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Entrepreneurial activities at the
Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) in recent years
include:
The Center for the Book seeks
support through grants, donations and gifts from individuals,
foundations, and corporations to advance books and reading
through literary events, author appearances, workshops,
expositions, discussion series, seminars, and other
programs and events related to books and reading.
Since its establishment
in 1994, the Foundation has raised more than $7.5 million
to enhance the Fairfax County Public Library. In 2003,
the Foundation launched its
Wish List through Amazon.com of high-demand books,
selected by library specialists, that individuals can
donate to the library.
Serving as a business, reference, and public
relations vehicle, the library's award-winning Web site
enjoys millions of visits each year.
Gifts and awards from businesses provide important
support in the purchase of technology, programming and
other needed items and services.
The Grants Office identifies
and submits proposals for grants and partnerships for
which the library or its foundation are eligible. Its
goal is to enhance library resources and programs, especially
reaching out to new users or current users in new ways.
(more)
Individual and corporate
volunteers donated more than 133,500 hours of work for
the library in fiscal year 2007.
The library and the Fairfax County Employees
Credit Union (FCECU) have partnered to place an automated
teller machine (ATM) in the Reston
Regional Library. Twenty-five cents of each non-member
transaction will be donated to the library.
Information Central provides customized reference
service to county employees in pursuit of work-related
topics. Articles, reports, and statistics are examples
of what Information Central offers.
More than 20 businesses and organizations donate
more than $1 million worth of prizes to the Fairfax
County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program,
which had more than 50,000 participants in 2007. In
addition, several volunteer groups underwrite performers’
summer appearances at library branches; in 2007 the
Friends of the George
Mason Regional Library donated $32,000, the Friends
of the Fairfax City Regional Library gave $4,000,
the Friends of the
Kings Park Library donated $7,500, and additional
support was provided by other library Friends groups.
The library’s Summer Reading Program is held
in cooperation with the Fairfax
County Public Schools and
encourages students to keep their reading comprehension
skills sharp during summer vacation. Participants who
finish the required number of books win prizes. Preschoolers
through sixth graders read 15 books (kids can have books
read to them), and teens in grades 7-12 read eight books.
Participants are free to read any books, although the
library and the schools offer reading
lists.
In addition to reading, kids can enjoy hundreds of
free programs featuring a wide variety of performers,
including artists, animal wranglers, cartoons, crafts,
musicians, magicians, puppets, poets, scientists and
storytellers. All programs are free, but registration
is required for most; signed interpretation or assistive
listening devices are also available. The Summer Reading
Program includes a DVD/video production workshop for
teens.
The health information partnership between the
Fairfax County Public Library and Inova
Health System offers free wellness-related programs
and resources for all ages. "Literature & Medicine"
is one of several initiatives launched by this partnership.
Modeled after the
Maine Humanities Council program, "Literature & Medicine" offers book
discussion events for Inova health care professionals.
The events include dinner and a copy of a book related
to medical care, and the discussion is professionally
facilitated. Past discussions have centered around Tuesdays
With Morrie; The Dress Lodger; Age of
Innocents; The Diving Bell & the Butterfly;
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down; Epiphany;
and Complications.
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