Fayetteville Public Library | |
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36°3′42″N94°9′53″W / 36.06167°N 94.16472°W | |
Location | Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States of America |
Type | Public |
Established | 1916 |
Branch of | None, formerly Washington County Library System |
Collection | |
Items collected | Books, audio books, CDs, DVDs, videos, maps, e-books, parenting kits |
Size | 245,000 items |
Access and use | |
Access requirements | Resident of Washington County, Bentonville, or Rogers |
Circulation | 1,000,000+ |
Other information | |
Director | David Johnson |
Employees | 103 |
Website | http://faylib.org/ |
The Fayetteville Public Library (also Blair Library and FPL) is a library in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver-certified library was named "Library of the Year" in 2005 by Library Journal and an "American Landmark Library" by TravelSmart. [1]
Fayetteville Public Library was first created in 1916 and was housed in the brand-new Washington County Courthouse. The library was contained in two rooms in the basement of the building. The building quickly became too small, and the Fayetteville Public Library moved to the City Administration Building in 1937 along with several other city offices. This building became too small following Fayetteville's rapid post-World War II growth.
Residents began fundraising for a new building, and a site on East Dickson Street was tapped by the City of Fayetteville in 1959. A funding measure of $255,000 was approved for the site, with architect Warren Segraves in charge of the design. Built at the edge of the Washington-Willow Historic District, the site was dedicated on June 4, 1962 by Senator J. William Fulbright. The plot to the east was purchased in 1966 and the plot to the west in 1989. The building on the west plot was connected to the library, forming a large facility of 31,500 square feet (2,930 m2). This large building held the FPL, the Ozark Regional Library System and the Talking Books service.
The Ozark Regional Library System split into the Washington County Library System (WCLS) and the Benton County Library System in 1999, and the WCLS left the FPL building the following year. Also in 2000 Fayetteville citizens approved a sales tax increase to build a new library. A significant contribution of $3 million from Jim Blair in honor of his late wife, grandmother, and aunt was announced in 2002, and ground was broken two months later. The 88,000 square feet (8,200 m2) building was opened in September 2004 at a cost of $23 million.
Fayetteville Public Library was designed by Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle, Ltd. of Minneapolis and was opened in October 2004. [2] The library was the first building in Arkansas to register with the U.S. Green Building Council, in June 2001, and achieved the silver LEED designation in 2006. To earn this designation the library employed many green-design techniques. The library was built a few blocks away from the Fayetteville Historic Square, making it a textbook smart growth project. During construction, any trees removed were harvested and used for furniture or donated to local parks. Throughout the project, almost 99% of the construction waste was recycled or reused. By incorporating a green roof and using alternative roofing materials, the design team reduced heat island effect by as much as 20 degrees. Water collected on the roof is reused for landscape irrigation through an underground cistern, saving about 500,000 US gallons (1,900,000 L) of water a year. The library's 10 waterless urinals served as a successful pilot project for the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services. In 2009, the library received a grant from the City / County Management Association to install 10 kW solar panels for energy generation.
In 2013, the Fayetteville Library Board of Directors approved a master plan recommending expansion of the Blair Library to meet the community’s library need of the future. [3] In 2021, the expansion was complete and brought the total size of the library to 170,500 square feet. [4] The expansion includes an event center that seats more than 700 people, an innovation center, a teaching kitchen, an art and movement room, as well as spaces for children and teenagers.
Washington County is a regional economic, educational, and cultural hub in the Northwest Arkansas region. Created as Arkansas's 17th county on November 30, 1848, Washington County has 13 incorporated municipalities, including Fayetteville, the county seat, and Springdale. The county is also the site of small towns, bedroom communities, and unincorporated places. The county is named for George Washington, the first President of the United States. Located within the Ozark Mountains, the county is roughly divided into two halves: the rolling Springfield Plateau in the more populous north of the county and the steeper, forested Boston Mountains in the much less populated south. It contains three segments of the Ozark National Forest, two state parks, two Wildlife Management Areas, the Garrett Hollow Natural Area, and dozens of city parks. Other historical features such as Civil War battlefields, log cabins, one-room school houses, community centers, and museums describe the history and culture of Washington County. Washington County occupies 951.72 square miles and contained a population of 245,871 people in 89,249 households as of the 2020 Census, ranking it 4th in size and 3rd in population among the state's 75 counties. The economy is largely based on the business/management, education, sales, office/administration, and poultry production industries. Poverty rates, median household income, and unemployment rates best state averages, but lag national trends. Washington County has long had a reputation for education in the state. The University of Arkansas, the largest four-year college in the state, was established in Fayetteville in 1871. A Washington County campus of the Northwest Arkansas Community College was opened in 2019 in Springdale. Today, Washington County contains eight public school districts, including two of the largest districts in the state and two private schools. It is included in the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Elkins is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located in the Boston Mountains, deep in the Ozark Mountains. A combination of the former unincorporated communities of Harris and Hood, Elkins was established in 1964. Located immediately east of Fayetteville in the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan statistical area, Elkins has been experiencing rapid growth in recent years, doubling in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.
Farmington is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community is nestled in a valley among the Boston Mountains, a subset of the Ozark Mountains. Although the first settlers came from the Deep South in 1828, the community did not incorporate until 1946. Located immediately west of Fayetteville in the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan statistical area, Farmington has been experiencing a population boom in recent years, as indicated by a 66% growth in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses. It has been characterized as a bedroom community by the University of Arkansas Community Design Center.
Fayetteville is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city had a population of 93,949 as of the 2020 census, which was estimated to have increased to 101,680 by 2023. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, within the Ozarks. It was named after Fayetteville, Tennessee, from which many settlers had come, and was incorporated on November 3, 1836. Fayetteville is included in the three-county Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers metropolitan statistical area, with 576,403 residents in 2020.
Johnson is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located in the Ozark Mountains and is surrounded by valleys and natural springs. Early settlers took advantage of these natural features and formed an economy based on mining lime, the Johnson Mill and trout. Although a post office was opened in the community in 1887, Johnson did not incorporate until it required the development of a city government to provide utility services in 1961. Located between Fayetteville and Springdale in the heart of the rapidly growing Northwest Arkansas metropolitan statistical area, Johnson has been experiencing a population and building boom in recent years, as indicated by a 46% growth in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.
Lincoln is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,294 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Northwest Arkansas metro area.
Tontitown is a city in northern Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located in the Ozark Mountains and was founded by Italian settlers in 1898. Known for its grapes and wines, Tontitown has hosted the Tontitown Grape Festival continuously since 1898. It is part of the Northwest Arkansas region, serving as a bedroom community for larger neighbors Fayetteville and Springdale. The town experienced a 160% growth in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.
The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portion of northern Arkansas and most of the southern half of Missouri, extending from Interstate 40 in central Arkansas to Interstate 70 in central Missouri.
The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of Bill Clinton, who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. It is located in Little Rock, Arkansas and includes the Clinton Presidential Library, the offices of the Clinton Foundation, and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. It is the thirteenth presidential library to have been completed in the United States, the eleventh to be operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, and the third to comply with the Presidential Records Act of 1978.
Michael L. Benedum Hall of Engineering is a landmark academic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The building was designed in the brutalist style by the architectural firm of Deeter, Ritchey, and Sippel and completed in 1971 at a cost of $15 million. The building was honored with both the Pennsylvania Society American Institute of Architects Honor Award and Distinguished Building Award. It was built with a gift from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and funds from the General State Authority. It stands on a 1.8-acre (7,300 m2) site that was formerly occupied by the National Guard's Logan Armory.
The Hillsboro Civic Center is a government-built, mixed-use development in downtown Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. The development includes the city hall for the county seat of Washington County, located west of Portland, Oregon. Covering 6 acres (24,000 m2), the Civic Center has a total of over 165,000 square feet (15,300 m2) in the complex. The total of six stories for the main structure makes the building the tallest in the city, tied with Tuality Community Hospital. In addition to government offices, the Civic Center includes retail space, public plazas, and residential housing. The complex was built to centralize city government functions under one roof.
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Gearhart Hall at the University of Arkansas is a building on the university's campus in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
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The Chi Omega Chapter House is a building built in 1927 on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. The house is located at 940 West Maple in Fayetteville.
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Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozarks. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville, the surrounding towns of Benton and Washington counties, and adjacent rural Madison County, Arkansas. The United States Census Bureau-defined Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area includes 3,213.01 square miles (8,321.7 km2) and 590,337 residents, ranking NWA as the 98th most-populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. and the 13th fastest growing in the United States.
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