Manassas Park's Plans to Leave Prince William Library System Prompt Special Meeting

If you're going ...

What: Special meeting of the Prince William County Library Board of Trustees

Why: To discuss Manassas Park's agreement with the county library system

When: 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 17

Where: Chinn Park Library, 13083 Chinn Park Drive in Woodbridge. The meeting is on the library lower level, in the trustees room inside the system's administration support center. 

Info: Call Chinn Park Library at 703-792-6100 or contact a library system board of trustee here.

Manassas Park City Council put Prince William County officials on notice that they intend to pull out of the agreement that allows Manassas Park residents access to the county's libraries. 

If a new agreement isn't reached between Manassas Park and Prince William County, then the city will depart from the library system, effective July 1, 2014, according to a statement released Thursday by Manassas Park officials.

Three jurisdictions participate in and fund the library system—Prince William County, Manassas Park and the City of Manassas.

If any one decides to leave the system it takes one year from the date of the initial notification to become effective.

City officials said the decision to possibly leave the system wasn't one taken likely and reflects no dissatisfaction with the library. 

"The governing body’s action was taken in response to statistics indicating that the city’s annual contribution ($480,000) to Prince William County for the library system does not properly reflect its use by Manassas Park residents," city officials said in a prepared statement issued Thursday. 

"The city’s annual contribution is based on its population as a percentage of the total population of the three jurisdictions participating in the library system ... and not on its residents’ use of the library system as a percentage of overall use by residents of the three jurisdictions."

Statistics show that this arrangement results in a greater cost per Manassas Park library user than what is paid by the other two jurisdictions, according to the statement.

Furthermore, Manassas Park residents most use the branch closest to the city—the Central Community Library—but the library system is expanding in other areas of the county that wouldn't be beneficial to them, most likely causing the disparity in usage to grow.

The city of Manassas Park is very open to negotiating a better deal with Prince William County for library services, Manassas Park Councilman Brian Leeper said.

Leeper also serves on the Prince William County Library Board of Trustees.

"My hope is that we can come to an agreement. Ultimately I don't want to have to do a breakout; we'll see what happens," Leeper said on Friday. "If they want to give us a call, we'll listen."

Leeper also said there are other ways besides the Prince William County Library System for Manassas Park residents to get access to library services.

Manassas Park could form an agreement with the City of Manassas to start their own library system, he said.

He doesn't know if Manassas officials would be interested in speaking with Manassas Park officials about that, but that type of dialogue needs to take place to get people thinking about other possibilities, Leeper said.

There is a special meeting of the library board of trustees on Monday, June 17 to talk about Manassas Park's agreement with the library system.

It is at 6:30 p.m. at Chinn Park Library on the lower level in the administrative support center inside the trustees room. The address is 13083 Chinn Park Dr, Woodbridge.

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