Loudoun County Public Library

Last updated
Loudoun County Public Library
CountryUS
Established1973
Location Loudoun County, Virginia
Branches10
Other information
DirectorChang Liu
Website Loudoun County Public Library

Loudoun County Public Library (LCPL), with more than 200 employees, both professional and paraprofessional, serves the citizens of Loudoun County, Virginia. There are 10 physical branches, [1] plus Outreach Services, which delivers books and other resources to the disabled, elderly and homebound. [2]

Contents

In 2019, LCPL became the third public library system in Virginia to eliminate fines for overdue materials. [3] While customers are no longer charged a fee for overdue items, they are still responsible for replacement costs for lost materials. [4]

The system was named an honorable mention for Library of the Year by Library Journal in 2021. [5]

Branches

The 10 branches range in size from large regional libraries to small neighborhood branches. Outreach Services is the traveling branch of the Loudoun County Public Library, although its offices are located in Leesburg.

Each branch has an advisory board that helps support the library and raise funds. Another source of funding is the annual book sale put on by the Loudoun Library Foundation.

The 10 LCPL branches are:

In 1974, the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg joined the Loundoun County Public Library system. In 1994, its ownership was transferred to the Town of Leesburg to operate as a historical and genealogical library. [6]

Administration

The administration building for the Loudoun County Public Library system is located in Leesburg, Virginia. The building is combined with The Senior Center of Leesburg. The current Director of the Loudoun County Public Library system is Chang Liu. [7]

History

The Loudoun County Public Library system was established in 1973. In the beginning, the only libraries in the system were the Purcellville branch, the Purcellville bookmobile and the Sterling branch. The next year, the Thomas Balch Library, located in Leesburg, Virginia, would join the system. Other branches would join over the years, the most recent of which is the Brambleton Library, which opened Dec. 1, 2018. [8] The Thomas Balch Library would later leave the system, after being transferred to the city of Leesburg, Virginia in 1994 to serve as a dedicated history and genealogy library. [9]

Special collections

In 1999, philanthropist Irwin Uran donated $1 million to the library for the purpose of acquiring items focusing on the Holocaust. LCPL also used the Irwin Uran Fund for its 1community program, an annual countywide initiative that promotes community dialogue and understanding through the shared experience of reading and discussing the same book. [10]

LCPL offers a variety of gadgets and equipment for patrons to borrow, including coding robots, WiFi hotspots, thermal imaging cameras, sewing machines, ukuleles and Virginia State Parks passes. [11]

Resources

LCPL library cards are free to all Loudoun County residents or anyone who attends school, works or owns property in Loudoun County. Residents of neighboring jurisdictions, including Fairfax County, may also be eligible through a reciprocal borrowing program. Library cards can be applied for online or at any LCPL branch. [12]

Each branch offers free public Internet and wireless access.

The Loudoun County Public Library website allows patrons to use a variety of electronic resources, including eBooks, audiobooks, streaming movies and TV shows, streaming music, digital magazines and databases. Patrons can access such platforms as OverDrive, Hoopla, Freegal Music, Kanopy, Consumer Reports, LinkedIn Learning, Mango Languages and Westlaw. [13]

Makerspaces are available for public use during regular library hours at the Brambleton, Gum Spring, Rust and Sterling branches. [14] Patrons can use technology like 3D printers, sewing and embroidery machines, laminator machines, coding equipment, digitization equipment for converting VHS tapes and home movies, carving machines, and vinyl and paper cutters. Brambleton Library has a recording studio and Sterling Library has a smaller recording booth, with editing software available at both locations.

In 2018, a full-service passport office opened at Rust Library. [15] Trained staff can take photos onsite, help with filling out forms and file paperwork with the U.S. State Department. [16]

LCPL branches have meeting rooms that are available free of charge for public use as well as private study rooms. [17]

Public notary services are also available by appointment at all LCPL branches free of charge. [18]

Events

Each branch offers storytimes for young children as well as a variety of programs for older kids and teens. The library conducts a summer reading program every year. [19] Between the last day of school in June and the middle of August, hundreds of kids sign up to read and win prizes.

LCPL hosts numerous events for adults, covering topics such as career assistance, hobbies and crafts, technology, health and wellness, educational seminars, live performances, and literacy programs for English language learners. [20]

The library system often partners with another county organization to offer programs.

All branches offer book clubs for children, teens and adults. [21]

Trustees and directors

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors appoints trustees to serve as policymakers and budget managers.

The library system is run by a director, along with a deputy director and five division managers.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loudoun County, Virginia</span> County in Virginia, United States

Loudoun County is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun County is part of the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2020, Loudoun County had a median household income of $147,111. Since 2008, the county has been ranked first in the U.S. in median household income among jurisdictions with a population of 65,000 or more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leesburg, Virginia</span> Town in Virginia, United States

Leesburg is a town in and the county seat of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. Settlement in the area began around 1740, which is named for the Lee family, early leaders of the town. Located in the far northeast of the state, in the War of 1812 it was a refuge for important federal documents evacuated from Washington, DC, and in the Civil War, it changed hands several times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purcellville, Virginia</span> Town in Virginia

Purcellville is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia. The population was 8,929 according to the 2020 Census. Purcellville is the major population center for Western Loudoun and the Loudoun Valley. Many of the older structures remaining in Purcellville reflect the Victorian architecture popular during the early twentieth century.

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) is a branch of the Loudoun County, Virginia, United States government, and administers public schools in the county. LCPS's headquarters is located at 21000 Education Court in Ashburn, an unincorporated section of the county.

The 4A Dulles District is a high school conference in the state of Virginia that includes schools from Northern Virginia, with all of its full-time members from Loudoun County. 4A is the third largest enrollment class of the Virginia High School League and is typically very competitive in Virginia high school sports.

Neersville is an unincorporated community in northwestern Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. It is located in the Between the Hills area of the Loudoun Valley on Harpers Ferry Road at the foot of Short Hill Mountain. It is notable for being the birthplace of Confederate guerrilla John Mobberly.

Loudoun County, Virginia, was destined to be an area of significant military activity during the American Civil War. Located on Virginia's northern frontier, the Potomac River, Loudoun County became a borderland after Virginia's secession from the Union in early 1861. Loudoun County's numerous Potomac bridges, ferries and fords made it an ideal location for the Union and Confederate armies to cross into and out of Virginia. Likewise, the county's several gaps in the Blue Ridge Mountains that connected the Piedmont to the Shenandoah Valley and Winchester were of considerable strategic importance. The opposing armies would traverse the county several times throughout the war leading to several small battles, most notably the Battle of Ball's Bluff.

Mount Gilead is an unincorporated community in Loudoun County, Virginia. Mount Gilead lies atop an 602 ft (183 m) peak of Catoctin Mountain to the east of the North Fork Goose Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broad Run (Loudoun County, Virginia)</span> River in Virginia, United States

Broad Run is a tributary of the Potomac River in Loudoun County, Virginia. The creek, located between Goose Creek and Sugarland Run, principally drains portions of eastern Loudoun County, as well as a small portion of western Fairfax County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilson Gap</span>

Wilson Gap, originally known as Gregory's Gap, is a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountain, located on the border of Loudoun County, Virginia and Jefferson County, West Virginia. The Appalachian Trail crosses the gap.

Loudoun County Transit is a public-transportation service provided by the Loudoun County, Virginia government. The buses operate from Dulles, Leesburg, and Purcellville to Washington Metro stations as well as directly to Rosslyn, Virginia, The Pentagon, and Washington, D.C. The service is attractive because the buses, unlike normal traffic, are permitted to travel on the express lanes of the Dulles Toll Road. This allows for a shorter trip and also bypasses commuter tolls. The Loudoun County Commuter Bus accepts payment via SmarTrip, a reloadable transit card issued by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leesburg Historic District (Leesburg, Virginia)</span> Historic district in Virginia, United States

The Leesburg Historic District in Leesburg, Virginia is a historic district that includes Classical Revival, Greek Revival, and Georgian architecture and dates back to 1757. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and its boundaries were increased in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Department</span>

The Loudoun County Combined Fire-Rescue System (LC-CFRS) is made up of the career Loudoun County Fire and Rescue (LCFR) and 16 volunteer organizations. LC-CFRS has the responsibility of protecting the citizens and property of the towns, villages, and suburbs of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, and technical rescue response services, including Hazardous Materials mitigation, Mass Casualty Incident response services, environmental danger response services and more. The department's headquarters and training facilities are in Leesburg, off Sycolin Road.

The Community Music School of the Piedmont is a private, non-profit music school headquartered in Upperville, Virginia, United States. Other locations include: Middleburg, Purcellville, The Plains, and Aldie. CMSP is an independent institution established in 1994 by Northern Virginia residents Shannon Davis and Martha Cotter. Mrs. Cotter continues to serve as Executive Director. Today, there are more than 350 students enrolled in the CMSP, ranging in age from 10 months to 75 years. Students come from several counties in the Northern Virginia area, all of them in the most westerly part of the greater Washington, DC area.

The Group 4A North Region is a division of the Virginia High School League. The region was formed in 2013 when the VHSL adopted a six classification format and eliminated the previous three classification system. For the purpose of regular season competition, schools may compete within districts that existed prior to 2013. The division is composed of 28 schools separated into four conferences 21A, 21B, 22,23, and 24. This format is mainly for regular season competition and schools are not limited to these classifications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Balch Library</span> Building in Leesburg, VA

The Thomas Balch Library is a history and genealogy library located in Leesburg, Virginia. The library, owned and operated by the town of Leesburg, serves as a designated Underground Railroad research site and has an active research program.

The Potomac District is a high school conference in the United States Virginia High School League that is made up of mostly schools from Loudoun County that have a high enrollment capacity.

William Obediah Robey was an American Presbyterian minister and teacher in Leesburg, Virginia. He is the first African-American known to have taught school in Loudoun County, Virginia and was the first African-American member of the Leesburg Presbyterian congregation.

References

  1. ↑ "LCPL branches".
  2. ↑ "Outreach Services".
  3. ↑ "Loudoun County Public Library Eliminates Overdue Fines for All Customers". Middleburg Life.
  4. ↑ "No More Overdue Fines". library.loudoun.gov.
  5. ↑ "Gale/LJ Library of the Year 2021". Library Journal.
  6. ↑ Town of Leesburg : Library (Thomas Balch) Archived 2010-04-13 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "About the Library".
  8. ↑ "The Highly Anticipated Brambleton Library Opens Saturday". Loudoun Now.
  9. ↑ "Town of Leesburg : Thomas Balch Library". Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ↑ The New York Times, “Farm Owner Gives Town in Virginia $1 Million,” 21 May 1997.
  11. ↑ "Loudoun County Public Library Catalog".
  12. ↑ "LCPL Borrowing".
  13. ↑ "LCPL Online Resources".
  14. ↑ "LCPL Makerspaces".
  15. ↑ "Passport Processing Now Available At Rust Library In Leesburg". Leesburg Patch.
  16. ↑ "LCPL Passport Office".
  17. ↑ "LCPL Meeting Rooms".
  18. ↑ "LCPL Notary Services".
  19. ↑ "LCPL Summer Reading Program".
  20. ↑ "LCPL Events Calendar".
  21. ↑ "LCPL Books & Authors Events".
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