Damascus Library is located in Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve, an initiative created in 1980 to preserve farmland and rural communities. The branch started as a bookmobile stop (1952-1973), then moved to a storefront in the Damascus Centre shopping plaza (1973-1990). Its current location at 9701 Main Street is in a building designed to invoke a farm barn. We share our building with the Damascus Senior Center, and on our grounds are a daycare center and the Damascus Heritage Society Museum.
Damascus is known for its close-knit community and small-town feel. In fact, it was listed as #31 in Money magazine’s September 2015 article "America'sTop 50 Best Places to Live."
 |
| Train Day at Damascus Library |
Tradition is important in Damascus, and the Damascus Library has celebrated an annual Train Day for 27 years, and a summer sleepover for 8-10 year olds for the past 22 years. We participate in the annual Celebrate Damascus Parade and every September finds us reaching out to our community at the Damascus Community Fair.
 |
| Library staff at the Celebrate Damascus Parade |
Tesso Kossa, Library Assistant Supervisor, joined the Damascus staff this past summer. This
December marks Tesso’s 4th anniversary with MCPL. Tesso has worked at Quince Orchard, Marilyn Praisner, and Gaithersburg branches prior to coming to Damascus. Born, raised, and educated in Ethiopia, Tesso came to the U.S. in 1998 as part of the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program at the University of Seattle. He worked many years in the banking industry before bringing his customer service skills to MCPL. He is married with two grown children. He speaks Amharic and his native Afaan Oromo. When he’s not at work, he loves to participate in Ethiopian community events. With Ethiopian cuisine’s delicious reputation, Tesso is the person to ask for a good restaurant recommendation!Labels: December 2017, Meet MCPL
