The Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

system in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most p ...

, United States. It includes eight regional libraries, 14 community libraries and the Access Services Library Branch, which removes barriers to library services for people with disabilities. FCPL is headquartered in Suite 324 of the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax County. 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

The Fairfax County Library was established in 1939. , there are 23 library branches, including eight regional branches, 14 community branches, one which assists people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

. The library also oversees the county's Archives and Records Management Branch. The library's service area spans both the county and Fairfax, and several local jurisdictions through reciprocity agreements serving nearly half a million registered users. The library system is the largest in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in terms of population served, which includes over one million people between Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. As of 2015, more than 2.3 million items were available for check out. These had a circulation of more than 12 million, the number of total checkouts and renewals. More than 4.8 million physical visits were made to the branches, and website visits reached almost 5 million. There were more than 449,000 registered library card holders. The library offers a wide variety of services both in the branches and via its website, 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 computers for access to the Internet, catalog computers,

ebook An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...

s, downloadable e

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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 signing Book signing is the affixing of a signature to the title page or flyleaf of a book by its author. Book signings are events, usually at a bookstore or library, where an author sits and signs books for a period. Book signing Book signing is popu ...

s, 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 2014 from 430 at the end of 2013 following continuing budget cuts. Volunteers donated over 124,000 hours in 2014. As of November 2024, the director of the Fairfax County Public Library is Eric Carzon. Carzon succeeds Jessica A. Hudson, who served from mid-2016 until June 2024, before departing to become county manager for San Juan County, WA. Prior to Hudson, Sam (Edwin S.) Clay III served as library director for more than thirty years.

Branches

* Burke Centre Library ( Burke Centre) * Centreville Regional Library ( Centreville) * Chantilly Regional Library (

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) * City of Fairfax Regional Library ( City of Fairfax) (includes the Virginia Room) * Culmore Community Library Culmore, Virginia * Dolley Madison Library ( McLean) * George Mason Regional Library ( Annandale) * Great Falls Library ( Great Falls) * Herndon-Fortnightly Library ( Herndon) * John Marshall Library (

Rose Hill Rose Hill may refer to: People * Rose Hill (actress) (1914–2003), British actress * Rose Hill (athlete) (born 1956), British wheelchair athlete Film * ''Rose Hill'' (film), a 1997 movie Places Australia * Rose Hill, New South Wales * Rose ...

) * Kings Park Library ( Kings Park) * Kingstowne Library ( Kingstowne) * Lorton Library ( Lorton) * Martha Washington Library ( Belle Haven) * Oakton Library ( Oakton) * Patrick Henry Library (

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

) * Pohick Regional Library (

Burke Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...

and West Springfield) * Reston Regional Library ( Reston) * Richard Byrd Library ( Springfield) * Sherwood Regional Library ( Hybla Valley) * Thomas Jefferson Library ( West Falls Church) * 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, spanning from the corner of SR 123 (Chain Bridge Road) and SR 7 (Leesburg Pike). It is part of the Washington metropolitan are ...

)

Non-resident privileges

Free library cards are available to non-residents who work, go to school in, or own property in Fairfax County; or those 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

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

; the Maryland Counties of

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

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

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

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

Loudoun Loudoun () is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston parish, Galston Parish (which encompasses ...

, and

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

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

Nearby public library systems

* Alexandria Public Library * Arlington Public Library * District of Columbia Public Library * Loudoun County Public Library * Montgomery County Public Libraries * Prince George's County Memorial Library System

References

{{Category commons 1939 establishments in Virginia Fairfax Education in Fairfax County, Virginia Libraries established in 1939 Public libraries in Virginia