About the Friends

Ongoing Activities

The Friends of Thomas Balch Library prioritize the library’s accessibility as a valuable resource for both members and the public. We are dedicated to fostering education through various projects and programs, as well as enhancing support through fundraising efforts.

Publishing

Study Guides

We partner with Loudoun County Public Schools to provide study guides for teachers to fulfill Virginia Standards of Learning requirements.

Video History Program

Through our new video history program we are capturing the stories of residents who have contributed to the community in unique ways. Friends of Thomas Balch Library is sponsoring new “oral histories” recorded on video by member Sarah Huntington and her colleagues at The Lincoln Studios.

In 2015 we sponsored an interview with Teckla Cox, Loudoun’s first woman comprehensive county planner, and another with Howard Allen, the photographer best known for his images of Jackie Kennedy and her children riding in Middleburg. The video was completed shortly before he passed away.

Books

We publish, promote, and sell books by local historians, including Eugene M. Scheel, Ann W. Thomas, Douglas W. Foard, Ph.D., and Black History Committee members Elaine E. Thompson, Deborah A. Lee, Betty Morefield, and the late Lemoine D. Pierce.

The Chronicle

We also publish a quarterly newsletter, The Chronicle, which focuses on Leesburg and Loudoun County history as well as news of upcoming lectures and special events. We create and maintain this website to keep members, teachers, students, historians, genealogists, and the general public up to date on activities and opportunities for making the most of the unique resource at Thomas Balch Library.

Annual Fundraising Event

Friends of Thomas Balch Library holds an annual fall fundraising event to raise awareness of the historical significance of Loudoun County. These fundraising events provide funds for the recently launched Thomas Balch Library Endowment Foundation. The Foundation grew from a generous bequest of more than $600,000 made by the late Virginia Bowie, a former volunteer to the Library.