Hours- Monday: 9am - 9pm | Tuesday: 9am - 6pm
Wednesday: 12 -9pm | Thursday: 10am - 6pm
Friday - Saturday: 10am - 5pm
Sunday - Closed
Phone: 434.296.5544
Fax: 434.295.8737
contact Gordon Avenue Library
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Programs for Adults:
Live Poets Society
The Live Poets Society meets the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. Come and share original poetry, or just listen.
The Literary Masterpiece Book Group
Meets at 10am on the first and third Fridays of each month to discuss literary classics. The group meets from September to May. For further information, call Tod Oliver (434) 296-4041.
Want to see what we've already read? Try Searching the calendar.
The Literary Masterpiece Book Group
BARCHESTER TOWERS by Anthony Trollope
September 05, 2008
10:00 am
The appointment of a new bishop and the ensuing conflicts and intrigue form the basis of this satire of the clergy. Check the Catalog 
The Literary Masterpiece Book Group
"Song of Myself" and "Democratic Vistas" (from LEAVES OF GRASS) by Walt Whitman
September 19, 2008
10:00 am
One of the great innovative figures in American letters, Walt Whitman created a daringly new kind of poetry that became a major force in world literature.
Check the Catalog
The Literary Masterpiece Book Group
PASSAGE TO INDIA by E.M.Forster
October 03, 2008
10:00 am
In a scathing indictment of British imperialism, Forster's once controversial novel portrays two Englishwomen who experience misunderstanding and cultural conflict after they travel to India. Check the Catalog
The Literary Masterpiece Book Group
THE PRINCE by Nicolo Machiavelli
October 17, 2008
10:00 am
The most famous book on politics ever written, The Prince remains as lively and shocking today as when it was written almost five hundred years ago.
Check the Catalog
Future Readings:
- Nov 7: THE EXPEDITION OF HUMPHRY CLINKER by Tobias Smollett
- Nov 21: AGNES GREY by Anne Bronte
- Dec 5: MEMOIRS OF HADRIAN by Marguerite Yourcenar
- Dec 19: MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION by George Bernard Shaw
The Wednesday Night Book Group
This group meets at 7:30 pm, the second Wednesday of each month to share insights on a variety of classic and contemporary fiction.
Want to see what we've already read? Try Searching the calendar.
Wednesday Night Book Group
ART OF MENDING by Elizabeth Berg
September 10, 2008
7:30 pm
Returning home for a family reunion, Laura Bartone and her brother, Steve, are stunned by their sister's allegations of shocking behavior on the part of their mother, and must come to terms with the truth and lies within their family.
Check the Catalog
History of Gordon Avenue
The Gordon Avenue Library opened for public service on November 19, 1966. It was the McIntire Library’s first major addition built expressly for library purposes since 1921. The construction was funded jointly by the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, which had been contributing to the operation of the Bookmobile since 1946 and had joined smaller branches in Scottsville (1960) and Crozet (1964) to the city’s system.
This new branch was sorely needed to serve a growing population west of the city, to ease crowded conditions at the McIntire Library (which occupied the building now housing the Albemarle County Historical Society), and to provide a headquarters for the Bookmobile operations.
Designed by the architectural firm of J. Russell Bailey in Orange, Virginia, the two-story red-brick trim 12,384 square foot building was designed to hold 25,000 volumes (with an additional 10,000 in the Bookmobile "garage" downstairs), seated 38 in the Adult Room and 26 in the Children’s Room and boasted three public meeting rooms, seating 134 in all.
The Perry Foundation donated the site. Forty-five percent of the construction costs or $120,262 was provided by Federal Library Aid through the Commonwealth. Charlottesville and Albemarle County appropriated $75,000 each. Additional funds were donated by individuals and groups, notably the America Association of University Women, who helped equip the meeting rooms, and the Friends of the Library who purchased a film projector and screen.
The Seventies & Eighties: A Time of Growth
During its first full year of operation, Gordon Avenue was open for 48 hours per week and circulated 49,748 volumes. The staff of five included three professionals, a library clerk and a janitor. The branch experienced remarkable growth in the 1970’s. By 1975, Gordon Avenue offered 73 hours of service a week (5 hours on Sunday).
When the new Central Library opened in May 1981, Sunday hours were dropped at the branch, and budget cuts in 1982 made further cuts necessary. The book collection continued to grow, however, and by 1988 the library had squeezed in 54,000 volumes, twice its designed capacity, and had to reduce seating by a third. The South Room, third of the public meeting spaces, and the Bookmobile area were given to the Friends of the Library in 1984 for storage and sales space for their remarkably successful annual book sales. Circulation continued to rise, however, and in 1987/88, the first year of the automated catalog, 174,732 books were checked out.
The Nineties and Beyond
With the opening of the Northside Branch in 1991, Gordon Avenue lost its role as the largest branch, but it has retained its reputation as a friendly accessible neighborhood library. Programs for children are varied and well-attended, and the strong collection and relative flexibility of a smaller branch allow for innovative programming. An art program in cooperation with the Bayly Museum in the 1980’s; a rental library to allow quick access to the most popular books; the African-American collection, named for Roland Beauford, an original staff member; and the first public computer workstation in a branch are some of the more successful initiatives at Gordon Avenue.
Presently, five full-time and two part-time staff members serve the public for 53 hours per week. The attractive foliage put in on the grounds by volunteers symbolize the branch today— bright and peaceful.
