Samuels Library Stands By Community Partnership in Response to County RFP

As the result of the Warren County Supervisors 4-1 vote to not renew the Library Funding Agreement (Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)) with Samuels Public Library, set to expire June 30, 2025, Warren County has issued an RFP (Request for Proposal) to vendors for Library Management Services under Chapter 38 of the Warren County Code. In answer to numerous questions about this RFP from the public, the Samuels Public Library Board of Trustees would like to respond.

Samuels Public Library has never been a vendor.  Samuels Public Library is a non stock corporation (independent nonprofit organization) that operates as a public-private partner with the County under Chapter 39 of the Warren County Code.  Samuels provides services in partnership with the County, much like other nonprofits in the community.

Samuels Public Library continues to provide these services under a thirty-year (30) lease with Warren County that only allows the building at 330 E. Criser Rd. to be used for the provision of library services. There are fourteen years left on this thirty-year lease. By entering into this lease for at least 30 years of library services for Warren County, the County and Samuels Library agreed that Samuels—not some other entity pursuant to a bidding process—would provide library services at the 330 E. Criser Road address until January 2038 (with 10-year renewal options).

Samuels will not, therefore, be submitting a bid to provide the very same services at the 330 E. Criser Road address that the County already agreed to through the lease.

While the RFP was amended on April 7, 2025 to substitute “To Be Determined, Warren County” for the 330 E. Criser Road lease location address, we understand the intent of the County to be that the RFP would be performed out of the 330 E. Criser Road location and, that the County thinks that the successful bidder could do so with the books, computers, furniture and other personal property therein that belong to Samuels Library, Inc.  Notwithstanding the recently-added “to be determined language,” we know of no other furnished and book-equipped locations other than the Criser Road location at which the RFP could be performed.

Further, the terms of the RFP include language whereby the appointed Warren County Library Board would have governing authority over the chosen vendor.  This would constitute government overreach into Samuels Library’s independent status as a nonprofit and jeopardize our standing with the IRS.

Meanwhile, as we await a resolution, Samuels Public Library will continue to provide services at the 330 E. Criser Road location, as it has for decades, under the terms of its current lease with the County and, with all its existing assets which are the sole property of Samuels Library.   Though County funding runs out on June 30, 2025, Samuels Public Library, thanks to emergency donations and public support, will carry on with business as usual, providing award winning programs, services and an outstanding collection, for free, as your Public Library.  This is our mission.

The Path Forward

In an effort to reopen negotiations with Warren County, the Samuels Library Board of Trustees recently submitted a new, proposed Library Funding Agreement (MOA) with a start date of July 1, 2025 to pair with the original FY2026 Partner Agency Documentation forms submitted in December 2024 and hope for an opportunity to discuss this with the County’s administration and Supervisors.

The Samuels Public Library Board of Trustees realizes that funds are tight in our community. The County Supervisors main concern with the Library’s Budget Request appeared to be the 16% increase and while the County’s appropriation has always been at the discretion of the Supervisors, the revised budget request for FY2026 proposes another year of flat funding at $1,024,000 with a commitment to make up any shortfall in operating expenses with State Aid, volunteer services and fundraising.

Questions to Consider

A for-profit management company from out-of-state raises questions for taxpayers in many areas.  Do we want the profits leaving Warren County?  Where will they be located and at what cost?  Who pays for utilities and building maintenance? How many millions will it cost the County to purchase books, technology and furniture? Will the services be the same or diminished?  Where will they find qualified and experienced staff?  Knowing it will cost more without volunteers and donations, how will they make up the shortfall of the true costs to operate a public library? For who among us would donate to or volunteer for a for-profit business? Who, or what, will inevitably be cut? If yet another case of outsourcing doesn’t work out and taxpayers aren’t happy, who is accountable?

History of Success

The Partnership with the Community, the Town and ultimately the County has a long and storied history tracing back to 1799 when the Library became the second subscription library in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  With community support and true grit, it found a permanent home at Ivy Lodge in 1952 and was officially named Samuels Library in honor of Bernard Samuels.  The Library built the Villa Ave location with a gift from Walter Samuels and donated Ivy Lodge to the Warren Heritage Society.  ‘Public’ was added to Samuels Public Library in 1978 through the efforts of Hubie Marlow who guided it to become a nonprofit organization.

In the early 2000s, the County Supervisors paid 6.5 million dollars over 4 years to Samuels Public Library to manage and execute the design and construction of the 330 E. Criser Rd. building as the patronage had outgrown the Villa Ave building.  The original allocation for 7 million was not needed as the building came in on time and under budget thanks to efficient planning and management.

It is clear the County Supervisors planned for a long-lasting partnership with Samuels Public Library looking to the future as evidenced in the 30-year lease agreement. All data points to the wisdom and success of their plans and their trust as the Library’s patronage and performance measurements continue to climb.  Samuels Public Library was awarded a 5-year $500,000 Mellon Foundation grant in April 2024, named 2024 Library of the Year last October, and the awards keep coming. Strategic relationships and personal connections with the people and businesses of Warren County, built over years of service, are what bind our community together.

Resolution

We remain hopeful that this divisive and bitter conflict can be resolved before a permanent schism exists in our community and that the Partnership can be mended.  Warren County has so much to offer, and this acrimonious debate only serves to make many shy away from our community.  Samuels Public Library staff and the Samuels Library Board of Trustees are here to continue serving our community – let’s all work together for a brighter future for the citizens of Warren County.

About Samuels Public Library:

Originally founded in 1799 and renamed Samuels Public Library in 1952, it became the second library in the state to receive a charter and has served the citizens of Front Royal and Warren County for more than two centuries. In the past fiscal year, the library has added 2,204 new cardholders and held 542 in-person and virtual programs hosting 19,194 attendees. Attracting more than 127,000 visitors annually, the library logged 401,859 total checkouts last year. For more information on Samuels Public Library, go to: www.samuelslibrary.net.