Montgomery County Public Libraries hit by network outage

Montgomery County Public Libraries announced that they are experiencing a system-wide network outage, due to an "underground fire in Baltimore this past weekend." The fire damaged a fiber optic cable network that serves public libraries statewide, MCPL said in a statement this afternoon. 

All Montgomery County libraries remain open on their normal schedules, and it is possible to check out books and materials. However, MCPL’s Wi-Fi, public computers, printing, scanning and copying services are currently unavailable, and MCPL believes the outage may last for several days. Libraries and school systems in all Maryland counties have been impacted.

Repairs to the fiber optic system are currently underway, MCPL stated. Baltimore City officials do not yet know the cause of several recent underground fires that have impacted electrical and communication utilities. This past weekend's fire was followed Monday by a major Verizon cell service outage impacting multiple states, and today by an eight-hour Sony PlayStation Network outage that affected users worldwide. Neither Verizon nor Sony have indicated the cause of their service interruptions so far.

Christian Science Reading Room closes in Bethesda

Reading room relocates

to church in Chevy Chase

The Christian Science Reading Room at 4520 East-West Highway in downtown Bethesda has closed. You can now access a Reading Room at the nearby church itself, First Church of Christ, Scientist, which is located at 7901 Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase. On foot, you can take East-West Highway to Connecticut, and the church is about a block-and-half north of East-West, across from the Columbia Country Club.

Christian Science Reading Rooms have existed for over 100 years, and are designed to provide a quiet place to read and reflect on the Bible and Christian Science literature. The loss of the downtown location is certainly a blow for the church in reaching a larger number of workers and residents.

BETHESDA LIBRARY WILL HAVE NEW HOURS STARTING SEPTEMBER 16

Bethesda's downtown library on Arlington Road will have new hours, beginning September 16:

SUNDAY: 12-5 PM

MONDAY-THURSDAY:  9 AM - 9 PM

FRIDAY-SATURDAY:  10 AM - 6 PM