * Great Falls Library ( Great Falls) * Patrick Henry Library (

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) * Herndon-Fortnightly Library ( Herndon) * Thomas Jefferson Library ( West Falls Church) * Kings Park Library ( Kings Park) * Kingstowne Library ( Kingstowne) * Lorton Library ( Lorton) * Dolley Madison Library ( McLean) * John Marshall Library ( Rose Hill) * George Mason Regional Library ( Annandale) * Oakton Library ( Oakton) * Pohick Regional Library ( Burke and West Springfield) * Reston Regional Library ( Reston) * Sherwood Regional Library ( Hybla Valley) * Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library ( Pimmit Hills and

Tysons Corner Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, developed from the corner of Chain Bridge Road ( SR 123) and the Leesburg Pike ( SR 7). Located in Northern Virginia between the c ...

) * Martha Washington Library ( Belle Haven) * Woodrow Wilson Library ( Bailey's Crossroads)

Non-resident privileges

Library cards are available to non-residents without charge who work, go to school in, or owns property in Fairfax County, or who live, work, own property or go to school in the City of Fairfax, or the Towns of Herndon or Vienna. A card is also available free for a person who lives, works or owns property in a jurisdiction that provides reciprocal privileges. Thus, cards are available for free for residents, property owners and employees working in the

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; the Maryland Counties of

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, Montgomery, and Prince George's; the Virginia Cities of

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, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park; and the Virginia counties of Arlington, Fauquier,

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, and

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. All others who do not qualify may obtain a card for $27 a year.

Nearby public library systems

* Alexandria Public Library * Arlington Public Library *

District of Columbia Public Library The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) is the public library system for the District of Columbia, in the United States. The system includes 26 individual libraries including Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (the DCPL's central libr ...

Loudoun County Public Library Loudoun County Public Library (LCPL), with more than 200 employees, both professional and paraprofessional, serves the citizens of Loudoun County, Virginia. There are 10 physical branches, plus Outreach Services, which delivers books and other res ...

* Montgomery County Public Libraries * Prince George's County Memorial Library System

References

{{authority control Fairfax Education in Fairfax County, Virginia 1939 establishments in Virginia Public libraries in Virginia Libraries established in 1939