Manassas Park eyes own library

There is the beginning of an idea for a community library in Manassas Park.

Library Systems and Solutions Inc., a library management company, wants to open and run a library in City Center if the city council agrees to go in on the deal.

It's still in the talking stage, but George Bateman of LSSI said a 6,500-square-foot community library could staffed, stocked and equipped for roughly the cost of the dues Manassas Park pays for its residents to use the Prince William Library system.

"There are challenges to this, but currently the city pays a certain stipend to the county for access to the library, and it's an out-of-date '70s facility," George said of the Bull Run Regional Library which is the main library that serves Manassas Park residents.

"By redirecting those funds, we can operate the City Center Library," Bateman said of the $560,000 the city pays annually to the Prince William system.

Bateman told the council that for the money, the city would own everything in the library while his company would keep it staffed and open for 40 hours a week.

"Right now we have 40 hours spread across seven days," Bateman said.

Manassas Park Mayor Frank Jones said a community library would serve as a the heart of the community.

"It's really not just a library that we're talking about. It's really an information center, an information hub for the community," Jones said at recent city council meeting.

Manassas Park Vice Mayor Bryan E. Polk said he wasn't sure about investing public money into a project that didn't make money.

Bateman tried to clarify.

"It's not a revenue generator. It's a public service. What it does intrinsically is provide value to the community on a public level,"he said.

Still, the library could produce some revenue by charging usage fees to people who aren't city residents, and a coffee shop inside the library could also make money for the city, Bateman said.

Councilwoman Fran Kassinger said a community library would fit in with the upscale multi-use development on Market Street in Manassas Park.

She said the library might help draw desirable tenants to the upscale project.

"We all fought against the strip mall concept. This puts some class to it and establishes a standard for the type of businesses we do want," Kassinger said of the possibility of a community library.

Manassas Bureau Chief Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.