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King and Queen supervisors vote to withdraw from Pamunkey Regional Library, residents voice opposition
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Summary
After a lengthy public comment period in which residents urged the Board to remain in the Pamunkey system, the Board adopted a resolution giving two years’ notice to withdraw (effective May 8, 2025) and requesting consent of member localities to an earlier exit, saying the county seeks to expand locally run services.
At its May 8 meeting, the King and Queen County Board of Supervisors voted to give statutory notice that it intends to withdraw from the Pamunkey Regional Library system, a step the Board says would allow the county to reallocate library funding to expand services at county-owned facilities.
The resolution gives two years’ notice under Va. Code § 42.1-42 — setting withdrawal at May 8, 2025 — and simultaneously requests consent from the other member localities (Goochland, Hanover and King William counties) to effect an earlier withdrawal if they agree.
Residents from St. Stephens Church and other districts urged the Board to remain in Pamunkey during public comment. Barry Allen told the Board the county’s current library “has closed days and limited hours,” adding that leaving the regional system would make the county a “laughingstock” and could cost the community access to interlibrary loans and online services. Several speakers asked the Board to explain the reasoning before finalizing a decision and asked that the county preserve the library’s staff and the collection assembled after Mr. Carroll Lee Walker renovated the Marriott School building.
Board members said the move is not intended to close the King and Queen facility. Chair R. F. Bailey told residents, “It has never been the intent of the Board to close the library; just withdraw from the Pamunkey system and have a library that is open at least as much as it is now if not more.” County Administrator Vivian Seay said staff are working on logistics and have visited independent libraries to plan a transition.
What residents said: Speakers warned that withdrawal could reduce access to ebooks, audiobooks, interlibrary loans and Chromebooks the Pamunkey system provides, and one library volunteer said she had been told more than 1,000 books might be removed if the county leaves the system.
What the Board said: County leaders argued that money currently spent for shared regional services could instead support a broader set of locally run services and that the Pamunkey system had changed library hours without sufficient Board consultation.
Next steps: The resolution's two-year notice establishes May 8, 2025 as the default withdrawal date unless the other member localities agree to an earlier date. The Board directed staff to continue planning transition logistics, including meeting with staff at independent libraries.