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2010 SESSION

10104531D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 282
Offered February 15, 2010
Commending the Herndon Fortnightly Club on the occasion of its 120th anniversary.
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Patrons-- Rust; Senator: Howell
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WHEREAS, the Herndon Fortnightly Club celebrated 120 years of supporting Herndon and Fairfax County Public Libraries in 2009; and

WHEREAS, the Herndon Fortnightly Club began as a club library in 1889 when 11 women formed a study club to meet once every two weeks; and

WHEREAS, the members began to gather a basic collection of books to use for study and research and by 1900 had over 1,000 books; recognizing the value the collection would have to the community, the Club rented a room downtown and opened its doors to the public; and

WHEREAS, in 1917 much of Herndon, including the library’s collection, was destroyed by fire; however, in less than a year, the Herndon Fortnightly Club had 1,000 books back on its shelves; and

WHEREAS, in 1927, after years of fundraising, the Herndon Fortnightly Club was able to build a library on Spring Street for the benefit of the Herndon community; and

WHEREAS, the Fairfax County Public Library was established in 1939, and began a relationship with the Fortnightly Library and other small community libraries by rotating collections of books; and

WHEREAS, following requests to establish a branch in Herndon, the Fairfax County Public Library took over the operation of the Fortnightly Library; the Herndon Fortnightly Club offered to lease the library building to the county and on March 7, 1972, the Herndon Fortnightly Library opened; and

WHEREAS, in 1989 Fairfax County voters approved a $39.1 million capital improvement bond referendum that included funding for new libraries in Centreville, Chantilly, Great Falls, and Herndon; the new Herndon Fortnightly Library on Center Street opened in May 1995; and

WHEREAS, members of the Herndon Fortnightly Club have continued to support the library and its services with volunteer labor, gifts, and donations; and

WHEREAS, the Herndon Fortnightly Club is also a sponsor of the library’s annual Open House and partners with the Council for the Arts of Herndon for the Children’s Literacy and the Arts Saturday programs; and

WHEREAS, for the past 120 years, the Herndon Fortnightly Club has been a driving force in the creation and expansion of the public library in Herndon, a welcoming learning environment for adults and children alike; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend the Herndon Fortnightly Club on the occasion of its 120th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Herndon Fortnightly Club as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and admiration for its service to the Herndon community for more than a century.