To learn from Fairfax County Public Library’s history and understand the impact of barriers to public library services, FCPL’s Director and Board of Trustees requested a history of FCPL’s policies during segregation. Staff were directed to examine Northern Virginia as a whole. The report makes clear that the history of desegregation of public libraries in Northern Virginia, as with Virginia, is more complicated than it may first appear. Most public libraries were implicitly segregated in their history.

The report documents public library services received by Black residents in Northern Virginia during segregation. The authors consulted newspapers, meeting minutes, state library reports, books, oral histories, and more to examine public libraries’ segregationist past in Northern Virginia. The first part of the report details FCPL’s history and segregationist past. The second part explores library services provided – or not provided to Black residents in neighboring jurisdictions in Virginia.

The report is available for review in FCPL’s collection. It is anticipated that a shared accurate understanding of the past will encourage conversations about the impacts of institutional racism. The report highlights the contributions of Black Virginian citizen activists who worked to desegregate libraries that remained segregated even after they were legally mandated to integrate. It is hoped that this report will inspire others to further research and examine the history of segregation and public libraries.