Prince William Public Library System (PWPLS) is a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

system in Virginia started in 1965. The system consists of 11 branches that include six full-service branches and five neighborhood branches across

Prince William County Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...

and the cities of Manassas and

Manassas Park Manassas Park is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 17,219. Manassas Park is bordered by the city of Manassas, Virginia, Manas ...

. PWPLS serves over 1.4 million visitors in their branches every year including over 1 million website users. In addition, the system provides more than 3.6 million materials borrowed every year to the residents of the Prince William area.

Service area

According to the FY 2014 Institute of Museum and Library Services Data Catalog, the Library System has a service area population of 468,131 with 0 central library and 10 branch libraries.

History

Prince William Public Library System first opened to the citizens of Prince William County in September 1965. The first branch, Leesylvania Branch Library, was opened on the first floor of the Prince William County Administration Building. By November 1972, legislation was passed to open Potomac Community Library on the grounds of Potomac Hospital. On June 7 2021, PWPLS opened Manassas City Library to serve the surrounding communities, making it the twelfth and newest library in the system.

Branches

* Bull Run Regional Library (established 1994) * Central Community Library (established 1971) * Chinn Park Regional Library (established in 1991) * Dale City Neighborhood Library (established 1986) * Dumfries Neighborhood Library (established 1985) * Haymarket Gainesville Community Library (established 2015) * Independent Hill Neighborhood Library (established 1987) * Lake Ridge Neighborhood Library (established 1985) * Manassas City Library (established 2021) * Montclair Community Library (established 2016) * Nokesville Neighborhood Library (established 1986) * Potomac Community Library (established 1975)

References

Public libraries in Virginia Libraries established in 1965 1965 establishments in Virginia Education in Prince William County, Virginia Manassas, Virginia Manassas Park, Virginia {{Library-org-stub