Fairfax County Library Changes Expected to Be Put on Hold

By Karen Goff

The vice chairman of the Fairfax County Library Board of Trustees says the entire matter of staffing and reorganization at county library branches will be put on hold until the matter can be reviewed more thoroughly.

Earlier this year, the library board revealed plans for changes in the system, including staffing cuts, to deal with a smaller county budget and changing reader habits. Since then, opponents to the plans have been quite vocal.

Library supporters were also outraged that old books were no longer going to Friends of the Library groups for resale — and instead were being trashed.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Sharon Bulova had said she would ask elected officials Tuesday to halt the process until more information could be learned.

But Library Board Vice Chairman Charles Fegan informed the board that the library trustees on Wednesday likely will put the entire matter on hold.

“I’m very pleased the community concerns itself so much,” he told the board, according to the Washington Post. Library overseers have a target date of Nov. 15 to complete a revision of their strategic plan and report back to the Board of Supervisors, he said.