Readers' Joy Speaks Volumes

Long Without a Library, Residents Of Burke Centre Embrace 'Green' Branch

Two decades ago, a fire destroyed the public library kiosk where Burke Centre residents checked out books. In the 1990s, economic woes forced officials to close a satellite library in a local shopping center. Now, with last month's opening of the Burke Centre Library, the planned community in central Fairfax County has a full-fledged branch of its own.

And if a scene on a recent morning is any indication, residents were ready.

Rays of sun poured through two-story windows and nearly reached the front desk, where a family signed up for library cards. A grandmother used a new computer to search for novels for her granddaughter, who stood beside her. A mother sat on the earth-toned carpeted floor with her two daughters, stuffing colorful picture books into a tote bag. Dozens of other patrons perused shelves.

"Isn't it great?" said Sharon S. Bulova (D-Braddock), the neighborhood's representative on the county Board of Supervisors. "The Burke Centre community kind of went into library withdrawal. We've missed having a library present within the community for a long time."

The $12.5 million branch opened June 28, drawing 1,100 people on the first day to explore its collection of what branch manager Linda Schlekau calls "70,000 things" -- books, videos, magazines and other items. It is especially strong on books for preschoolers, popular literature for adults and teens, and volumes in Korean, she said, reflecting the community's demographics.

Housing the collection is something else reflective of Burke Centre, Bulova said: a "green" building, designed to conserve water and energy.

"Burke Centre has a motto: 'Nature and community in harmony,' " she said. "The library very, very much demonstrates that theme."

The library building is part of a green construction trend gaining momentum across the nation, fueled in part by local governments eager to save on energy costs, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.

The Burke Centre branch is the second green library in Fairfax and the fifth green building owned by the county, which in February adopted a policy requiring that county facilities be built to meet minimum green building standards.

In Arlington County, the Aurora Hills fire station and the Walter Reed Community Center are among green county buildings. In Alexandria, students at T.C. Williams High School recently completed their first year in a green school, certified as such by the national council.

The roof of the Burke Centre Library, built according to the council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, is painted white to deflect heat and lower air-conditioning costs. Dotting the property are native plants that require minimal watering. Sensors regulate heating and cooling systems, and huge windows maximize natural light. The dual-flush toilets offer a "low-flow" option.

With those and other environmentally friendly features, officials say, the building is expected to use 29 percent less energy than a conventional structure, saving $9,800 a year.

A slice of an oak tree hangs on a plum-colored wall near the library's entrance, in a more figurative nod to the building's nature-friendly ethos. The chunk came from a 200-year-old tree that once stood on the library grounds, which had been home to a horse farm. As the library was being planned, the tree was struck by lightning and destroyed.

In homage to the fallen oak, the library's floor plan was designed to resemble a tree, Bulova said: From a central, trunklike column, rows of shelves fan out like branches, onto which light is filtered from the sides and above.

On a recent morning, though, the library's greenness took a back seat to its main selling point: books.

Jennifer Craven, 32, and her daughters Hannah, 5, and Lydia, 3, used the self-checkout station to scan 10 books before heading off for an afternoon by the pool.

Lydia praised the library's "Dora the Explorer" collection. Hannah was jazzed about the Pizza Hut and McDonald's coupons that her diligent reading had earned her through the library's summer reading program. Their mother said she was excited that the library was within walking distance of their Burke home.

"It's beautiful," she said.

Fairfax resident Patti Marcus and her granddaughter Megan Murphy, 10, sat at the computer workstation searching for titles in the "Unicorns of Balinor" fantasy series. The library buffs planned to stop by the new Fairfax City library the same day.

"I make a point of hitting them all," said Marcus, 68. "This is our little adventure for the day."

But the Burke Centre Library's eco-features were not totally lost on them. The building, Megan said, is "really bright."

"I hear it's green," Marcus said.

On their way out, they decided, they would pick up a brochure on the library's green design.