Falls Church Patch: Fairfax County to Evict Friends of Libraries

https://patch.com/virginia/fallschurch/fairfax-county-evict-friends-libraries

Fairfax County is in the process of evicting the Library Friends from several library branches.

The County demands that all library Friends sign a new contract which many feel violates our consciences, goes against the advice of our legal counsel, and tramples our rights as independent non profit organizations.

Library Friends work with the County.

Library Friends do not work for the County.

But the County has been determined to ram through a new "Memorandum of Understanding" contract which would put the library Friends in an inferior position.

Several library Friends groups have asked to meet with the County to discuss reasonable changes/modifications to the MOU that would make it more fair to library Friends.
But the County - through library Director Jessica Hudson and library board Chair Miriam Smolen - has been completely unwilling to consider Friends concerns or make ANY changes to the MOU approved by a divided library board earlier this year.

Instead, library Friends are being bullied and threatened with eviction if they do not sign a contract they are not comfortable with.

Library Friends have been given a deadline of July 31 to sign away their rights or be thrown out.
Such a "my way or the highway" approach is unbelievable being directed at volunteers who have served their various library branches for decades and donated millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours to support library collections, facilities, programs, staff, grounds and other needs.

It is not too late for the County to reconsider this wholly destructive and counterproductive approach and to start treating the library Friends as valued partners instead of problems needing to be crushed and brought to heel.

If this attack on library Friends troubles you please let those who can make a difference know : County Board Chair Sharon Bulova sharon.bulova@fairfaxcounty.gov , County Executive Bryan Hill Bryan.Hill@fairfaxcounty.gov , Library Board Chair Miriam Smolen miriam.smolen@fairfaxcounty.gov , Library Director Jessica Hudson jessica.hudson@fairfaxcounty.gov