After years of planning and hoping, Oakton residents are one step closer to seeing their vision of a community library come into fruition. On Saturday, March 29, the Friends of the Oakton Library will sponsor a "site celebration" to be held on the grounds of the future library. Providence District Supervisor Gerry Connolly (D) will speak, as well as library trustee for the Providence District Bret Doyle.
Area residents are welcome to attend the day's events. The festivities will start at 1:30 p.m., with residents gathering in front of the Oakton Family Restaurant at the Oakton Shopping Center. At 2 p.m., the group will parade to the site off of Hunter Mill Road, with a school band and Boy and Girl Scout troops leading the way. Several public officials are expected to speak, and afterwards, the group will return to the restaurant for a reception.
"Everybody's just really excited by it," said Oakton resident and Oakton Women's Club member Linda Byrne.
The Fairfax County Library Board recently approved initial designs for the site. The next phase of the project is refine the designs into greater detail. Pending the passage of bond referendum in 2004 for county library construction, the library is scheduled to open in 2005.
Design plans show a 17,000 square-foot library several feet away from Hunter Mill Road, with trees serving as a boundary for the back portion of the building. The reading room will overlook the backwoods, providing a quiet space. The library will also feature plenty of natural light.
"It integrates better...with the new church next door," said Frank Sturgeon of the library design, referring to the newly-constructed sanctuary of the Unity of Fairfax church. Sturgeon is president of the Friends of the Oakton Library.
With meeting rooms planned in the library's design, Byrne hopes the library will serve as a gathering place for the Oakton community.
"There's really no cohesive building to pull us together, and the library would certainly do that," Byrne said.