Issues
To enhance the quality of life for its residents, the City provides and supports a wide variety of cultural activities. The Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department serves as the City's administrators, technical experts and liaisons for cultural events and museums, as well as the marketing agency for the City's entire tourism industry. The Newport News Arts Commission, a twelve-member commission appointed by City Council, acts as a coordinating body for a variety of arts groups in the City and sets the cultural tone for Newport News. Each year, the Arts Commission conducts a grant review process to distribute money to area arts organizations. In fiscal year 2007, the Newport News Arts Commission awarded more than $250,000 in grants. Each year, grantees, including the Virginia Symphony, perform regularly at venues throughout the City.
The Department of Libraries and Information Services is responsible for meeting the informational, educational and recreational needs of the community through the collections and services provided by its branch libraries, technical services center, Bookmobile, outreach services, and the public law library. The libraries serve as community places where programs reflecting cultural diversity and opportunities for life-long learning occur, enriching the community as a whole. The Newport News Public Library System is a founding member of the Virginia Peninsula Literary Consortium. The Newport News Public Library System Board of Trustees, appointed by City Council, acts as an advisory board to the library system.
Public libraries play an important role in strengthening places and community quality of life; libraries are involved with people, technology, culture and quality of life issues. They provide collections and programs that support early literacy, technology, workforce readiness, small business and cultural opportunities to grow in understanding our own culture as well as the cultures of others. Libraries provide a bridge bringing together different types of people who may not share experiences with each other otherwise. They provide a social network bringing a community together in a place that is safe.
It is important that libraries meet the needs of their particular community in fulfilling their role as community places. Issues facing public libraries in Newport News include inadequate facilities that cannot always meet the needs of the community and lack of sufficient access to library services in the northern part of the City. A facility and space needs analysis has been conducted to look at how services are provided, where they are provided, appropriate placement of buildings and accessibility, appropriate use of space to provide for technology and ease of use by library patrons, and other related questions. This study is the basis for a master plan for library services in the City of Newport News.