Local History and Special Collections Branch, Alexandria Library
Alexandria Library Board Records (MS416)
Alexandria Library (Alexandria, Va.). Board
MS416
6.9 Cubic Feet
14 boxes
1937-2020
English
.
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.
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.
Related Materials
Alexandria Library Records (MS098)
Alexandria Library Company Records (MS002)
Preferred Citation
[item description], Alexandria Library Board Records, MS416, Alexandria Library, Local History and Special Collections, Alexandria, Virginia.
Digital Materials
Click to view digital materials in this collection
Boards of directors
Alexandria (Va.). Library
Alexandria (Va.)
Public libraries.
Budget
Library rules and regulations
Library circulation and loans
Library outreach programs
Alexandria Library (Alexandria, Va.)
Alexandria Library Company
Alexandria Library Association (1897-1937)
Alexandria Library Society (1937-1953)
Alexandria (Va.). City Council
Series 1: Administrative Records and CorrespondenceMS416 Series 10.69 Cubic Feet1.5 boxes1954-2020c. 1970-2020Series Content DescriptionThis series contains materials documenting the administration, operations, and communications of the Alexandria Library Board. Materials date from 1954 to 2020, but the majority of records date c.1970 through early 2020. Included are correspondence, financial records, annual reports, and member directories. The majority of administrative records of the Alexandria Library Board can be found in Series 2: Meeting Records amongst the meeting minutes and notes.
Some materials included in this series contain confidential financial information and personally identifiable information (PII); these records are not currently available for public access or use. For more information, please contact the Local History / Special Collections staff.
Digital MaterialsClick to view digital materials in this collection
Board CorrespondenceMS416-01-0011954-197901001Digital MaterialsClick to view digital materials in this collection
Board CorrespondenceMS416-01-0021980-199201002Digital MaterialsClick to view digital materials in this collection
Board Correspondence -- Lloyd HouseMS416-01-0031969-199101003Digital MaterialsClick to view digital materials in this collection
Annual ReportsMS416-14-081FY1981-199214081Annual Reports to the City of AlexandriaMS416-01-0041991-199901004Digital MaterialsClick to view digital materials in this collection
Annual Reports to the City of AlexandriaMS416-01-0052000-201001005Digital MaterialsClick to view digital materials in this collection
Financial RecordsMS416-01-0061969-200001006R01001Conditions Governing AccessThis folder contains materials with confidential financial information. Public access and use of these materials is restricted for 75 years from the date of creation of the document.
Financial RecordsMS416-01-0072001-201001007R01002Conditions Governing AccessThis folder contains materials with confidential financial information. Public access and use of these materials is restricted for 75 years from the date of creation of the document.
Financial RecordsMS416-02-0082011-202002008R01003Conditions Governing AccessThis folder contains materials with confidential financial information. Public access and use of these materials is restricted for 75 years from the date of creation of the document.
Board Member DirectoriesMS416-02-0091984-201902009R01004Conditions Governing AccessThis folder contains materials with confidential personally identifiable information (PII). Public access and use of these materials is restricted for 75 years from the date of creation of the document.
Series 2: Meeting RecordsMS416 Series 26.21 Cubic Feet13.5 boxes1938-2020c. 1990-2020Series Content DescriptionThis series contains minutes and other records from the monthly meetings of the Alexandria Library Board. Materials date from 1937 to 2020, but the majority of records date c.1990 through early 2020. In addition to meeting agendas and minutes, this series includes: correspondence, newsclippings, Library circulation statistics, Library Annual Reports, and drafts of Library policies and procedures.
Digital MaterialsClick to view digital materials in this collection
Meeting RecordsMS416-02-0101938-194702010Digital MaterialsClick to view digital materials in this collection
Meeting RecordsMS416-02-0111948-198002011Digital MaterialsClick to view digital materials in this collection
Board Meeting Attendance RecordsMS416-02-0121973-199202012Meeting RecordsMS416-02-013April 1989 - November 199002013Meeting RecordsMS416-02-014March - December 199102014Meeting RecordsMS416-02-015January - December 199202015Meeting RecordsMS416-02-016January - June 199302016Meeting RecordsMS416-03-017September - December 199303017Meeting RecordsMS416-03-018January - March 199403018Meeting RecordsMS416-03-019April - August 199403019Meeting RecordsMS416-03-020September - December 199403020Meeting RecordsMS416-03-021January - March 199503021Meeting RecordsMS416-03-022April - September 199503022Meeting RecordsMS416-03-023October - December 199503023Meeting RecordsMS416-04-024January - March 199604024Meeting RecordsMS416-04-025April - June 199604025Meeting RecordsMS416-04-026September 199604026Meeting RecordsMS416-04-027October - December 199604027Meeting RecordsMS416-04-028January - February 199704028Meeting RecordsMS416-04-029March - April 199704029Meeting RecordsMS416-05-030May - June 199705030Meeting RecordsMS416-05-031September 199705031Meeting RecordsMS416-05-032October 199705032Meeting RecordsMS416-05-033November - December 199705033Meeting RecordsMS416-05-034January - March 199805034Meeting RecordsMS416-06-035April - June 199806035Meeting RecordsMS416-06-036September 199806036Meeting RecordsMS416-06-037October - December 199806037Meeting RecordsMS416-06-038January - March 199906038Meeting RecordsMS416-06-039April - May 199906039Meeting RecordsMS416-07-040June - September 199907040Meeting RecordsMS416-07-041October - December 199907041Meeting RecordsMS416-07-042January - March 200007042Meeting RecordsMS416-07-043April - June 200007043Meeting RecordsMS416-08-044September 200008044Meeting RecordsMS416-08-045October 200008045Meeting RecordsMS416-08-046November 200008046Meeting RecordsMS416-08-047December 2000 - January 200108047Meeting RecordsMS416-08-048March - April 200108048Meeting RecordsMS416-09-049May - June 200109049Meeting RecordsMS416-09-050September - October 200109050Meeting RecordsMS416-09-051December 2001 - April 200209051Meeting RecordsMS416-09-052June 200209052Meeting RecordsMS416-09-053September 200209053Meeting RecordsMS416-10-054October - December 200210054Meeting RecordsMS416-10-055February - June 200310055Meeting RecordsMS416-10-056September - December 200310056Meeting RecordsMS416-10-057February - April 200410057Meeting RecordsMS416-10-058June - September 200410058Meeting RecordsMS416-11-059October - December 200411059Meeting RecordsMS416-11-060February - June 200511060Meeting RecordsMS416-11-061September - December 200511061Meeting RecordsMS416-11-062February - April 200611062Meeting RecordsMS416-11-063June - September 200611063Meeting RecordsMS416-11-064December 2006 - September 200711064Meeting RecordsMS416-12-065October 2007 - April 200812065Meeting RecordsMS416-12-066June 2008 - April 200912066Meeting RecordsMS416-12-067June 2009 - February 201012067Meeting RecordsMS416-12-068April 2010 - April 201112068Meeting RecordsMS416-12-069June 2011 - February 201212069Meeting RecordsMS416-12-070 April - December 201212070Meeting RecordsMS416-12-071 February - December 201312071Meeting RecordsMS416-13-072 January - December 201413072Meeting RecordsMS416-13-073 February - December 2015
13073Meeting RecordsMS416-13-074 February - December 2016
13074Meeting RecordsMS416-13-075February - December 201713075Meeting RecordsMS416-13-076February - December 201813076Meeting RecordsMS416-13-077February - December 201913077Meeting RecordsMS416-13-078February - October 202013078Special Meeting RecordsMS416-14-0792008, 2011, 2015, 2017, 201814079Investment Committee Meeting RecordsMS416-14-0802014-201714080