Manassas City residents unhappy with library services

At a Manassas town hall meeting September 16, Manassas City Manager Pat Pate presented findings from a recent Manassas citizen satisfaction survey.

• Generally, library satisfaction ratings are 7% lower than the national average, he said.
• The survey also said that satisfaction for the “Hours of Operation and Services provided by the Library” fell for the third survey in a row.

The city doesn’t have a library of its own.

• Residents use Central Library, on Mathis Avenue, in Prince William County.
• Manassas residents account for less than 27% of the usage at Central, while nearby Manassas Park City residents account for 14.5%.
• County residents make up more than 60%.

“The overall circulation or use of Central Library is also lower than [other libraries in Prince William County, to include] Chinn Park, Bull Run, Gainesville, and Potomac libraries and only slightly above Montclair,” according to city documents.

• Central Library is open daily, has a community room, computer lab, periodicals room, and a children’s and young adult area.
• The library also features events year-round, including preschool storytimes, crafts, book clubs, chair yoga, reading to dogs, and English conversation.

About 10% of Manassas residents also use Bull Run Library in Prince William County

• Ninety percent of its users are county residents.

Prince William County Public Library System spokeswoman Rachel Johnson told Potomac Local that the County conducts a biennial resident satisfaction survey through an independent research firm, which includes Library Services.

• According to that latest Prince William County survey from 2018, “The public library system in the County is highly regarded by residents. Almost all residents are satisfied with the system (96.0%) while 77.0% are very satisfied.”

• According to the City of Manassas website, as of 2018, “70% of Prince William County residents have library cards but only 45% of Manassas residents have library cards and the number is down from the previous year.” 
• The website also said that City of Manassas residents account for 5.5% of the library cards, but pay 8.3% of the library costs- this came to $1.35 million in the latest shared allocation report.

With satisfaction ratings so low, Manassas is wrangling with what to do.

• Leaders have talked about the possibility of building their own library at or near the city’s Manassas Museum, in its downtown neighborhood.
• Another option, according to Pate’s presentation is a storefront library in the city.

According to city spokeswoman Patty Prince, “There has been no decision made at this point.”

The city will be forced to make a decision on what to do about the libraries by June 30, 2020.

• That’s when the current shared library services agreement between the city, Manassas Park, and the county ends.
• The city could decide to walk do its own thing or choose to build a new library in the city while remaining apart of the Prince William Public Library System.