Central Library

Central Library Hours:
Monday - Thursday : 9am - 9pm
Friday - Saturday : 9am - 5pm
Sunday - 1pm - 5pm
(Closed Sundays Memorial Day to Labor Day)

Phone: 434.979.7151
Fax: 434.971.7035
central@jmrl.org

Jump to: Adult Programs | Teen Programs | Kids Programs | Volunteer!


Programs for Adults

Connecting @ Your Library

The Reference staff will provide one-on-one tutorials on basic computer skills and online job searching and applications. Participants must get a JMRL Library Card. For an appointment call 979.7151 ext 4.

Brown Baggers Book Group

On the third Thursday of the month bring your lunch and discuss fiction and non-fiction books. Library staff will provide value-added content and lead the discussion. Drinks and desserts will be provided. Sign up to be added to the book email list: central@jmrl.org (RSS for Events)

Want to see what has already been read? Try Searching the calendar. Program listings are below.

Documentary Film Series

Films are shown on the 4th Thursday of the month, starting Jan 2012. Come view and discuss documentary films on current issues. Light refreshments will be provided. Sign up to be added to the film email list: central@jmrl.org

Want a list of the films already shown? Try Searching the calendar. After being shown, check the online catalog to borrow the film. Program listings are below.

Regional Author Series

A series featuring regional authors. Come support the homegrown writers and enjoy an afternoon of discussion. Program listings are below.

Sponsored by the Virginia Employment Commission

Job Search Assistance

May 17, 2012
10:00 am

1st and 3rd Thursdays. Sign up at reference desk but walk-ins welcome: 10am-noon

SERVICES PROVIDED:

  • Career Exploration
  • Job Search Assistance
  • Résumé Writing Assistance
  • Interviewing Skills
  • Job Skills Development
  • Other Work/Career Related Services

Brown Baggers Book Group

infidelINFIDEL by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

May 17, 2012
12:00 pm

The author recounts the story of her life, from her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia and escape from a forced marriage to her efforts to promote women's rights while surviving numerous threats to her safety. Check the Catalog arrow

JMRL Board Meeting

May 21, 2012
1:00 pm

The Board of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library usually meets the 4th Monday of every month. Some months this will change. The location is usually at the Central Library but the agenda (PDF) will show if the meeting is at a different location. The May meeting will be held at Rockfish Valley Community Center, 190 Rockfish School Lane, Afton.

Documentary Film Series

MovieTHOROUGHBRED produced by Paul Wagner (2010)

May 24, 2012
7:00 pm

Takes you inside the world of big-time horse racing--a world built on money and competition, passion and tradition, knowledge and luck. And built, most of all, on dreams. more info

Summer Reading Kickoff Hullabaloo

Between the Covers: Summer Reading Theme

June 09, 2012
10:00 am

Come by to sign up for the Adult, Teen or Children's summer reading program, visit the mini-Friends of the Library book sale, the Bookmobile and check out the festivities. 2nd Street between the Central Library and Lee Park will be blocked off. (Rain location is the McIntire Room.)

Brown Baggers Book Group

good priest's sonTHE GOOD PRIEST'S SON by Reynolds Price

June 21, 2012
12:00 pm

Visiting his aging Episcopal priest father when his own home is decimated by the September 11 attacks, Mabry Kincaid meets his father's caregiver, an ambitious African American woman, and struggles with mixed feelings about his adult daughter. Check the Catalog arrow

Documentary Film Series

MovieVANISHING OF THE BEES directed by George Langworthy, Maryam Henein (2009)

June 28, 2012
7:00 pm

Takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and ecological implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee. The film examines our current agricultural landscape and celebrates the ancient and sacred connection between man and the honeybee. more info

Brown Baggers Book Group

HARE WITH AMBER EYESTHE HARE WITH AMBER EYES by Edmund de Waal

July 19, 2012
12:00 pm

Traces the parallel stories of 19th-century art patron Charles Ephrussi and his unique collection of 360 miniature netsuke Japanese ivory carvings, documenting Ephrussi's relationship with Marcel Proust and the impact of the Holocaust on his cosmopolitan family. Check the Catalog arrow


Future Readings:

Documentary Film Series

MovieBEING ELMO: A PUPPETEER'S JOURNEY directed by Constance Marks

July 26, 2012
7:00 pm

Beloved by children of all ages around the world, Elmo is an international icon. Few people know his creator, Kevin Clash, who dreamed of working with his idol, master puppeteer Jim Henson. Displaying his creativity and talent at a young age, Kevin ultimately found a home on Sesame Street. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop. more info

History of McIntire and Central Library

Albemarle Library Society
Albemarle Library Society

The first known library in downtown Charlottesville was created in 1823 by a group of citizens that included Thomas Jefferson. The “Albemarle Library Society” boasted an initial collection of 238 titles. This village library was located at “Number Nothing” in Court Square (a site now occupied by 224 Court Square). A public subscription library, the society was incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly and lasted at least until 1834. It was not until 1919 and the generosity of Paul Goodloe McIntire that a truly public library was formed. McIntire donated not only the land and the construction costs, but the furniture and the first 5,000 books for the new library as well. The cornerstone was laid in November, 1919, and the new “Charlottesville Public Library” opened its doors to the public on May 30, 1921.

The Regional Library Evolves

Original site of the library, now the Historical Society
Original site of the library, now the Historical Society

With the development of bookmobile service to Albemarle County in 1947, the name of the library was changed to the “Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Library”. In 1958, six years after the death of Mr. McIntire, the main library building and the system itself became known as the “McIntire Library.”

Additional branches in Scottsville, Crozet, and on Gordon Avenue in Charlottesville took some of the pressure off of the small McIntire Branch in the early 1960s, and, in 1972, with the addition of branches in Louisa and Nelson counties, the library system became the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library. Greene County joined the system in 1974.

Market St. Post Office Building
Market St. Post Office Building

In October 1977, the Market Street Post Office building was purchased by Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Under Director Christopher Devan, a 17-month renovation project took place. Total cost of the project reached $2.25 million. After moving the McIntire collection of 90,000 volumes into the building on Market Street, the new Central Library opened on February 2, 1981 to patrons eager for a larger facility. Along with administration and technical services, the third floor of the new building offered the community three meeting rooms, one of them dedicated to Mr. McIntire.

In May 1987, the Albemarle County Historical Society's Library and the Central Virginia Genealogical Association consolidated their resources with those of the Central Library and moved the newly formed Charlottesville-Albemarle Historical Collection to the mezzanine of the Central Library where it remained until 1994. That year, after extensive restoration and renovation, the Historical Collection moved out of the Central Library and into the former McIntire Library.

Beyond the Printed Page

In the late 80s, the Library Board and Director Bill Swinson had committed the library system to obtaining the benefits of emerging modern technology. By February 1989, under Director Donna Selle, the card catalogs at all branches were replaced with on-line computer catalogs for the public and J-MRL fully implemented its automated circulation system.

In order to continue to integrate technology into the library system, the Central Library was again renovated in 1995. The opening of a public computer lab for internet access and the development and implementation of a community information network, Monticello Avenue, were initiated. The public lab currently houses many internet stations and access is also available in the Central Reference Department where extensive electronic resources complement the print and microform collections.

Current Director John Halliday oversees the entire J-MRL system from his office on the third floor of the Central Library.