Prince William Public Library System (PWPLS) is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending 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 servic ...

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 lies beside the Potomac River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 482,204, making it Virginia's second most populous county. The county seat is the independent city of Manassas. A part ...

and the cities of

Manassas Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

and Manassas Park. 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