FRONT ROYAL, Va. — The future of the budget for Samuels Public Library in Front Royal remains in question weeks after a controversial decision.
Several Front Royal residents spoke up during the Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday to urge members to provide the full budget to the beloved public library.
Supervisors approved the typical $1 million budget for the library during a work session meeting last month, but four of the five members voted to keep 75% of the funding for now.
The vote comes after ongoing concerns over sexually explicit and pornographic books in the library, primarily from the group Clean Up Samuels Library. The group said the “movement is dedicated to safeguarding the well-being and innocence of our children by advocating for a safe and enriching environment in the children’s section of our public libraries. We strive to uphold the values of our community and protect taxpayer funds while promoting age-appropriate materials.”
“There's no reason for them to keep holding three-quarters worth of funding,” said Front Royal resident Kelsey Lawrence. “It should be given to the library.”
To help alleviate concerns and avoid infringing on freedom of speech rights, the library has created a new collection and section inside known as the “New Adult” Collection. The area would house books whose target audience is 16 and up.
The library also implemented a new card system which allows parents to limit what their child can rent.
However, it is unclear if the changes are enough. When asked what the changes to the library would mean for the budget, Supervisor Jay Butler said, “I still want to sit down and talk with the library and get a sense or a feeling from the other board members and we'll go from there.”
The library’s Board of Trustees recently announced two of the books in question, Juvenile Non-Fiction titles, will remain in place while a third will move to the new section. They have not removed any books.
“Is there a sense if books are not banned that they may not get the full budget?” WUSA9 asked.
“No, I wouldn't say that. We want to make sure the library is working in the best interest as a whole.”
Before the county vote on the budget, Butler himself provided two requests for reconsideration.
He told WUSA9 he is pleased with the changes and cooperation from the library, but is concerned by the influx in requests, which is now close to 800.
“If you get too many of them, people start looking at it, ‘Well, what do we do with all this?” he said.
Currently, there are no official plans to have a meeting about the budget.