Library

CONTACT INFORMATION: Office: 8:00–4:30 M–F, Branch: hours vary. Please call your branch's direct line with account and eBook questions.
703-324-3100 TTY 711
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 324
Fairfax, VA 22035
Christine Jones
Director (Acting)

Library News


FCPL temporary hours adjustment

January 10, 2022
Beginning Sunday, Jan. 16, and effective through April 1, all regional and community Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) branches will be closed every Sunday and Monday. These branches will open in keeping with their regularly scheduled hours Tuesday through Saturday. Regional libraries will be open Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Community libraries will be open Tuesday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Access Services branch located at the Fairfax County Government Center will maintain its usual hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. View a system map and listing of regional and community branches. The current surge in COVID-19 cases and a high number of vacancies necessitated this change in hours. FCPL is always available online! Search our digital offerings via Libby, or explore ten other ways to enjoy your local library from home.
Wishing you many happy returns
December 9, 2021
At its Dec. 8 virtual meeting, the Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) Board of Trustees approved a new policy that ends the practice of charging overdue fines on most library materials. "The FCPL Board of Trustees has approved eliminating fines on most library materials and joins surrounding jurisdictions in removing this significant barrier to equitable access to information and library services," said FCPL Board of Trustees Chair Fran Millhouser. Library staff members are working to ensure the system is set to forgive fines already incurred and stop imposing most fines beginning around Jan. 1, 2022. Overdue fines remain in effect for some special collections and interlibrary loan materials. “Equity is driving our shift to a fine-free model of library services; we don’t want accrual of overdue fines to deter anyone who wants to use the library,” said FCPL Director Jessica Hudson. FCPL analysis showed that overdue fines disproportionately affected young people and those in low-income areas. Pre-pandemic, “blocked” cards (accounts not allowed to check out materials due to having more than $15 in fines) were about 17% of the total cardholder population. “Blocked” youth cards (accounts for users under the age of 18) were 23% of the youth cardholder population. “Blocked” card numbers are higher in areas served by Reston Regional Library (Hunter Mill District), City of Fairfax Regional Library, George Mason Regional Library (Mason District), Kingstowne Library (Mt. Vernon/Lee District) and Sherwood Regional Library (Mt. Vernon District). There appears to be a link between low-income communities and higher numbers of blocked library accounts. Library systems around the nation, including in all neighboring counties, have gone fine-free and experienced surges in returned materials. These systems have also found that their cardholders continue to return materials on time, even without the threat of fines, Hudson said. FCPL’s special collections that will continue to incur overdue fines include but are not limited to: interlibrary loan materials, Chromebooks and mobile hotspots.
Public catalog offline Nov. 2
October 28, 2021
FCPL staff members are performing an upgrade of the integrated library system (ILS), on Tuesday, Nov. 2. The ILS manages, integrates and centralizes many core library functions and services. Because of this upgrade, the public catalog will be unavailable to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day. Cardholders will not be able to access item searches or account information, place holds or pay fees during this time period. FCPL hopes to minimize the impact to cardholders by scheduling the upgrade on Nov. 2, when all FCPL branches are closed for the county's Election Day holiday.
Josh Bell Book Club
August 19, 2021
Fairfax County Public Library is excited to announce registration is open for the fifth meeting of Josh Bell’s Book Club, a partnership between FCPL and the Washington Nationals. Library cardholders can now register for the book discussion with Josh Bell to be held virtually Sept. 17 at 12 p.m. Check out September's book Master the Media by Julie Smith. Make sure to register with the email address that is associated with your Zoom account. Register now! Nationals fans, book lovers and anyone exploring self-improvement, seeking out good, or pursuing progress: Josh Bell's Book Club is for you. Bell has has purposefully chosen books for his club that offer concepts, mindsets and inspiration for being and becoming better. Books – Betterment – Progress is a continuum: we can learn through books, we can become better and we can achieve progress. Each month Bell will announce another book in this season-long series. Read the book and join Bell and librarians from FCPL and Prince George's County Memorial Library in engaging discussions about what resonated. Check back often to register for the virtual book discussions and to see which books are next in this series. We and Josh Bell look forward to seeing you on Sept. 17! Register now!    
Josh Bell Book Club
July 23, 2021
Fairfax County Public Library is excited to announce registration is open for the fourth meeting of Josh Bell’s Book Club, a partnership between FCPL and the Washington Nationals. Library cardholders can now register for the book discussion with Josh Bell to be held virtually Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. Check out August's book Grit Factor: 15 attributes to doing life better by Logan Stout. Make sure to register with the email address that is associated with your Zoom account. Register now! Nationals fans, book lovers and anyone exploring self-improvement, seeking out good, or pursuing progress: Josh Bell's Book Club is for you. Bell has has purposefully chosen books for his club that offer concepts, mindsets and inspiration for being and becoming better. Books – Betterment – Progress is a continuum: we can learn through books, we can become better and we can achieve progress. Each month Bell will announce another book in this season-long series. Read the book and join Bell and librarians from FCPL and Prince George's County Memorial Library in engaging discussions about what resonated. Check back often to register for the virtual book discussions and to see which books are next in this series. We and Josh Bell look forward to seeing you on Aug. 15! Register now!    
Dylan Wokeck
July 20, 2021
A local aspiring librarian shares his story of working in a branch while pursuing his Master of Library Science degree. By Dylan Wokeck, Intern, Richard Byrd Library (January-April 2021) Facilitating Reading and Learning Interning at a library is an enlightening experience offering unique rewards if you have the mindset to receive them. When I began my internship at Richard Byrd Library in late January, FCPL branches were closed to the public and offering users full access to the physical collection through curbside pickup of items placed on hold. Most days I saw our list of holds exceed 150, and some days it was more than 200. These items had to be hunted down throughout the library, scanned into the computer system, have a sticker placed on them, and put on our hold shelf or transferred to other libraries. Every moment of this was exciting. These holds meant that people were using the library, even during a pandemic! The work I was doing was facilitating reading and learning. You may not know why someone is checking out something from the library, but you know that you are improving some aspect of their life by getting it to them. Offering In-Person Support My experience was made all the better once the library buildings reopened to the public. It started as a trickle of visitors, but it was still wonderful to see people return to the branch. Not only could I collect holds, but Library Information Assistant Anne Sinclair and Branch Manager Valerie Suttee helped train me also to answer all of our visitors’ questions. I still have a lot to learn — and helping readers find new titles they may enjoy takes a lot of practice — but these two FCPL staff members and everyone else at Richard Byrd have provided exceptional support in my preparation to become a librarian on my own. A Legacy of Library Service Before she passed away, my grandmother told me she worked as a library page at Richard Byrd Library around 1959. While she didn’t stay in the library for her career, she did continue to help people by providing home health and hospice care. I may not be going into the medical field, but I am following partially in her footsteps and looking forward to working in a position dedicated to helping others. Dylan graduated from East Carolina University (Greenville, N.C.) in May 2021 with his Master of Library Science (MLS) degree and continues to volunteer at Richard Byrd Library.
Josh Bell Book Club
June 24, 2021
Fairfax County Public Library is excited to announce registration is open for the third meeting of Josh Bell’s Book Club, a partnership between FCPL and the Washington Nationals. Library cardholders can now register for the second book discussion with Josh Bell to be held virtually July 18 at 7 p.m. Check out July's book After the Rain: Gentle Reminders for Healing, Courage, and Self-Love by Alexandra Elle, Make sure to register with the email address that is associated with your Zoom account. Register now! Nationals fans, book lovers and anyone exploring self-improvement, seeking out good, or pursuing progress: Josh Bell's Book Club is for you. Bell has has purposefully chosen books for his club that offer concepts, mindsets and inspiration for being and becoming better. Books – Betterment – Progress is a continuum: we can learn through books, we can become better and we can achieve progress. Each month Bell will announce another book in this season-long series. Read the book and join Bell and librarians from FCPL and Prince George's County Memorial Library in engaging discussions about what resonated. Check back often to register for the virtual book discussions and to see which books are next in this series. We and Josh Bell look forward to seeing you on July 18! Register now!
Fairfax Virtual Assistant