Mary Riley Styles Public Library 125th Anniversary To Kick Off

FALLS CHURCH, VA — To mark 125 years of Mary Riley Styles Public Library, the community is invited to a kickoff event on Saturday, Jan. 13.

The library, which serves the City of Falls Church and other regional library card members, dates back to 1899 — 125 years ago. At that time, the library started with hundreds of books circulated by the Falls Church Village Improvement Society. In 1913, a women's civic group revived the collection and continued book lending, operating from different locations. The library moved into a small space in the former Congregational Church building at 222 N. Washington St. in 1919, then an ordinance establishing a library came in 1928. The library moved to larger spaces on Broad Street in 1949 and 1950 and 1954-1955.

The namesake of the library, Mary Riley Styles, was the longtime chair of the women's club that ran the library before the local government began supporting it in 1928. She died in 1946, and the Styles family donated land that would become the site of the modern public library at 120 N. Virginia Avenue. The new library opened in 1958 and was renamed for Mary Riley Styles in 1977. The library underwent renovations several times, including most recently in 2021.

During the 125th anniversary celebration, there will be an 11 a.m. birthday party story time in honor of Mary Riley Styles, who was born on Jan. 3, 1869. An open house will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with light refreshments (including candies popular in 1899), activities, and a chance to learn more about the library’s history and see books that were in the library’s original collection. Guests can visit the Falls Church History Room, talk with library staff and members of the library's board and foundation about the library and its 125th anniversary.

At.1 p.m., a kickoff ceremony will be held in the upper level conference room. A 125th anniversary proclamation will be read, and a new Mary Riley Styles portrait will be unveiled. The acting library director, library board, and foundation will provide remarks.

RSVPs are requested for the ceremony. There is no RSVP required for the open house or story time.