Woodrow Wilson Library in Bailey’s Crossroads will officially get renamed at the beginning of September following months of community requests.
The Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) Board of Trustees voted unanimously on July 10 to change the name to the Culmore Community Library to reflect the neighborhood where the library is located, replacing the former president’s moniker.
“The current name of this location, Woodrow Wilson Library, does not convey its location, possibly causing confusion among FCPL users who are new to the county and the library system,” FCPL said in an Aug. 1 press release.
According to the library system, the name change will take effect on Sept. 1. Changes to the internal signage and “online presence” will begin that day, but no exterior signage is ready yet.
FCPL says the process has begun to change the signs, but there isn’t an installation date at this time.
There will be a sign unveiling event at the library (6101 Knollwood Drive) in mid- to late September with Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez, FCPL Marketing and Communications Director Sara Prohaska said in an email.
The Culmore library is the second to be renamed this year. Vienna’s Patrick Henry Library was changed to the Vienna-Carter Library to honor a local couple who advocated for the facility’s racial integration in 1962.
In November 2023, the board amended its policy on renaming facilities, stating that all names must reflect the library’s geographical area with an option to also honor an individual who “made a significant contribution” to either FCPL overall or a specific branch.
For Woodrow Wilson Library, the change was requested by many Mason District residents and patrons of the branch because of Wilson’s record on race and segregation.
“Woodrow Wilson held segregationist and racist views,” Carol Lewis wrote to the board in a Feb. 10 email. “…The WW Library is located in a very diverse neighborhood. The library staff there work hard to reflect that diversity and the needs of the community, but the name is not appropriate.”
The library is located in the Culmore area of Bailey’s Crossroads, which is home to 24,785 people, about 55% of whom are Black and/or Hispanic, according to Census data. The name “Culmore” came from John N. Campbell, a local real estate developer and contractor in the early 1900s.
According to FCPL, Campbell was a native of the Culmore village in Londonderry, Ireland, and named a 1,000-unit apartment complex after his village. He also was instrumental in building in the Culmore Shopping Center in 1951, which is where the Woodrow Wilson Library was located from 1961 to 1966.
