Pulitzer Prize Winner Junot Díaz to Speak at Arlington Central Library

The author of 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao' will speak at Arlington's Central Library. 

Arlington County is welcoming Pulitzer Prize winning author Junot Díaz this week. Díaz, the author of “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” which won the Puliter Prize for fiction in 2007, will discuss his work from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Monday at 1015 N. Quincy St., Arlington’s Central Library. Oscar Wao features a Dominican “ghetto nerd” who tries to find love and the American experience, according to the publisher’s description.   Admission for the event is free and is available a first-come, first-serve basis. Books will be available for sale and signing at the conclusion. The library system is hosting Díaz as part of the Arlington Reads 2013 initiative.

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Police: Man Exposes Himself to Woman at Arlington Central Library

A 67-year-old man was charged in the incident.

A 67-year-old man is accused of exposing himself to a woman inside the Arlington Central Library, according to the Arlington County Police Department. Patrick Robert Rooney, of no fixed address, was charged with indecent exposure, according to police. He was held with no bond. Police report that the incident took place at 5:30 p.m. on March 14 in the 1000 block of North Quincy Street. Officers located Rooney shortly later in the area, according to police.

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Croatian Ambassador to Speak at Arlington Library on Tuesday

Joško Paro was appointed to the post in 2012.

Joško Paro, the Croatian ambassador to the United States, will speak at Arlington Central Library on Tuesday. The ambassador will discuss “his nation’s unique role in Europe as a cultural crossroads between East and West,” according to an announcement from the Arlington Public Library system. The event takes place at 7 p.m. at the library, 1015 N. Quincy St. Paro has also served as an ambassador to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and he played a key role in normalizing relations with Croatia’s neighbors following the post-Yugoslavian conflict, according to the library's announcement.

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Expert to Talk 'Books That Shaped America' at Arlington Central Library

Dimunation was among curators of recent Library of Congress exhibit.

Mark Dimunation, chief of the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division, will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, at Arlington Central Library about some of the most influential books in American history. Dimunation was among a group of experts who curated the 88 books featured in the recent Books that Shaped America exhibit at the Library of Congress. Titles include Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat," Thomas Paine's "Common Sense," Ralph Nadar's "Unsafe at Any Speed" and "Alcoholics Anonymous." (Click here to see the list at the Library of Congress.) The event is free. The library encourages patrons to bring their own list of influential titles. For more information, visit the library's website.

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Thursday: Suspense Novelist Alma Katsu Discusses 'The Reckoning'

Arlington Central Library hosts author.

Suspense novelist Alma Katsu will discuss her book "The Reckoning" at 7 p.m. Thursday at Arlington Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy St. "The Reckoning" is the second in a Gothic suspense novel trilogy. The first book, "The Taker," was named a Top 10 Debut Novel of 2011 by the American Library Association and has developed an international following, according to an Arlington Public Library news release. Katsu's writing has been compared to the early work of Anne Rice and Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian," according to the library statement.

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'Mammoth' Book Sale Kicks off Thursday at Arlington Central Library

Friends of the Library hold fall, spring sales.

The fall Friends of the Library book sale is this weekend at Arlington Central Library. "It's quite a scene," library spokesman Peter Golkin said. "It's kind of like a rock concert." The Friends of the Library hold two "mammoth" book sales each year — one in the spring, one in the fall. Smaller sales are held throughout the year at other branches. The event kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Thursday night is members-only, though you can pay the $10 membership fee at the door, Golkin said. Book enthusiasts begin lining up for the Thursday kickoff several hours before doors open, he said. The sale lasts through the weekend, with Sunday being half-price day. The sale is held on the first level of the Arlington Central Library parking garage.

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Five Things: Oct. 31, 2011

Five things to know about what's going on in and around Arlington.

1. U.S. Army Lt. Chad Ware won the 36th Annual Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, finishing with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 16 seconds -- the best time the race has seen in 14 years, according to the Washington Post. 2. Arlington Central Library will present "Prohibition in Arlington" at 7 p.m. Nov. 10 featuring local author Garrett Peck. 3. It's Halloween! Don't forget, send us your photos of your child in his or her costume for a chance to win $1,031 for your favorite charity and a trip to New York or Los Angeles to meet model Heidi Klum. The contest runs through 9 p.m. today. 4. The unveiling of a new statue of former President Ronald Reagan will be unveiled Tuesday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, likely …

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Central Library Goes Solar

Solar panels expected to shave 4 percent off Central Library's annual energy costs.

Arlington Central Library is now partially powered by the sun. This summer, the library installed a 60-kilowatt solar panel system that consists of 250 panels. Each panel can produce up to 240 watts, or the equivalent of 10 compact fluorescent light bulbs. Since August, they have saved the library about $572, or the equivalent of 10,000 pounds of carbon, 100 trees or 525 barrels of oil. Over the course of a year, the panels are expected to save the library 4 percent of its energy costs. They are designed to work with other energy-saving measures, from retrofitting doorways to turning off the lights when no one in is a room. “It’s the beginning,” said Arlington County Board Member Mary Hynes. “We get to learn a lot from this one. Somebody’s…

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Arlington: Past & Present

Stories from Queen City

The loss of a neighborhood, the cost of progress

In Queen City, a man sometimes didn't know he was poor until he was 27 years old, say some of those who lived there. The tight-knit African-American neighborhood no longer exists, but the community's spirit still survives in scattered memories. Queen City was situated, based on different oral and written historical accounts, on a patch of land immediately west-southwest of where the Pentagon now stands and was the size of somewhere between two blocks to 16 blocks. In its place now is a sprawling intersection. The community was devastated and neighbors were dispersed in the name of progress. "Queen City was not razed for the Pentagon building, but the overall Pentagon project. In order to accommodate the large number of individuals who …

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