Samuels Public Library - Kitti McKean

Welcome to Samuels Library! We’re so glad you plan to visit us on your virtual walking tour. Samuels is a stand-alone library (i.e. we’re not part of a larger library system) located in the Shenandoah Mountains of Northern Virginia. Although Front Royal is a small town (15,000 residents in the city, and less than 40,000 total in Warren County), Samuels is a BIG library. The building is approximately 30,000 square feet encompassing study rooms, two conference rooms, a small meeting room, and a large meeting room which can accommodate 150 people. There is also a café area and a kitchen. One side of the library houses a large childrens’ area and teen room. The other side of the library houses a large adult collection, reference services, a computer lab with 12 computers and a projector for teaching classes, a local history room, and more than 20 public access computers. Although Front Royal is a largely urban environment, our location next to the Shenandoah National Forest makes visits from wildlife a common occurrence. Although I’ve never seen a bear in the parking lot we regularly see deer. Front Royal has the distinction of being the only town along the Appalachian Trail where the trail actually crosses a road inside city limits. Because of this, many hikers have supplies sent to the post office here and many of those hikers also visit the library to check their email and enjoy the a/c before heading back out on their journey. If you visited while it was warmer, you could swim and tube down the Shenandoah River. The river has thawed now, so going for a canoe trip is possible. Front Royal is “The canoe capital of Virginia.”Samuels Library