Your Library, Our Community, Shared Stories
FCPL's quarterly magazine, Branch Out, now features the “Our Library, Our Stories” section, where you’ll find interviews with, personal narratives from, and articles about FCPL staff and users. With a county and a library system as large as ours, it’s especially important to highlight the individual experiences, unique backgrounds, and many diverse voices within them. So, we’re putting the spotlight on one person’s story about life and the library in each issue with the hope that it helps us all get to know and connect with each other just a little bit better.
Help us explore the many facets of the FCPL and Fairfax County stories with our neighbors and beyond! Tell us about your best library-related memories, how FCPL resources have supported your or your family's education, career or hobbies, your connections with library staff, your favorite books or audiobooks, or anything else that you'd like to share with us and our community.
Below are some questions to inspire your story. Please feel free to use any or all of these questions or parts of questions, or simply write a response on any of these topics or another related to your library experience. We’d love to receive and share any details and personal stories that you send us!
Please email your story submission along with your name and preferred FCPL branch to branchout@fairfaxcounty.gov.
Our Library, Our Stories Submission Prompts
- How long have you been an FCPL cardholder or user, and how would you summarize what you use the library for? What prompted you to start using FCPL?
- Tell us about your background: Where are you from? What do you do? What age group are you in (school age, teen, adult, older adult)?
- Did you have experience with the library when you were growing up?
- Is there a particular moment or memory from your time as an FCPL cardholder or user that stands out for you? (A best visit to a branch, a recent resource you used, a positive encounter you had with a staff member, etc.)
- Do you have a favorite program, service or resource offered by FCPL? Why? Tell us about what benefit this program/service/resource has provided you.
- What are your favorite genres to read or discuss with friends, family or our librarians? Why? Tell us a few all-time favorite books (childhood books count, too!).
- How do you spend your free time? What are your hobbies, favorite places to visit (local or otherwise!), causes you support, etc.?
- You’re hosting a dinner party. Which three people, living or dead, would you invite, and why? (They don't have to be authors, but we do love those answers!)