Some library services will still be available in Vienna while the town’s recently renamed Patrick Henry Community Library undergoes an extensive renovation starting early next year.
Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) is planning to open a temporary branch at the Cedar Park Shopping Center in spring 2025 that will support a limited selection of materials and programming, such as storytimes.
Patrons will also be able to pick up holds and return books to the temporary site, which will have free public Wi-Fi but no public computers, according to FCPL.
“The site is approximately 2,800 square feet and intended as a quick visit and convenient service location,” FCPL said in an information sheet provided to FFXnow.
A commercial alteration permit application for the temporary branch is currently under review by Fairfax County staff. The permit indicates that the branch will be located at 262C Cedar Lane SE, filling a space last occupied in 2022 by El Sabor Grill.
Design work is underway on the future Vienna-Carter Library, which will replace the existing Patrick Henry library at 101 Maple Avenue East with a larger facility accompanied by a 209-space, four-level parking garage.
The FCPL Board of Trustees approved the library’s new name on Feb. 14 to recognize William and Lillian Carter, who helped start a friends’ group that advocated for the library to be integrated when it opened in 1971. The name change will officially take effect when the renovated facility opens, which is expected to be in winter 2026.
According to FCPL, the expanded one-story, 19,000-square-foot facility is needed to support “the current and future programmatic and operational needs” of Vienna’s library, which is one of the busiest community branches in the system.
The renovation will deliver an outdoor reading and gathering space and a flexible community space that will be available during and after the library’s operating hours. It will also update the building’s infrastructure to improve its energy efficiency, including by installing solar panels on the garage roof and utilizing geothermal heating and cooling systems.
The planned parking garage will include 125 spaces for library visitors and staff as well as 84 spaces for the general public, secured by an agreement between the county and the Town of Vienna.
The project is on track to be advertised for contractors late this fall and to begin construction in early 2025, according to FCPL.
In addition to visiting the temporary library, patrons will be encouraged to visit nearby branches during construction, including Oakton Library and Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library. Some Patrick Henry workers will likely support the temporary site, while others are moved to different branches.
“Since the start of the project is still far out, no concrete staffing plans have been made,” FCPL Marketing and Communications Director Sara Prohaska said. “Similar to Reston Regional Library’s brief refresh closure, we anticipate that this branch’s staff will be reassigned to other locations.”
