Central Rappahannock Regional Library-William J Howell Branch

The Central Rappahannock Regional Library serves the Stafford, Virginia area, providing a wide array of resources and services aimed at fostering community engagement and lifelong learning. With multiple branches, the library offers access to books, audiobooks, digital media, and specialized programs for all ages, from toddlers to older adults. In addition to traditional library services, the library features events such as story times, workshops, and training sessions, along with innovative resources like the MakerLab and the Seed Library. Their commitment to inclusion, diversity, and accessibility ensures that every community member can benefit from their comprehensive offerings. Generated from the website

George L. Ohrstrom Sr., president of the Orange County Hunt in The Plains, Va., and Alexander Mackay-Smith MFH, editor of The Chronicle of the Horse in Middleburg, founded the National Sporting Library in 1954, encouraged by Ohrstrom's foxhunting friends Lester Karow of Georgia and Orange County MFH Fletcher Harper. These colleagues wanted book collections such as theirs to remain intact after their deaths; they contacted other friends, who liked the idea, and the collection rapidly grew. From its inception, the NSL was a non-circulating research library, and its founders encouraged anyone interested in horse and field sports to come in and enjoy the books, magazines, and unpublished papers. When Ohrstrom Sr. died in 1955, his son George Ohrstrom Jr. became the guiding force behind the Library until his death in 2005; he was Chairman of the Board for 48 of the Library's 50-year history. Mackay-Smith was its first director, from 1954 until 1991 when Peter Winants succeeded him. In 1998 Ken Tomlinson took Winants' place. Nancy Parsons was President & CEO 2005 through mid-August 2009. The Library's collection was first housed in an 18th century brick house on Washington St. (Rt. 50 ) in Middleburg before moving to the 1804 red brick building on the seven-acre Vine Hill property (pictured above ). Vine Hill is adjacent to the facility that opened in 1999; both are at the corner of Route 50 and The Plains Rd just west of town.Until the late 1990s, both the NSL and The Chronicle of the Horse occupied this handsome pre-Civil War edifice, which the Library plans convert to an art museum in the near future. In 1999, after Jack and Martha Daniels donated a spectacular 5, 000-volume collection of sporting books, the Library moved to a new 15, 000-square-foot, climate-controlled facility. The new building, which resembles a 19th century carriage house, today houses more than 15, 000 books. Its other important collections include the extraordinary Hnersdorf Collection, donated by the Ohrstrom Foundation; 102 sporting books from the estate of Harry T. Peters MFH; and the famed Huth-Lonsdale Library, donated by Russell Arundel and his family. The Library also houses the outstanding collection of Vladimir Littauer, the famous proponent of forward riding. These rare books are housed in the F. Ambrose Rare Book Room. The opening of the Library's new home in 1999 ushered in a new and exciting era. Today, the Library offers educational lectures, book-signings and film-screenings, frequently held in the spacious Founders' Room. Art exhibits include paintings and bronzes from rarely-seen private collections and from museums; these are displayed in the Paul Mellon Foyer, the Founders' Room, and in the Forrest E. Mars Sr. Exhibit Hall. Art from the Library's permanent collection is found throughout the Library, including eye-catching weathervanes from the estate of the late philanthropist Paul Mellon. Paul Mellon also donated the bronze Civil War Horse (dedicated in 2002 ), a memorial on the NSL campus to the 1 1/2 million horses and mules which died in the Civil War. In 2007, the Library launched the John H. Daniels Fellowship program. Named in honor of former member of the Board of Directors, John H. Daniels (1921-2006 ), the fellowship provides research stipends and complimentary housing in Middleburg for scholars and researchers working on topics related to horse and field sports. Since 2007, the Library has hosted fifteen fellows from all over the United States and from three foreign countries. The fellows have worked on a variety of topics, including a biography of Battleship, winner of the 1938 Grand National Steeplechase; hunting imagery in 18th-century French portraiture; the evolution of hound breeds in 18th-century Britain; 16th and 17th century Italian horsemanship manuals; American stable design; and the literary duo of Edith Somerville and Martin Ross. Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, in 2008 the Library launche