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Yancey commissioners: 'Impossible' to take control of library; debate sparked by Pride [1]

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Date: 2023-07-12

BURNSVILLE - Discussions surrounding control of the Yancey County Public Library continued July 11, one day after the county commissioners' meeting was packed with residents wanting to voice their concerns.

The July 11 meeting was intended to be a conversation between the Yancey County Board of Commissioners and the Yancey County Public Library Board. This meeting, held in the meeting room of the library, was packed with residents and library patrons.

At the center of the debate is the library's June Pride Month display, according to some residents and library workers.

Commissioners Board Chair Jeff Whitson made a motion in June "to give County Manager Lynn Austin research and the process of taking all necessary steps in taking control of the current library system, and making it a county-ran library, an operation showing no bias to any religious, political or ethnic platform with oversight from the Yancey Board of Commissioners until a proper new library board can be established."

At the July 11 meeting, Amber Westall Briggs, regional director of the AMY Library System that serves Avery, Mitchell and Yancey Counties, as well as the town of Spruce Pine, engaged in conversation with the commissioners.

Briggs addressed what she called “the elephant in the room” that Whitson’s ask to pull the county out of the current library system comes at such a specific time.

“The timing of asking so much about board terms is something I take personally when you make a statement about pulling away from a library system without communicating prior to us,” Briggs said.

Whitson said he wanted to bring more of Yancey County’s services “in-house,” but he has found doing so with the library “impossible for us to do.”

“We don’t know that we can do any better than what you’ve done, and we appreciate that,” Whitson said.

Briggs spoke about the displays that the library puts up year-round. She said these displays represent the mission of the library.

"We serve all members of the public, and we particularly serve marginalized groups of people, and when we do that, we recognize everyone," Briggs said.

She said librarians should be respected and trusted to make these displays because they have been trained to do so and select materials that are "appropriate for all (library) patrons."

"Here's the trick: Libraries don't discriminate," Briggs said. "We do not discriminate. I want to specify that because it's so important."

Briggs also spoke about the funding the library receives, from Yancey County's budget to state aid, grants and private donations.

"In the past 20-plus years, Yancey County government has continuously supported your public library," Briggs said. "I wanted to expressly say that because every budget request I have made, they have fulfilled funding that budget."

Whitson said he and the board had done research since he originally made the motion and that he is "proud of the library."

"We agree with everything you do at the library," Whitson said. "Where it came from that we want to dissolve the library or defund the library, is a misconception. We think you're doing a great job and we appreciate you. If we didn't we wouldn't fund you, and we always have and we always will."

While the July 10 meeting focused on the Pride display, the July 11 meeting featured the commissioners asking questions about the library board, including which board members had been appointed by the commissioners and their term limits.

Whitson requested this meeting focus on the local library board and for a discussion on the regional library board to be held at a later date.

When asked to explain the board, Briggs said there are seven current members and bylaws state there must be a minimum of six board members. Each member may serve no more than two consecutive terms, "but previous members may be reappointed after two terms." These members must be appointed by the Yancey County Board of Commissioners, a point of contention between the library and commissioners.

Briggs said her emails requesting the approval of appointments to Austin went unanswered in 2022, while Austin urged Briggs to follow up on anything should she not hear back about something.

Whitson said he wanted to “establish a rapport” with all departments and recipients of county funding, and this was an effort to do so.

More:Yancey library Pride: Residents pack meeting as commissioners consider taking control

A few commissioners left the meeting due to prior comments before the public comment period where library patrons expressed their support for the library. One patron said she was against having Pride displays while others advocated for the displays, citing a need for young people to have as many resources as possible.

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[1] Url: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2023/07/12/yancey-county-library-discussions-continue/70403765007/

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