By Carolanne Korolowicz
For close to a century, the Arlington County Public Library system has been a robust resource for the community. With eight full-service locations, over 84,000 active patrons take advantage of the over two-million item collection, filled with both physical and digital materials. One of the promises of the Arlington Public Library is to provide a “third space” for innovation, conversation and community. With 5,000+ programs and events, Arlingtonians from infancy to retirement have a welcoming space to explore. From storytimes, The Shop, book clubs, and informative First-Time Homebuyer Workshops (shameless plug), no resident's special interest is left behind.
The library has grown into a multi-faceted operation, but it started simply as a humble effort by a group of women looking to memorialize their friend. As history recalls, In June 1915, five members of the Ladies Guild of the Vanderwerken (now Rock Spring) Congregational Church went on a picnic to Great Falls. The women gathered there, with children in tow, not just to bask in the spring weather, but to choose a memorial for a fellow member, Carrie M. Rohrer, a young mother who passed the previous winter. As they watched their children play around the park, their idea to open a children’s library in Rohrer’s memory took shape.
At the time, the nearest public library to Arlington was at Seventh and K Streets in Washington. Local historian, Eleanor Lee Templeman, remarks, “They all knew the tedium of reading the same few stories over and over, yet books were expensive for people on government salaries…”. Arlington’s need for a free, circulating library was present, and these mothers knew using the Neighborhood House, the church’s community building, would be the perfect place for this living memorial.
The library had humble beginnings, starting as a few books in a large market basket. The collection soon outgrew the basket and took up an entire bookcase. Then came a closet, built by the Ladies Guild’s husbands. By 1924, these men enclosed the Neighborhood House porch to create a room. A “third space” was created with a table, chairs, a gas heater and a growing collection of reading materials. When the brick church on Little Falls and Rock Spring Roads was erected in 1940, the library found a permanent home in a large room below the sanctuary. Today, The Rohrer Memorial Library is still present at Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ.
Funding for the library was not always easy. As they continued to expand and the population matured, the Ladies Guild made a concerted effort to fill the shelves with quality reads. Even expensive books were purchased if they were found to be “authoritative and assured of circulation”. Christmas Card sales were their primary source of income, but as the expenses grew, the women fought to get a fair share of funding from the church’s donations. The group began hosting their own events, including lawn parties and selling artisan goods. Not only were the efforts towards fundraising, but the library was completely volunteer run. These women didn’t spare a dime, or a minute, for something they felt was so worthwhile.
Following the Ladies Guild’s example, other volunteer libraries began to emerge across Arlington. By 1937, Arlington County Government started to organize these libraries as a department, creating the Arlington County Public Library system we know today. The Carrie M. Rohrer Memorial Library is still operated and managed solely by Rock Spring UCC. The five women who spearheaded the idea may not have known the trendy terminology of a “third space”, but that is exactly what they created. So when you check out a book, browse through e-materials, or enjoy a story-time, remember those women who dedicated endless hours to bringing a free and welcoming community space to Arlington.
