Cherrydale Library occupies 4,704 square feet (or about 5,600 square feet, if the balcony is included)._____________________Cherrydale Library more than carries its weight. The following figures were graciously provided in August 2018 by Anne Gable, Deputy Director of the Libraries Department, and Gale Koritansky, division chief for branch services:
- Personnel Costs: Cherrydale Library's permanent FTEs (fulltime equivalent employees) constitute 3.7 percent of the Libraries Department's total permanent FTEs.
- Maintenance Costs: Cherrydale Library's maintenance costs, as a percentage of the Libraries Department's total maintenance costs, are 4.1 percent.
- Circulation: Cherrydale Library handled 4.3 percent of the library system�s total circulation in FY 2018.
- Program Attendance: Program attendance at Cherrydale Library in FY 2018 was 6,741, which was 6.2 percent of program attendance throughout the library system.
In March 2009 the County Board considered reducing Cherrydale Library's operations from six days per week to three days per week as part of the County Government's efforts to meet a projected 3.8 percent revenue shortfall in the FY2010 Budget. At that time, Cherrydale Library's projected operating cost for FY2009 (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009, when the library was open six days per week) was $278,314. This figure factored out roughly to $1.73 per year for the average taxpayer of Arlington County. The figure represented .0294 percent of the total proposed County budget for FY2010. In other words, Cherrydale Library's cost of operating six days per week was less than three-hundredths of one percent of the total County budget.
Guess what else! Cherrydale Library is remarkably energy efficient, owing to its having been built into the side of a hill. Arlington County's analysis of energy consumption by each library in the system identifies Cherrydale Library as "among the very most efficient buildings in the Arlington government inventory." Also, the Arlington County Initiative To Reduce Emissions has spotlighted Cherrydale Library as "one of the County's greatest success stories." At the ceremony celebrating Cherrydale Library's 50th anniversary, the Executive Director of Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, Elenor Hodges, read and presented a special Letter of Commendation praising additional steps the library has taken in recent years to enhance its environmental friendliness. In April 2012 the library received a cool sign, which went up in the front foyer. Click on the thumbnail image over on the right to see it.
