In a highly contentious move, the Republican-led Warren County Virginia Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 earlier this week to take control of Samuels Public Library after local community members pushed back against book bans, The Washington Postreports.
Nearly 100 residents of the local community attended a six-hour hearing discussing whether to take control of the county board; the vast majority of residents wanted to keep the current leadership. The Republican heads of the county, however, opted to establish a library board appointed by the county to handle its policies, budget, and management.
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Samuels Public Library has previously been honored as Virginia’s 2024 Library of the Year and received a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation.
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County Supervisor Richard Jamieson claimed that this takeover was necessary to ensure that there was financial responsibility and efficiency in operations.
The library is currently the region’s primary service provider, but this could be shaken up by the end of June 2025. The library is currently exploring all options, including obtaining private funding, so that it is no longer dependent on the county.
The community has been outraged at the takeover. Chip Stewart, who launched a Change.org petition in protest of the Board’s actions, told The Advocate, “Things were looking good for the library’s future. But now, the trouble is returning.”
“That is a suffocating supermajority,” said resident Luke Marrazzo told The Washington Post, connecting the proposal to the election by underscoring the recent calls for accountability and efficiency “that define this new era in America that was just elected … It is also participating in a sweeping nationwide movement. Link arms and lock shields with a mandate handed to you in no uncertain terms. Return the power and the voice of the people.”
Resident Mark Nelson told the board, “It’s the library of the year. You guys tried to ban some gay books, got beat, now this. Everybody knows the truth. Let it be.”
“While the last election signaled the American people want less government, the supervisors seem to be moving in the opposite direction of the voters. Simply put, this proposal represents creeping government overreach,” said resident and Marine Corps veteran Joe Plenzler to The Washington Post.
Jamieson, however, had other ideas.
“There are reasonable indications that savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars are plausible if the Warren County Library Board went into a competitive procurement process,” he told the hearing’s attendees. He also claimed that they had no plans to ban any books, which was met with immense skepticism from the public.
The library had previously engaged in a feud with the Republican officials over their attempt to ban books. They engaged in a series of compromises with them, including allowing for additional parental oversight, thus protecting books from being removed from the shelves.
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