NEWPORT NEWS — Cookbooks, Bibles, bestsellers, and even a guide to belly dancing were among the roughly 150 books mixed in with trash next to a Main Street Library dumpster Friday morning.

According to a library employee, there are hundreds more inside waiting to be discarded in a similar fashion.

Main Street Library is throwing away more than a thousand books, according to the employee who was granted anonymity to speak about the issue for fear of putting their employment at risk. Some have already been carried away by trash collectors since Wednesday, and there are several carts filled with hundreds more books slated to be trashed. The employee said management instructed employees to discreetly throw away the books.

“They asked that we throw them out later in the evening when there are less patrons around,” the employee said.

Discarded books sit near a dumpster at Newport News’s Main Street Library. As seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Devlin Epding / Daily Press)

Main Street Library management responded to calls requesting comment, but said they were not permitted to speak with a reporter. No one from the library returned calls Friday seeking additional information.

After a reporter’s visit to the library Friday morning, the employee said management at Main Street Library sent an email to staff Friday afternoon instructing staff to stop discarding books until further notice, and management would reach out to Friends of the Library to review alternative options.

Newport News Public Library policy does not require staff to donate books that are withdrawn from the collection, and damaged or unusable items can be discarded at staff discretion. However, it states withdrawn items are “generally” given to the Friends of the Newport News Public Library, a nonprofit that connects the local library to its community, for fundraising purposes.

Friends of the Library did not respond by deadline for comment.

The employee said several staff members voiced concern over the decision, and were told it was library policy and that the books were not damaged, but were being withdrawn due to low circulation numbers.

Some of the titles seen sitting in the dumpster Friday included “The Judges” by Nobel Prize-winning author Elie Wiesel, “The First Billion” by Christopher Reich and “Beyond the Sunrise” by Mary Balogh.

Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com

https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/10/10/newport-news-library-trashes-books/