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Central Library

Central Library Hours:
Monday - Thursday : 9am - 9pm
Friday - Saturday : 9am - 5pm
Sunday - 1pm - 5pm
(Closed Sundays Memorial Day to Labor Day)

Phone: 434.979.7151
Fax: 434.971.7035
contact Central Library

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Programs for Adults

Brown Baggers Book Group

NEWOn the third Thursday of the month bring your lunch and discuss fiction and non-fiction books. Library staff will provide value-added content and lead the discussion. Drinks and desserts will be provided. Sign up to be added to the email list. (RSS for Events)

Brown Baggers Book Group

WATER FOR ELEPHANTSWATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen

September 18, 2008
12:00 pm

Ninety-something-year-old Jacob Jankowski remembers his time in the circus as a young man during the Great Depression, and his friendship with Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, and Rosie, the elephant, who gave them hope.
Check the catalog bullet

Documentary Film Series

NEWThe fourth Thursday of the month, come view and discuss documentary films on current issues. Light refreshments will be provided. Sign up to be added to the film email list. (RSS for Events)

Documentary Film Series

FAUBOURG TREMÉ: THE UNTOLD STORY OF BLACK NEW ORLEANS Directed by Dawn Logsdon

August 28, 2008
7:00 pm

MovieA riveting tale of hope, heartbreak and resiliency set in New Orleans' most fascinating neighborhood. Shot largely before Hurricane Katrina and edited afterwards, the film is both celebratory and elegiac in tone. Faubourg Tremé is arguably the oldest black neighborhood in America, the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement in the South and the home of jazz. While the Tremé district was damaged when the levees broke, this is not another Katrina documentary. Lolis Eric Elie, the award-winning New Orleans newspaperman who wrote, produced and narrates this deeply felt documentary, and director Dawn Logsdon make clear the city's present, up through Katrina, remains steeped in its past - one that, for New Orleans, naturally includes an emphasis on music, heightened here by Derrick Hodge's original jazz score. This is a film of ideas, a historical film, a personal film and a celebration of place. RUNNING TIME: 79 min. RELEASE DATE: 2007 For those concerned about conflict with Democratic Convention speeches, please remember Denver's Mountain Time zone is 2 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Documentary Film Series

TROUBLESOME CREEK: A MIDWESTERN by filmmakers Jeanne Jordan and Steven Ascher. 1995

September 25, 2008
7:00 pm

MovieBy the late 1980s, Iowa farmers Russ and Mary Jane Jordan had accumulated a large debt. Faced with losing their farm, The Jordans came up with a dramatic solution to hold onto their family farm as massive foreclosures swept the nation. It is a story of passages, and the undeniable sweep of changing times. It is also a story of how family and community ties can be maintained, and even strengthened, during the most trying of times. This film was nominated for an Academy Award, and at the Sundance Film Festival was awarded both the Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award for best documentary. more info


Happy Thanksgiving!

November 27, 2008

The Library is closed for the holiday.

History of McIntire and Central Library

Albemarle Library Society
Albemarle Library Society

The first known library in downtown Charlottesville was created in 1823 by a group of citizens that included Thomas Jefferson. The “Albemarle Library Society” boasted an initial collection of 238 titles. This village library was located at “Number Nothing” in Court Square (a site now occupied by 224 Court Square). A public subscription library, the society was incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly and lasted at least until 1834. It was not until 1919 and the generosity of Paul Goodloe McIntire that a truly public library was formed. McIntire donated not only the land and the construction costs, but the furniture and the first 5,000 books for the new library as well. The cornerstone was laid in November, 1919, and the new “Charlottesville Public Library” opened its doors to the public on May 30, 1921.

The first major change in library service occurred in 1934 when the Library Board opened the “Fourth Street Branch” for the purpose of serving the “colored race.” Controversy surrounded the operation of this branch throughout its fourteen-year history. Although the Board, in 1947, allowed the Fourth Street patrons to borrow books from the main library, they continued to deny them reading room privileges. The branch was finally closed in early 1948 when blacks were allowed full access to the main library.

The Regional Library Evolves

Original site of the library, now the Historical Society
Original site of the library, now the Historical Society

With the development of bookmobile service to Albemarle County in 1947, the name of the library was changed to the “Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Library”. In 1958, six years after the death of Mr. McIntire, the main library building and the system itself became known as the “McIntire Library.”

Additional branches in Scottsville, Crozet, and on Gordon Avenue in Charlottesville took some of the pressure off of the small McIntire Branch in the early 1960s, and, in 1972, with the addition of branches in Louisa and Nelson counties, the library system became the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library. Greene County joined the system in 1974.

Market St. Post Office Building
Market St. Post Office Building

In October 1977, the Market Street Post Office building was purchased by Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Under Director Christopher Devan, a 17-month renovation project took place. Total cost of the project reached $2.25 million. After moving the McIntire collection of 90,000 volumes into the building on Market Street, the new Central Library opened on February 2, 1981 to patrons eager for a larger facility. Along with administration and technical services, the third floor of the new building offered the community three meeting rooms, one of them dedicated to Mr. McIntire.

In May 1987, the Albemarle County Historical Society's Library and the Central Virginia Genealogical Association consolidated their resources with those of the Central Library and moved the newly formed Charlottesville-Albemarle Historical Collection to the mezzanine of the Central Library where it remained until 1994. That year, after extensive restoration and renovation, the Historical Collection moved out of the Central Library and into the former McIntire Library.

Beyond the Printed Page

In the late 80s, the Library Board and Director Bill Swinson had committed the library system to obtaining the benefits of emerging modern technology. By February 1989, under Director Donna Selle, the card catalogs at all branches were replaced with on-line computer catalogs for the public and J-MRL fully implemented its automated circulation system.

In order to continue to integrate technology into the library system, the Central Library was again renovated in 1995. The opening of a public computer lab for internet access and the development and implementation of a community information network, Monticello Avenue, were initiated. The public lab currently houses many internet stations and access is also available in the Central Reference Department where extensive electronic resources complement the print and microform collections.

Current Director John Halliday oversees the entire J-MRL system from his office on the third floor of the Central Library.