The Central Rappahannock Regional Library
A Regional Library System
In July 1969, the Virginia State Library opened the Central Rappahannock Regional Library system as a model to demonstrate the value of public library service to the region. The City of Fredericksburg donated the old Lafayette School to be the demonstration library facility and the 17,000 volumes that had comprised the Wallace Library collection. The state purchased an additional 29,000 volumes and provided two bookmobiles which traveled to Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland Counties.
In 1971, the local jurisdictions voted to locally fund the demonstration library and develop a permanent library system in response to public enthusiasm for the project. One official noted that he had never gotten so many calls on an issue.
In 1989, discussion between the jurisdictions was stalemated over the issue of funding the renovation of the decaying Lafayette School building or construction of a new facility. An Ad Hoc regional library committee, composed of representatives from each locality, successfully hammered out a regional solution. For their splendid efforts, this "Last Chance Committee" was awarded the first Chamber of Commerce Regional Cooperation (Reegie) Award in 1990 for their vision of a long term community need.
As a result of this agreement, each county served by the regional library system benefited: the Headquarters Library was renovated in 1990, the John Musante Porter Memorial Library was constructed in 1992, and the Salem Church Library was constructed in 1994. These handsome new facilities, complete with new technology and upgraded collections, revolutionized library services in the region.
Today, the Central Rappahannock Regional Library system serves almost 290,000 residents of the City of Fredericksburg and the Counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland. The CRRL system consists of a headquarters facility, six branches, a bookmobile, and a suite of web sites which attract visitors 24/7 from computers anywhere.
Regional Expansion
Spotsylvania County is served by the 26,000 square foot Salem Church Branch, the 4,500 square foot Snow Branch located at Spotsylvania Courthouse, bookmobile services, and the Headquarters facility. In 2006, Spotsylvania voters approved a referendum to fund a 10,000 square foot addition and renovation of the Salem Church Branch. Project construction began in February 2008. During the construction, the branch continued operating as a mini library, with continued patron access to essential materials, services, and programming. The completed 26,000 square foot library opened in the Spring of 2009.
Currently, Stafford County is served by the John Musante Porter Memorial Branch off Garrisonville Road in North Stafford;
by the Headquarters in Fredericksburg; and by bookmobile service. A new 30,000 square foot facility, England Run Branch, is currently under construction and expected to open in the fall of 2010. The branch will be located at the corner of Plantation Drive and Lyons Boulevard. Location of new branches is determined by population centers, shopping and transportation patterns, ease of access to major roadways, and visibility. Ideally, branches are located on sites that would be commercially desirable to ensure optimum use as a community information center and gathering place.
What We Do: Enriching the Community
The Central Rappahannock Regional Library offers throughout the region a wide array of programs and services that are available to all residents and to any nonprofit organization, school, local government, or institution that can benefit from the services of the public library. The library staff actively pursues any opportunity to serve the regional community and represent the library in a broad selection of community partnerships as part of this mission.
The library is also keenly aware of its role in supporting local governments in building in our area communities which have become the home of so many new arrivals. In response to the needs of these new suburbs, which do not have traditional town centers, the library serves as a meeting place, a family destination point, an information center, and a support institution for local schools, government, and organizations to help build a cohesive and involved citizenry.
Increasingly over the past several years the library system has focused on creating collaborative efforts with the local public school systems.
This year, the library reached out to 7,000 teachers at school orientations as a way of connecting to educators across the region. The CRRL prepares a bag of resource material for each new teacher, and CRRL staff members attend the teacher orientation sessions at each public school in the region.
Children's services remain a cornerstone of public library service. Language development, family activities centered on books and learning, and educational support are vital to children of all ages.
Nationally, preteens and young teens comprise the largest demographic group since the baby boom generation. Connecting to this age group requires extra effort with the lure of commercial opportunities and technology. The CRRL has enthusiastically pursued opportunities to interact with young adults.
Reference and Research resources include law and Virginiana collections in the Headquarters library and a comprehensive collection of databases accessible with a library card number from a computer anywhere. Of particular interest to the business community are full text editions, including backfiles, of major news sources, business directories with national scope, and industry tracking and analytic tools.
Outreach Services at the CRRL include the bookmobile, the talking books collection, books by mail for the homebound, adult literacy program, community Web pages, and special services for the disabled. The CRRL is a regional depository for the Library of Congress National Library Service for the visually impaired. The Headquarters Library houses and administers about 8,000 books on tape for the disabled.
Educational, cultural, and entertainment programs for the regional community draw thousands of people to libraries throughout the CRRL system each year. Library staff present hundreds of in-house children's programs annually. Many children have their first group social experiences in a preschool storytime, and the love of books begins years before a child can actually read. Children's programming is extremely popular at Salem Church Branch and Porter Branch in Stafford, where thousands of young families have moved to new homes near those locations.
Foreign film festivals, classical concerts, and literary lectures have proven to be very successful programs at the Headquarters, which also provides a central location for the entire regional community. The Friends of the Library graciously sponsor many of these wonderful events.
Salem Church, Headquarters, and Porter showcase a local artist's works each month in the lobby. The library is also a co-founder and sponsor, in conjunction with the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, of monthly screenings of short films exploring artists and the creative process and bi-annual exhibits of art works relating to our region.
Mission Statement
The CRRL provides library resources and services to meet the evolving educational, recreational, and information needs of the public, thus enhancing individual and community life.
The CRRL supports democracy by fostering the free exchange of ideas, providing a nonpartisan meeting ground.
The CRRL affirms its commitment to sponsor and support the lively arts and to cooperate with all community resource providers to enhance the quality of life for area citizens by enriching their experiences and expanding their cultural horizons.
