Having saved the Cherrydale Library from closing, advocates now want the county government to address the building’s accessibility issues.
Making upgrades to reach Americans with Disabilities Act standards “will allow the library to better serve the neighborhood and the county, and strengthen its long-term viability,” said Michael Gessel, president of Citizens for Cherrydale Library, at a public hearing on the proposed FY27-36 capital improvement plan.
Gessel told County Board members yesterday (Tuesday) that without needed upgrades, the library will be imperiled in future years when budgets are tight.
“It’s that lack of ADA compliance that the county manager cites in his recommendation to close the library,” said Gessel.
After community pushback, Board members ultimately overruled Schwartz’s proposal to close the library, in the latest instance of the facility surviving the budget ax.
Gessel said the building’s first floor meets accessibility standards. “It is only the upstairs balcony, where special programs are held,” that requires upgrades, he said.
County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti suggested that it would be “a challenging problem” to include funds for the project in the new capital plan, but that he and his colleagues were open to further discussions.
“The Board did listen to the many people that spoke this past budget season,” de Ferranti said.
Board members will hold a wrap-up session on the capital plan on Tuesday, July 14. Final approval of the package is expected on Tuesday, July 21.
Closure of the branch library was one of two controversial recommendations by Schwartz during this budget season — the second being elimination of gymnastics programming at, and the temporary closure of, Barcroft Sports & Fitness Center. Board members found funding in the $1.7 billion budget to overrule that proposal and retain the gymnastics programming, albeit with fee increases for participants.
Gessel said Cherrydale Library, located at 2190 Military Road, has been an iconic neighborhood space for 65 years.
“There’s probably no county building more beloved,” he said. “It’s been a center of books, learning and community.”
Citizens for Cherrydale Library and Friends of the Arlington Public Library will host a celebration of the library on Saturday, July 11 from 1-3 p.m.
In addition to events for all ages, music and refreshments, the July 11 celebration will feature the opening of a photo exhibit entitled “Libraries, Liberty and Community: Celebrating the Democratic Tradition of Public Libraries in America.”
Gessel asked Board members to attend, so they could understand the community’s passion for the facility.
The Cherrydale Library’s history predates the establishment of the county’s library system in the late 1930s. Like other local community libraries at the time, it was operated by neighborhood volunteers, typically women’s clubs.
In 1936, supporters of the Glencarlyn, Cherrydale, Clarendon, Aurora Hills, and Arlington/Columbia Pike libraries joined as a collective and pressed county leaders to incorporate them into a new library system. By 1939, under county librarian Eleanor Leonard, the five libraries had been standardized, although in the early years volunteers continued to staff them.
Before moving to its current location, the Cherrydale branch operated at 4006 Lee Highway (now Langston Blvd) from 1946-61.
