Tidewater Review |

Debate over King William’s participation in library system continues

KING WILLIAM — Pamunkey Regional Library officials and members of the public have appealed to the King William Board of Supervisors to reconsider its decision to pull out of the regional library system.

However, two board members are still standing by the board’s unanimous withdrawal vote.

The board’s vote on July 8 to pull the Upper King William branch and the new library in West Point out of the PRL after decades, effective July 1, 2025, has sparked a community backlash, a website against the move and a petition. King William wants to set up its own library.

During the July 22 board meeting, Acting PRL Director Jaime Stoops, who recently took over following the resignation of Tom Shepley, offered to meet with supervisors to discuss the library system. “We understand that you have some very serious concerns,” she said.

Barbara Young, the chair of PRL’s board of trustees, praised the libraries and the staff at King William Upper Library and West Point. She said the library is making “significant changes” and offered the board the chance to discuss them.

“We hope you will reconsider your decision to leave Pamunkey Regional Library. We’d love to see you stay,” Young said.

Shepley’s resignation in June, after 15 years in his position, meanwhile, was bemoaned in a Facebook post by the Friends of Mechanicsville Library, who called the library system’s future uncertain “without someone like him to guide our library in the current climate.” The PRL runs branches in Hanover, Goochland and King William counties. King and Queen recently pulled out of the system and set up its own library.

Stoops and Young were among seven people who spoke during the public comments section at the July 22 meeting.

Resident Brenda Clements was among those to appeal to the supervisors to reconsider their decision.

“Words cannot express how personally disappointed I was to learn that this entire board voted to withdraw from the PML effective June 2025,” Clements said. “Transparency should require producing any plans as to how you can provide anything comparable prior to June 2025. … I personally do not believe King William County is in any position to provide anything comparable to the resources currently provided by the Pamunkey regional library system.”

Clements pointed out benefits such as providing an internet connection for people who cannot afford one, as well as instructional classes.

However, Dorothy Wassenburg, who has been critical of some of the content available at the library, said the PRL had ignored the concerns of the public for two years.

“Where were all the people when this was going on for the last two years?” said Wassenburg.

She said certain books supplied to the library from the American Library Association are inappropriate for young people and that the PRL declined to remove them to a different section of the library.

Since July 8, the board received 23 emails expressing dissatisfaction with the decision, said supervisor Mary Sue Bancroft.

“Out of over 18,000 citizens this doesn’t constitute a majority,” she said.

Bancroft said the board has also received praise for its decision. Bancroft justified a closed session discussion before the vote on July 8 by revealing the board discussed a proposal by Hanover County for a new agreement for the PRL.

“It was not viewed as an equitable proposal and this board was finally able to discuss that proposal at the July 8 closed session,” she said.

Bancroft said both libraries would operate under “better hours” in the future and the county would own buildings.

“There are a growing number of independent libraries in the state of Virginia and it brings many benefits to our citizens that our citizens deserve,” she said.

Bancroft said members of the public would be able to use PRL services in the future for $25 a year. She referenced the petition circulating in the community about the PRL withdrawal, which appears to have gathered less than 500 votes.

“Please note that a petition will require 51% of the citizens to sign it in order for us to make that reversal,” she said.

Vice Chair Justin Catlett also questioned the level of support for the PRL in the county.

“The majority of people who reached out to me were not upset that we were leaving PRL; actually most of their comments were ‘I don’t care if you close the King William library because I’ve never set foot in it anyway.’ They were more concerned that they would not be able to take their kids to Mechanicsville or Ashland to do the kid programs there,” he said.

Catlett suggested the services could be provided in King William in the future.

David Macaulay, davidmacaulayva@gmail.com