Library Subscription Service To Surprise Arlington Readers

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington Public Library will be offering a new subscription service in 2023 where library staff will surprise customers with two books each month.

“Have you thought about exploring a new genre or literature from a different culture, but have no idea where to start? We have you covered,” the library said in its announcement of the program.

Each month in 2023, as part of the new "Read Outside the Lines" subscription service, two adult books will be placed on the holds shelf at Arlington Central Library for customers to pick up.

“The books will be a surprise chosen by our biblio-experts on that month’s topic. Topics will include different genres, subjects and authors’ voices,” the library said.

Subscribers will also get a monthly email that lists other reading ideas and upcoming programs at the library.

Customers must sign up by Tuesday, Dec. 13 to get a chance to be a part of the "Read Outside the Lines" subscription service. On that date, Arlington Public Library will choose at random 100 people who signed up to participate in the hold-shelf pickup part of the service.

All other submissions will receive the monthly newsletter and will be placed on a waiting list. Submissions received after Dec. 13 will be automatically added to the waiting list.

Titles will be placed on the holds shelf, next to the circulation desk, at Arlington Central Library on Wednesdays and must be picked up by the following Monday. If participants in the service do not pick up their holds three times, they will be removed from the program, and their space filled from the waiting list.

Neighboring Fairfax County Public Library has a similar service called "Library To Go," which lets library staff members select books for customers based on a form that asks for a customer's grade in school or whether they are an adult and their reading preferences. When customers want to submit the "Library To Go" form, they click on the "Surprise Me" button at the bottom.