Fairfax County Public Library

The Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) system operates public libraries and homeless day shelters in Fairfax County.

Governance for the library is provided by the 12-member Fairfax County Public Library Board of Trustees and Jessica A. Hudson is the director.

History

On February 3, 1930, the Fairfax County Library Association elected its officers. The second floor room of the old clerk's office was donated by the Board of Supervisors for a headquarters.

The system opened its first library in a building behind the Fairfax Court House in 1939.[1]

In 1953, Mary K. McCulloch was appointed director of the library.[2]

The Fairfax County Library closed on July 27, 1953 for a reorganization and inventory.[3] It reopened on December 21.[4]

Citing personal reasons, McCulloch announced her resignation In September 1969, effective November 1.[5] Deputy director William L. Whitesides became acting director, and was permanently appointed early in 1970.

The library increased its fines for overdue items for the first time since its 1939 founding in 1983, increasing them from 2 cents to 10 cents per day.[6]

In 1985, the library began installing electronic security systems in its branches to combat book theft, which Director Clay estimated was resulting in the loss of 75,000 books worth $900,000 annually.[7]

List of Libraries

See List of Fairfax County Public Libraries.

References

  1. ↑ Babcock, Pamela. "Library Grows with Fairfax; After 50 Years, County System Celebrates its Trip from a Back Room to the Forefront." The Washington Post (pre-1997 Fulltext): v.01. National Newspapers Core. May 10 1990. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.
  2. ↑ Selden, Ina Lee. "Fairfax County's Ever-Growing Library System Marks 40 Years." The Washington Post (1974-Current file), May 24 1979, p. 1. ProQuest. Web. 19 Sep. 2018.
  3. ↑ "Fairfax Library to Close Briefly." The Washington Post (1923-1954): 17. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1995). Jul 21 1953. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.
  4. ↑ "Fairfax Library Reopens."The Washington Post (1923-1954), Dec 19 1953, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. 20 Sep. 2018.
  5. ↑ "Librarian Resigns." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973), Sep 12 1969, p. 1. ProQuest. Web. 20 Sep. 2018.
  6. ↑ "Fairfax County Libraries Increase Overdue Fines." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. Sep 15 1983. ProQuest. Web. 3 Sep. 2014.
  7. ↑ "Fairfax Libraries Installing Security System in Branches." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 1. May 23 1985. ProQuest. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.

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