Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research. Public access and use of some materials containing confidential financial information and personally identifiable information (PII) is restricted. These materials are noted as such with further detail about the terms of the restriction.

Contact Local History / Special Collections staff for more information.

Preferred Citation

[item description], Alexandria Library Board Records, MS416, Alexandria Library, Local History and Special Collections, Alexandria, Virginia.

Historical Note

When the Alexandria Library was established as a public library in 1937, a Board of Directors was established to perform administrative tasks and oversee operations for the library. The duties of the board were laid out in the 1937 Library By-Laws, which included generating reports to present to the Alexandria Library Company.

In 1947, new by-laws were written and updates were made to the structure of the Board. The Board was renamed The Alexandria Library Board (rather than the Board of Directors) and was determined to be made up of seven members. Three members were representatives of the Alexandria Library Society (now Alexandria Library Company), two members were appointed by the mayor of the City of Alexandria, and the last two members were chosen from existing members of the Alexandria City Council. The Board maintained their administrative role and continued to hire operating personnel for the library and present an annual budget for the Library to the City Council and the Alexandria Library Company.

In the latter half of the 20th century, the Board's role was scaled back. They continued to meet monthly and maintained oversight over management of the Library and its annual budget, but stopped managing daily operations. They were also no longer responsible for hiring Library personnel, only for appointing the Library Director. The Library Director now also served as the Executive Director of the Board.

Currently, the Alexandria Library Board still consists of seven members (one member representing City Council, three members appointed by the City, and three members representing the Alexandria Library Company). They meet bi-monthly, or as needed, to discuss the maintenance and operation of the Library. The Board's current mission statement is, "In accordance with an agreement with the City of Alexandria, the Alexandria Library Board sets the policies, rules and regulations of the Library; submits a budget to the City for the operation and maintenance of the Library; and appoints and approves such personnel as are necessary to operate the Library. The Board also sits as the Boards of the James M. Duncan, Jr. Foundation and the Alexandria Library Foundation that monitors the investment portfolios and approves grants from these funds" ( Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2018 , Alexandria Library Board).

Content Description

This collection contains records of the Alexandria Library Board, documenting the administration and operations of the Board, dating from 1937 through 2020. Materials in this collection include correspondence, financial records, annual reports, member directories, newsclippings, Library circulation statistics, Library Annual Reports, and drafts of Library policies and procedures.

The Alexandria Library Board is an active organization, and so this collection is a living collection which will be periodically added to and updated. Check this collection guide for any future updates to the collection.

Notes on Arrangement

This finding aid describes and documents the updated arrangement of this collection, as of 2024. Previously, the records in this collection were part of the Alexandria Library Records (MS098) but were separated and combined with new materials to form a separate collection.

The physical and intellectual arrangement of the Alexandria Library Board Records (MS416) is as follows: Series 1: Administrative Records and Correspondence and Series 2: Meeting Records. Future accretions to this collection will be added to existing series.

Related Material

Alexandria Library Records (MS098) Alexandria Library Company Records (MS002)

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Alexandria (Va.)
• Alexandria (Va.). City Council
• Alexandria (Va.). Library
• Alexandria Library (Alexandria, Va.)
• Alexandria Library Association (1897-1937)
• Alexandria Library Company
• Alexandria Library Society (1937-1953)
• Boards of directors
• Budget
• Library circulation and loans
• Library outreach programs
• Library rules and regulations
• Public libraries.