History of Alexandria Library

Founded as a subscription library in 1794 and serving as the public library of Alexandria, Virginia since 1937 – Alexandria Library has a long legacy of supporting early literacy and lifelong learning in our diverse community.

The Alexandria Library Company (ALC) was founded on July 24, 1794 and operated a subscription library for nearly 150 years. In 1937, the ALC entered an agreement with the City of Alexandria and their collections formed the foundation of the city’s first free public library. Since then, the Alexandria Library has grown into a system of six branches which serve the community of Alexandria, Virginia.

For more information about the history of the Alexandria Library Company, check out the Alexandria Library Company Records (MS002) at the Local History/Special Collections Branch.

Quicklinks:

• Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library
• Robert H. Robinson Library
• Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library
• James M. Duncan Branch Library
• Local History/Special Collections Branch
• Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library
• Alexandria Law Library

Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library

The Kate Waller Barrett Library opened its doors on Queen Street in 1937; this was the first location of the Alexandria Library. The Society of Friends granted a 99-year lease for use of its old Quaker Burial Ground on Queen Street as the site for the new public library building. This library has undergone several renovations and expansions over the years, in 1954, 1964, and 1993. When the Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library was built, the Barrett Library shifted from being the main library to its current role as a branch library which serves residents of Old Town Alexandria and surrounding neighborhoods.

This library branch was named after Dr. Kate Waller Barrett – local humanitarian, social crusader, and political reformer. Kate Waller Barrett was born in Stafford County, Virginia on her family's estate, "Clifton". In 1876 she married Rev. Robert Barrett, the minister at her Episcopal Church in Aquia. He was next assigned to a poor district in Richmond. When an unwed mother and her baby came to the rectory one evening, Mrs. Barrett took them in and vowed to work "in behalf of this outcast class." She was horrified at society's abandonment of these women. Rev. Barrett was transferred to Atlanta in 1886. With her husband's encouragement and support, Mrs. Barrett received her M.D. from the Women's Medical College of Georgia in 1892. Dr. Barrett hoped this knowledge would help in her plans to open a shelter for unwed mothers. Despite opposition from city and church officials, she secured land for her shelter. In her search for funds, Dr. Barrett met Charles Crittenton, who agreed to finance the shelter, named for his daughter Florence who had died of scarlet fever at the age of four. The home opened in 1893. Rev. Barrett died in 1896, leaving his wife with six young children. She became Superintendent of the Mission in 1897 and succeeded Mr. Crittenton as President of the Mission on his death in 1909. There were 90 homes with a national headquarters in Washington, D.C. Dr. Barrett was involved in other charitable work and social reform. She served on several national boards and commissions and was active in war work, veterans' relief, women's suffrage, and the restoration of Arlington Mansion. When she died at her home on Duke Street in Alexandria in 1925, the flag over the state capitol flew at half-mast. She is buried in the Aquia Church cemetery. 

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Robert H. Robinson Library

The Robert H. Robinson Library opened in 1940 to serve black residents of Alexandria. The establishment of this new branch library was motivated by a civil rights demonstration and lawsuit brought against the Library and the City of Alexandria. The earliest known civil rights sit-in was held at the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library in 1939. Alexandria Attorney Samuel W. Tucker and five young African American men demonstrated this act of civil disobedience after being denied library cards. The Sit-In and following legal action resulted in the establishment of a new branch of the library to provide “separate but equal” library services to black residents. However, this new library branch never received the same support or funding as the main library and was never able to provide fully equitable services to the local African American community.

In 1959, the Alexandria Library officially integrated for adults and in 1962 integrated its children’s services. Not long after its opening, the Robinson Library began to outgrow its facilities; and after integration of the library, the adult materials at the Robinson Library were all transferred to the Barrett Library.

The majority of the Robinson Library’s patrons were always children and story hour, one of the services offered since the opening of the library, was extremely popular. In July 1960, after the transfer of all the adult materials in the collection, Robinson Library officially became a children’s branch. However, by this point, the demand for story hour was so great, that the Robinson librarian began presenting a story hour at Barrett Library in addition to increasing the frequency of story hours offered at Robinson Library.

On July 1, 1962, Robinson Library was permanently closed. The building became the work space and office for the Library’s bookmobile service, which was first introduced in 1961. Today, the building is the site of the Alexandria Black History Museum.

For more information about the 1939 sit-in and integration of Alexandria Library, check out the our research guide on the 1939 Alexandria Library Sit-In.

For more details about our annual celebration of the anniversary of the 1939 Library Sit-In check out our website at alexlibraryva.org/1939-sit-in.

This library branch is named after The Reverend Robert H. Robinson (1824-1909) – a minister and civil rights activist. The grandson of Caroline Branham, Robinson was born into slavery, but through the negotiations of his grandmother gained his freedom in 1846 at 21 years of age. As a free black man, he attended school in Georgetown before apprenticing with Andrew Jamieson at a cracker bakery and later studying for the ministry. He served as a pastor of Roberts Chapel, a Methodist Episcopal Church on South Washington Street in Alexandria as well as several other parishes in the area. He helped establish the Western Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church - the first conference in the denomination for African Americans. He was a founding member of the William McKinley Normal and Industrial School in Alexandria; a school which served African Americans interested in studying industrial trades, typing, and music.

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Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library

The Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library opened on Seminary Road in 1968. The Burke Branch Library serves residents of the Seminary Hill neighborhood and surrounding areas.

This library branch was named after Ellen Coolidge Burke (1901-1975), who served as Director of the Alexandria Library from 1948 to 1969. Born in Alexandria to a family which traced its ancestry to Thomas Jefferson, Ellen Coolidge Burke lived here most of her life and received her B.A. and M.A. from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. After working at the Alexandria Library for almost ten years as a cataloger and reference librarian, Burke became Director in 1948, a position she held until her retirement in June 1969. Burke was responsible for bringing one of the state's first bookmobile services to the city. She oversaw the integration of Alexandria Library from 1959 through 1963. Under her leadership the system grew to include two branch libraries – the Burke Branch opened in April 1968 and the Duncan branch opened in December 1969. Burke was a member of several professional library associations and was active in the League of Women Voters, the Urban League, the Southern Regional Council, and other civic and social justice organizations. 

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James M. Duncan Branch Library

The James M. Duncan, Jr. Branch Library opened on Commonwealth Avenue in 1969. The Duncan Branch Library serves residents of the Del Ray neighborhood and surrounding areas. In 2005 the Duncan Branch Library underwent renovations and became the first City of Alexandria government building to have a “living” roof – a Green Infrastructure approach to reducing stormwater runoff and pollution in local waterways.

This library branch was named after James M. Duncan, Jr. (1897-1967). Duncan was born in Alexandria and attended local schools. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1921. Duncan joined the Fire Department as a volunteer and became Chief in 1924, retiring from this position in 1947. In 1949, Duncan was first elected to the City Council and served until his death in 1967. He was appointed to the Library Board in 1950 and served as a member of the Board for 17 years, working to extend library service to all areas of the city. 

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Local History / Special Collections

The Local History / Special Collections Branch (LH/SC) stewards many valuable resources documenting the history and culture of Alexandria and Virginia from the colonial period to the present.

The Library’s historical and genealogical collections were originally housed in the Kate Waller Barrett Library. The collections eventually outgrew the space and in 1976 were moved to the Lloyd House and the Local History / Special Collections Branch was established. Lloyd House is an historic home on the corner of Queen and North Washington Streets. Built around 1796-1797, Lloyd House is one of the best examples of Alexandria’s late eighteenth-century Georgian architectural style, and one of five buildings of the Georgian style remaining in the city. It was home to several families and organizations until the 1970s, when the City of Alexandria and the Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission purchased and restored the building. Lloyd House now houses the administrative offices of the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA).

By the late 1990s, the historical collections had outgrown their space yet again. In the interim, the Barrett Branch had been renovated and expanded and the new Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Library had opened and become the new central library. Shed of its "main library" space requirements, the Barrett Branch had room to house the history and genealogy collections again. And so in May 2000, LH/SC moved back into the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library, where it is currently located.

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Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library

The Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library opened on Duke Street in 2000 and was designed by Pierce Goodwin Alexander & Linville in association with Michael Graves, Architect. Upon completion of the new main library site, library administration offices were moved from the Barrett Library (formerly the central library) to the Beatley Library.

This new central library was named after former mayor of Alexandria, Charles E. “Chuck” Beatley, Jr. (1916-2003). Charles “Chuck” Beatley was born in Ohio and earned an economics degree and an MBA from Ohio State University. His job as an airline pilot flying in and out of National Airport brought him to Alexandria. In 1945 he met and married Marjorie Perry, and they lived in Old Town while he built their home in the Seminary Hill area. Beatley helped organize the Seminary Hill Association and served as president for three years. He went on to serve on the City Council in 1966, then as mayor from 1967 to 1976. After retiring from both United Airlines and politics in 1976, Beatley returned to political life served a second term as mayor from 1979 to 1985.

Beatley encouraged historic preservation in Old Town and was a catalyst for the renewal of the downtown business district. He is responsible for many of the features which make Old Town so distinctive, from the waterfront development of parks and private projects, to the brick sidewalks, underground utility lines and colonial style street lamps. As mayor, Beatley was an enthusiastic supporter of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, a major cultural attraction in Alexandria. He pushed for the new courthouse building on King Street, the renovation of City Hall, and proposed a large, central library to be built in the West End. Beatley was the city’s representative on the Metro board for eight years and was instrumental in bringing Metro to Alexandria. He also encouraged the development of the local DASH bus system and helped create Fort Ward Park and the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

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Alexandria Law Library

In 2015 the Library took over management of the Alexandria Law Library, located in the basement of the Alexandria Circuit Court on King Street. The Alexandria Law Library provides legal resources for the benefit of the entire Alexandria community, including its citizens, government agencies, local businesses, the judiciary, and members of the bar.

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