The Warren County Board of Supervisors is voting on a proposal that could defund the historic Samuels Library in Front Royal and threaten its ability to stay open.
The library was the 2024 Virginia Library of the Year. Now its future is in question.
While the library is a nonprofit overseen by a board of trustees, it counts on some county funding. The board has been trying to gain more control over the library after some residents complained about certain books in the collection.
At public meetings, the majority of residents speaking have urged the county to keep the library open.
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On Tuesday night, the board will consider a series of proposals, ranging from withholding funding, to funding only on a month-to-month basis, to opening a bidding process to let someone else run the library.
The Samuels Library has provided public access to learning for more than 200 years, according to the library website. It now serves "more than 41,000 people in the County of Warren," and in the last year, saw "more than 127,000 visitors, over 400,000 checkouts, and hosted 542 programs that saw 19,194 attendees."
