Gordon Avenue Library

Gordon LibraryHours
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

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

Programs for Adults

Caffeinated Book Swap

September 20, 2010
7:00 pm

Declutter your shelves, find great new reads. Bring in gently used books you'd like to trade for books that are new to you. You'll also have the opportunity to meet new faces and get great reading recommendations. Coffee and snacks will be provided to keep up your energy as you swap till you drop. All un-traded books will be donated to the Friends of the Library for their fall book sale.
Registration is requested and begins September 1st.

Grown-up Game Night

October 25, 2010
7:00 pm

Come unplug and meet your neighbors. The library will have great board and card
games on hand for casual play, classic ones and new finds. Bring a game to share or come find a new favorite. Refreshments will be served.
Registration is requested; drop-ins welcome.

Job Seeker Services

VECSPONSORED BY THE VIRGINIA EMPLOYMENT COMMISSION

September 07, 2010
1:00 pm

First Tuesday of each month: no appointments necessary.
Walk-ins welcome: 1pm - 3pm
SERVICES PROVIDED:

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

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.

Literary Masterpiece Book Group

MIDDLEMARCHMIDDLEMARCH by George Eliot

September 03, 2010
10:00 am

In nineteenth-century England, Dorthea Brooke's wishes to defy social conventions are inhibited by the strict nature of her surroundings.
Check the Catalogbullet

Literary Masterpiece Book Group

For Esme - with Love and Squalor (in NINE STORIES) by J.D. Salinger

September 17, 2010
10:00 am

An Army sergeant's (referred to only as Sergeant X) recollection of a meeting he had with a young girl, Esmé, before he was sent into combat. His strange but loving relationship with Esmé helps him to endure the squalor of war. Check the Catalogbullet

Literary Masterpiece Book Group

TESS OF DURBERVILLESTESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES by Thomas Hardy

October 01, 2010
10:00 am

Story of the rape, excruciating suffering, and execution of a beautiful village maid--as passionate in condemnation of the forces that persecute her as in depiction of the strange beauty that accompanies her agonies.
Check the Catalogbullet

Literary Masterpiece Book Group

CANDIDA by George Bernard Shaw

October 15, 2010
10:00 am

A woman is caught between her comfortable marriage and her young poet lover. As her 'own woman,' she needs to choose who she will be with. In a collection of plays by the author. Check the Catalogbullet

Literary Masterpiece Book Group

PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAYTHE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY by Oscar Wilde

November 05, 2010
10:00 am

After having his portrait painted, Dorian Gray is captivated by his own beauty. Wishing to stay young forever, he pledges his very soul to keep his good looks. As Dorian's slide into crime and cruelty progresses, he stays magically youthful, while his beautiful portrait changes, revealing the hideous corruption of moral decay. Check the Catalogbullet

Future Readings:

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.

Notions: a handcraft group

Sept 16, Oct 7 & 21, Nov 4, Dec 2 & 16
4-5:30pm
If you're crafty, this is the group for you. Share your passion and learn new techniques. Chat, snack, and meet your neighbors as we knit, stitch, bead, and sew. Bring any project you're working on, or come just to be inspired.
Registration requested and is ongoing. Drop-ins are also welcome.

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

FAIR AND TENDER LADIESFAIR AND TENDER LADIES by Lee Smith

September 08, 2010
7:30 pm

A series of letters, written to family and friends, reveals the life and times of Ivy Rowe, as she grows from girlhood to old age, finds love, dreams great visions, and raises a family. A remarkable portrait of a time, a place, and a person. Check the Catalogbullet

Wednesday Night Book Group

HEART IS A LONELY HUNTERTHE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers

October 13, 2010
7:30 pm

With the publication of this first novel, Carson McCullers became a literary sensation. A quiet, sensitive girl searches for beauty in a small, but damned Southern town. With its profound sense of moral isolation and its compassionate glimpses into its characters' inner lives, the novel is considered McCullers' finest work. Check the Catalogbullet

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.

Gordon Avenue Library
Gordon Avenue Library

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

Gordon Avenue interior
Gordon Avenue interior

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

Gordon Avenue Children's program
Gordon Avenue Children's program

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.