The Richard Byrd Library will close at 5:00 p.m. Saturday, November 1 for renovation. The library will open in temporary quarters in mid-January 2009. Renovations to the branch are expected to take a minimum of 18 months. The temporary site for Richard Byrd Library will be 6315 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA 22150 (second floor of the Bank of America building).

While the Richard Byrd Library is closed, customers can visit any of the nearby branches including George Mason Regional Library, 7001 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, 703-256-3800 or John Marshall Library at 6209 Rose Hill Drive in Alexandria, 703-971-0010.

Edwin S. “Sam” Clay III, director of the Fairfax County Public Library, said “While I regret the temporary inconvenience of closing the library, the new and improved Richard Byrd will be worth the wait. The new library will enhance the library’s ability to serve its customers’ many and varied needs for information, recreation and meeting space. And in the mean time, library services will be available at the temporary location.”

Due dates for library books and other items will be adjusted based on the closing and opening date of the temporary location. Materials borrowed from Richard Byrd Library can be returned to any Fairfax County Public Library.

Richard Byrd started as a storefront library of 1,400 square feet in 1958; it was the county’s fifth branch. A new building opened in the current location in 1965. Renovations will include an additional 7,200 square feet, additional 35 parking spaces, multiple meeting rooms with additional capacity, modernized facilities and 18 additional public computers. The funding for the renovations is from a library bond referendum approved by voters in 2004.

Thomas Jefferson Library and Martha Washington Library will close for renovations in the next few months. Closing dates have not been finalized.