HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — When the Fairfield Area Library opens this Sunday, it will feature some unique offerings. The library, located at 1401 N. Laburnum Avenue, will have a large fire place, a recording studio, and will be open on Sundays.

“Libraries are about access to information and a lot of people need Sunday hours,” Henrico spokeswoman Patty Conway said. “Sometimes Sundays are a great day to print out that last-minute homework assignment.”

Fairfield becomes just the second Henrico library with Sunday hours. Libbie Mill Library added them over the summer.

“We hope to expand Sunday hours in the future,” Conway said when asked about Sunday hours at other county libraries.

The new 44,803-square-foot, $29 million Fairfield Library is split into two levels.

“We had a lot of community input into the library, let people meet with the architects, had hundreds fill out surveys,” Conway said. “Many families said there was a need to add resources for kids of different ages.”

That’s one reason why the building’s second floor has dedicated sections for younger children and teenagers separated by zone where parents can sit and monitor their kids of varying ages.

Architects added a large fireplace based on feedback that people wanted a cozy spot to read.

The state-of-the-art audio and video recording studio can serve many purposes including a place to practice for job interviews and auditions, Conway said.

The new library is twice the size of the older Fairfield Library which opened in 1976. The project was funded through the 2016 bond referendum.

The library is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 pm. Friday and Saturday; and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

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