Author: aaliyahk5e52930f40

By Aaliyah Kinsler, arts, culture & sports reporter

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (Feb. 11, 2026)– Salena Sullivan, Christiansburg Library branch manager, stands between book stacks inside the Christiansburg branch of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library. (Aaliyah Kinsler, Newsfeed NRV) 

Book challenges and removal requests at public libraries across the New River Valley remain infrequent, even as debates over library collections continue nationally, according to officials with the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library system. 

Library officials say formal requests to reconsider books or materials have been rare locally and have not increased in recent years. This comes despite a growing public attention to book challenges across the country and high-profile cases reported in other parts of Virginia and the United States. 

“I’ve been here since 2017, and there have been challenges to the collection, but we certainly haven’t seen an increase over the past few years,” said Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library Director Karim Khan. “It’s infrequent, not something that happens every week or every month.” 

Public libraries operate under formal policies and legal standards when evaluating materials rather than responding to individual complaints alone. The Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library system uses a written request for reconsideration process tied to collection development policy, state law and professional library standards that guide how materials are selected, and when necessary, reevaluated. 

Library officials say these policies help create consistency and transparency when requests do occur. The system’s collection development policy outlines how materials are selected, how these requests are reviewed, and how final decisions are made. The process usually involves reviewing professional evaluations, collection criteria and community need while making sure decisions remain aligned with legal standards and library ethics principles. 

“It’s not a big deal because we’re prepared,” Khan said. “A public library should have policies in place approved by its governing authority. We give our full attention every time somebody puts in a request for reconsideration.” 

The library system serves Montgomery and Floyd counties through four branches located in Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Floyd, and Shawsville. Requests must come from people eligible for library cards tied to the service area, which includes local residents, students, and others with qualifying ties to the community. Library officials say this structure ensures the reconsideration process reflects the communities that directly support and fund the library system. 

While public discussion often frames book challenges through political or ideological lenses, library leadership in the New River Valley says that the local experiences have been more varied. They say concerns most often focus on perceived content suitability for children or accuracy of factual information rather than a single political viewpoint. 

“I think what tends to unify a significant chunk of them is people trying to make sure children are ‘safe,’” Khan said. “It’s either that or, ‘This is scientifically inaccurate.’” 

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (Feb. 11, 2026)– A “Teen Alley” sign marks the teen section inside a public library, where materials are organized by age groups and audiences. (Aaliyah Kinsler, Newsfeed NRV) 

Library officials say many concerns begin as conversations between patrons and staff rather than formal written requests. Front-line employees are often the first point of contact when patrons have questions or concerns about materials, allowing libraries to explain how collections are built and why certain materials are included. 

At the branch level, staff say public libraries serve broader roles beyond book circulation, including acting as information centers, study spaces and community gathering spaces for people of all backgrounds. 

“Libraries play a very important role in our community as a place where people have access, access to information, access to leisure and access to community,” said Christiansburg Library Branch Manager Salena Sullivan. “It’s one of the only places where you don’t have to pay to be here.” 

Sullivan said strong library systems often reflect overall community health, noting that library access often supports education and lifelong learning across age groups. 

“Having a robust library in your community is a really good indicator of a healthy community,” Sullivan said. 

Library management say public trust plays a significant role in how collections are built and maintained. Officials say collections and programming are designed to meet the needs of different populations across the New River Valley, including families, students, working adults and rural residents with varying information needs and interests. 

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (Feb. 11, 2026)– Books sit on display shelves inside a Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library branch in the New River Valley. (Aaliyah Kinsler, Newsfeed NRV) 

“Libraries’ collections and programming should reflect the needs of the community,” Sullivan said. “We’re here to serve as an information resource.” 

Library officials say individuals and families ultimately decide what materials are appropriate for themselves or their children. While libraries organize materials by age group and intended audience, officials say they are not responsible for making individual reading decisions for patrons. 

They say legal definitions, particularly around obscenity, are determined by courts rather than library staff. Libraries rely on legal standards and established review processes when evaluating materials rather than subjective personal standards. 

“If it’s not obscene according to the law, then it’s not obscene,” Khan said. “It’s a legal term and we are no judge of that.” 

Library officials say their goal is to maintain broad access to materials while following professional standards and legal requirements. Officials say public libraries are designed to serve entire communities, even when individual patrons may disagree with certain materials or viewpoints represented in a collection. 

Across the New River Valley, library leaders say community relationships and open communication have helped to keep reconsideration requests relatively rare compared to trends reported in some other parts of the country. Officials say continuing conversations with patrons and maintaining transparent processes remain the biggest priorities moving forward.

By Aaliyah Kinsler, arts, culture, and sports reporter 

Margaret Lawrence, Director of Programming for the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. Photo Courtesy of Rob Strong and Virginia Tech

As universities face increasing questions about representation, audience engagement and institutional responsibility, arts programming has become a large reflection of broader cultural values. 

At Virginia Tech, the Center for the Arts brings professional performers from around the world to campus stages and shapes how students and the New River Valley community encounter the arts. 

In an interview, Margaret Lawrence, director of programming for the Center for the Arts, discussed how those decisions are made, how audiences influence programming and why representation matters. 

Her comments were edited slightly for length and clarity. 

How does Virginia Tech and the Center for the Arts decide which artists and performers are featured on campus? 

I can only speak for the Center for the Arts, because of course there’s lots of other stuff happening in the arts on this vast campus. We are really the center for bringing professional American and international touring performing artists, and top-notch professional visual artists. 

I’m the person involved with performing artists specifically. We produce a series of between 25 and 30 performances each year, kind of balanced between the two semesters. We don’t really present much in the summer when the students aren’t here. 

Our mission is to really bring the most extraordinary arts experiences here and to celebrate the diversity of kinds of art forms, of kinds of artists, of individuals. This might be the only chance a student at Virginia Tech has to see a full philharmonic orchestra, or a contemporary American dance company, or a very famous jazz artist they’ve heard of but never saw in person. This is a really formative time for students here. 

What goes into deciding which artists make it into a season? 

I’ve been a curator for more than 40 years. I have a lot of knowledge of the artists who are out there, not only in the U.S. but across the globe, and a lot of networks in the field with other performing arts centers. 

What we try to bring together are some artists who are at the top of their game and very well known, and then artists who are emerging, who you may never have heard about. That proximity to those artists and their work is really exciting. 

We’re just as interested in presenting really important music of the past as we are in premiering brand-new compositions. We even helped commission a brand-new piece that premiered here by a living composer. 

Do artists reach out to you, or do you reach out to them? 

All of the above. Almost all professional artists are represented by agents and management companies. They know who I am. I often pursue somebody for years before it finally comes true. 

I might be in New York and have a whole bunch of meetings. We had a trio here recently that was a new project. Those artists thought of it and put it together. The minute I heard about it; I was pursuing it. 

Some artists are incredibly expensive to bring, and it might take years and really creative thinking to raise the funds. When we brought Yo-Yo Ma here, the cellist, that didn’t happen overnight. 

How much influence do students and community members have in programming decisions? 

I’m working for at least a year and a half in advance. Right now, I’m almost done programming 2026–27, and I’m starting to work on 2027–28. That automatically changes how we approach things. 

If I only brought artists that I personally love, some of those things are really esoteric. That doesn’t mean I’m going to bring it to Blacksburg. So, I try to create a real balance. 

We do national touring Broadway shows because people want to see them. We see people there we might not see at any other kind of performance. That’s really important to us. 

Do engagement and education factor into programming choices? 

We’re not only presenting performances. We’re creating what we call engagement activities. We ask artists to do workshops, come into classes, teach master classes and do school-time matinee. 

For some kids, it might be the first time they’ve ever been to a theater. Those experiences are incredibly important for showing people what the world around them is. 

Have you noticed shifts in audiences over time? 

We’ve built a very strong subscription base from the community. Many of them will sign up for the entire season and trust us to have a great experience. 

The student percentage of attendees is very healthy. It tends to be around 23% of the audience, which is quite high. I think that’s partly because we do so much engagement with the artists. 

Have any performances sparked reflection about whose voices are being elevated? 

Several years ago, we brought a trans theater artist from London who did a piece about their identity. People told me, “You never would have seen a piece like this when I was a student here.” 

For students and community members, it creates a sense of belonging. For everybody else, it’s about learning about the people we share this globe with. 

We also brought a dance company from India collaborating with a company from Sri Lanka. A student told me it was the first year they were able to form a Sri Lankan student organization. The artists were from her hometown. Seeing that on the stage here was incredibly powerful. 

Looking ahead, how should Virginia Tech continue evolving in how it presents artistic voices? 

The arts are about entertainment, but they’re also about truth and self-expression. College is when people are figuring out what they stand for and what’s important to them. 

The more arts we have on campus, whether through the Center for the Arts or elsewhere, the better.