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    All Prince William Public Libraries are closed Sunday, March 31 in observance of the Easter holiday. Dale City, Dumfries, Independent Hill, Lake Ridge, and Nokesville will also be closed Saturday, March 30.

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    Download our new app: search "Prince William Public Library" in the App Store or Google Play. READ MORE.

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  • info

    All Prince William Public Libraries are closed Sunday, March 31 in observance of the Easter holiday. Dale City, Dumfries, Independent Hill, Lake Ridge, and Nokesville will also be closed Saturday, March 30.

  • info

    Download our new app: search "Prince William Public Library" in the App Store or Google Play. READ MORE.

Five Year Strategic Plan

The 2024 - 2028 Strategic Plan of the Prince William Public Libraries (PWPL) will guide the direction for the PWPL for the next five years and beyond.

Strategic Plan 2024-2028

 

Prince William Public Libraries Annual Reports

FY2022 
FY2021: Read through the contributions or watch on YouTube.

 

FY2022 (JULY 1, 2021 - JUNE 30, 2022)

TOTAL NUMBER OF VISITS

Library Visits: 1,857,630
Wi-Fi Users: 94,659
Website Visits: 1,305,129

TOTAL NUMBER OF ITEMS CHECKED OUT

Physical and Digital: 2,304,507
   

PROGRAMS

Number of Programs: 3,219
Number of Attendees: 160,621

LIBRARY HISTORIES BY BRANCH

Bull Run Library

The second regional library to be built in Prince William County, Bull Run Library was officially dedicated and opened to the public on Saturday, June 25, 1994.

The 25,000-square-foot building features a 24-hour book drop, Community Room, a Quiet Study Room, and a Children's and Young Adult area. Bull Run provides materials for adults, children, and young adults in print and electronic/digital formats. Bull Run offers programming for all ages and English and Spanish conversation clubs, and a book discussion group.

Central Library

Central Library first opened its doors in 1971. While library service to the residents of Prince William County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park was established in July 1952, a library bond referendum for the construction of the first permanent building did not occur until November 1967.

On February 26, 1968, Roger J. Costello, Mayor of Manassas Park, offered the Library Board a gift from the town of Manassas Park of approximately six acres and $100,000 to build a library between Parkside Elementary/Middle School and Route 28. Central Library opened for business on January 21, 1971. Central Library served as the headquarters location for library administration and technical services for many years.

Central Library has undergone several renovations during its 50 years of service. The 23,000-square-foot building features a 24-hour book drop, Community Room, a children’s area, and a young adult area. Central provides materials for adults, children, and young adults in both print and electronic formats. Programming includes various performances, story times and craft programs for children, and book discussion groups, concerts, and educational offerings for adults.

The Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center (RELIC) is a specialized local history and genealogy collection at Central Library. RELIC's experienced staff is available to assist you in using the collection or with any questions you may have.

PLEASE NOTE our current hours:

While access to the RELIC collection is available whenever Central Library is open, there may not always be a RELIC staff member available to help. If you require individual assistance and/or are traveling from a distance, you may wish to call 703-792-8380 and/or email to verify the hours when RELIC staff will be available.

Chinn Park Library

The first regional library to be built in Prince William County, Chinn Park is located in the 98-acre Chinn Regional Park at the intersection of the Prince William Parkway and Old Bridge Road. Chinn Park was constructed on the old "Camp 6" site, a work detention camp set up by the State Justice System and operational in the 1970s.

The Chinn Regional Park, Chinn Aquatics and Fitness Center and the Chinn Park Regional Library were named for Mary Jane Chinn and her family for their contributions to the Prince William County community. Mary Jane Chinn was born in 1827 and died in 1907. She is buried in the cemetery of Mt. Olive Baptist Church, still located on Telegraph Road in Woodbridge. Mary Jane and Tom Chinn were slaves who, after emancipation, purchased several hundred acres along what was formerly Davis Ford and Telegraph Roads in Woodbridge. They had eight sons.

The Chinn Park Library is 25,000 square feet and features a dramatic clerestory window. Services include children’s and young adult material and programs, adult material and programs, a Quiet Study room, two individual study rooms, a prominent Information Desk, and MAGIC.

The Management and Government Information Center (MAGIC), is a specialized collection of local, state, and federal government information and services. In MAGIC, find documents, journals, a clipping file of local newspaper articles, and various electronic resources. MAGIC staff is available to assist you in using the collection or with any questions. MAGIC has the same hours of operation as Chinn Park Library.

Dale City Library

The fourth of six neighborhood libraries to open, Dale City's dedication ceremony took place on February 11, 1986. The library is a 2,475-square-foot, single-story, county-owned structure. The Dale City Civic Association donated a mural for the children’s area and landscaping for the site. The library’s three flagpoles were donated by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1503.

The library collection comprises about 26,000 items, including audiobooks, DVDs, magazines, and children’s puzzles. A weekly story time and Summer Reading programs remain a welcome summer activity for children from infancy through grade 12.

Dumfries Library

"The library that could not wait to open," Dumfries Neighborhood Library opened its doors to the public one year earlier than planned. Due to the availability of a leased site, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors switched the opening dates for Dale City and Dumfries. The second neighborhood library, Dumfries opened its doors on June 8, 1985.

In 1990, a literacy lab and tutoring room were dedicated. While the literacy lab no longer exists, the tutoring room dedicated by the Chinn Park Friends of the Library remains available to the public. Dumfries continues to serve the needs of a diverse community. The neighborhood library has a collection of 20,162 items that includes audiobooks and DVDs. However, the collection size does fluctuate now that PWPL has a floating collection. Dumfries has seven internet stations, fax services, and a photocopying machine for public use.

Haymarket Gainesville Library

Haymarket Gainesville Library opened on October 22, 2015, at the intersection of Route 15 and Lightner Road.

Authorized by voters in the 2006 bond referendum, the Haymarket Gainesville Library is a 20,000-square-foot full-service facility with traditional services, such as checkout of materials, information and readers' advisory services, and children's programs and services. Haymarket Gainesville Library offers digital resources, web-based library services, self-checkout, public computers, and wireless public internet access. Also on-site is a 200-year-old historic home, the Bushy Park Historic Home, intended to become a historical interpretive center and reading room partnered with the Historic Preservation Division.

Independent Hill Library

The sixth and final neighborhood library to open, Independent Hill is located in the George Hellwig Memorial Park. Independent Hill opened on May 23, 1987.

The library's collection consists of approximately 17,000 items, including books, DVDs, audiobooks, Playaways, and magazines for all ages and interests. The library has two computer stations available to the public for internet use and offers fax services and a photocopying machine for public use. There is also access to the full-service libraries by telephone, computer terminal, and delivery system. Independent Hill is staffed with one full-time and two part-time staff members and community volunteers.

Lake Ridge Library

The first of six neighborhood libraries to open, Lake Ridge has had many distinctions throughout its 17-year history. The original 2,260-square-foot facility opened on May 7, 1985.

On December 26, 1986, a fire in the upper level of the Tackett’s Mill Shopping Center caused major water damage to the collection and Lake Ridge’s mural created by a local artist. The library closed for approximately one month and reopened in a second-floor facility. On October 22, 1987, the library returned to its original site, with a grand re-opening on October 31, 1987.

During the budget reductions in the 1990s, the Library Board of Trustees proposed closing Lake Ridge. Due to pleas from the community, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors directed the Library System to find other cuts in its budget.

On May 6, 1995, Lake Ridge moved again to a building in Fairfield Office Park adjacent to Tackett’s Mill. This second busiest neighborhood library has the distinction of being the library that has also moved the most.

Manassas City Library

Manassas City Library is the 12th and newest library. It opened on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. This new location helps bring library services closer to the Manassas City community. Within its 6,000 square feet, the new branch provides 12 public access computers, programming for all ages, study rooms, and houses about 15,000 books and other resources. Manassas City Library is conveniently located in the Wellington Station Shopping Center, close to groceries, banks, restaurants, and more.

Montclair Library

Montclair Library is located near Route 234 (Dumfries Road) and Waterway Drive.

Authorized by voters in the 2006 bond referendum, the Montclair Library, which opened on February 1, 2016, is a 20,000-square-foot full-service facility with traditional services, such as checkout of materials, information and readers' advisory services, and children's programs and services. Also offered are less traditional online services such as electronic resources, web-based library services, self-checkout, computers for public use, and wireless public internet access. The Barnes Historic House is located on the library's property.

Nokesville Library

The third neighborhood library to open, Nokesville is the smallest library with only 1,653 square feet. The library opened on January 11, 1986. The only neighborhood library located in the "Rural Crescent," an area set aside by Prince William County as a rural enclave of 10-acre estates to ensure limited, managed growth, Nokesville Library serves not only Prince William County residents, but a significant number of Fauquier County residents as well.

Nokesville Library features story times, fax service, a photocopier, an adult book discussion group, and a “floating” collection of approximately 17,000 items that includes audiobooks and DVDs.

Potomac Library

Library service to the residents of eastern Prince William County began in September, 1965 with the opening of the Leesylvania Branch Library on the first floor of the Prince William County Administration Building located in Gar-Field. In November 1972, a $625,000.00 bond referendum passed, and the Potomac Community Library was built on a site of the Potomac Hospital grounds.

Potomac Library was officially dedicated and opened to the public on Saturday, January 25, 1975.

The 18,000 square feet library features a community room, a children’s area, and 151,000 volumes.

One of the distinguishing features of the building is its collection of stained glass windows created by artist Jean McKee Dunivin. In 1984, the first window was dedicated in memory of Potomac’s first Children’s Librarian, Mary Flanagan. Additional windows were added in 1989, 1992, and 1993. In 1996, a stained glass window in memory of Marion McCoole, a Potomac Circulation Supervisor, was dedicated.