Samuels library in Va. has funding restored with LGBTQ policies unchanged

By Gregory S. Schneider
October 4, 2023 at 12:04 p.m. EDT



The Samuels Public Library in Front Royal, Va., has roots in the 18th century. It has recently faced resistance to its LGBTQ-related books. (Matthew Barakat/AP)

The Samuels Public Library in Front Royal, Va., will get its funding fully restored and avoid having Warren County supervisors control its handling of LGBTQ-related books under an agreement signed Tuesday by library and county leaders.

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The deal removes the threat of closure that had hung over the library since June, when the county withheld most of its funding for the coming year after a group of conservative activists sought the removal of LGBTQ books aimed at young readers. The standoff marked the first time the national conservative movement against books for children about gender and sexual orientation had threatened a public library in Virginia, though several school systems have wrestled with the issue.

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Under the new arrangement, Samuels agreed to include a member of the county supervisors on its executive committee, a subset of the 15-member board of trustees, which has always included a representative from the county board. The library trustees also agreed to consider candidates suggested by the county supervisors when seeking to appoint new library board members.

The county had sought to gain control of the library board, which operates as a private nonprofit and has roots dating to 1799. But the library’s trustees rejected the takeover attempt, saying they had instituted parental controls in response to the controversy and would not consider further steps that they regarded as discriminating against LGBTQ patrons.

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By Gregory S. Schneider
Greg Schneider covers Virginia from the Richmond bureau. He was The Washington Post's business editor for more than seven years, and before that served stints as deputy business editor, national security editor and technology editor. He has also covered aviation security, the auto industry and the defense industry for The Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/SchneiderG