By Brian Trompeter
Citing waiting periods of weeks, months and occasionally more than one year for popular Fairfax County Public Library items, Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) asked his Board of Supervisors colleagues on March 19 to consider a one-time expenditure of $500,000 to bolster the library system’s book-collection budget.
Supervisors unanimously agreed to add the item to their consideration list when discussing the upcoming fiscal 2025 budget.
The library system operates 23 branches and has more than 500,000 active card holders who access a collection of more than 2 million items, including books, e-books and audio books, Alcorn noted.
“The library continues to be one of the most popular services provided by the county, and our library branches are a vital hub of community information,” he said.
The Fairfax Library Foundation and friends groups continue to supplement the library system’s collection budget, but cannot supplant the county’s support, Alcorn said. Fairfax County Public Library continues to struggle to meet the demand for library materials, even with the availability of items in digital formats, he said.
“Funding for the collection budget has not been robust enough to meet the needs of all of our residents,” Alcorn said. “With increased demand for popular and new materials, the library must balance a proper allocation of limited resources for those items with the needs for materials in support of K-through-12 students and ensuring that materials are updated [and] available in print, large print, audio and digital copies and in multiple languages.”
Supervisor Patrick Herrity (R-Springfield) asked county staff to provide information during the budget discussions about why the library system could put only 10 percent of its $34 million annual budget toward purchasing materials.
“I think we do need to, clearly, invest in our library collection,” Herrity said. “It’s something our citizens like. It’s a basic public service we need to provide.”
