Members of the public were widely divided in terms of the opinions they brought to the Garfield County Public Library District’s (GCPLD) Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, Feb. 6.
After the appointment of board members Stephanie Hirsch and Brit McLin in December, the board’s February meeting was dominated by a push from the public to make swift decisions that would either point toward a more liberal or conservative agenda, and the kind of relationship the board wants to develop with its community members.
It was suggested that a conservative majority would mean that the board might even take steps to fire current GCPLD Executive Director Jamie LaRue over the availability of a series of manga books at the libraries that some community members have deemed inappropriate.
“I wish somebody would do something about this instead of grooming children,” John Lepkowski, a Silt resident, said. “I think it’s bad for anybody under 17 — I think it’s bad for anybody.”
Lepkowski handed copies of one of the polarizing Manga books to members of the board who wanted to see it, although he refrained from showing it to the cameras in the room in case someone underage would be able to see it.
The book series, “Prison School” by Akira Hiramoto, is set in a Japanese all-girls school that changes its policy to allow the enrollment of five boys and punishes the students’ wrongdoings with a stay in the school’s “prison.” The series includes voyeuristic and masochistic themes, and according to members of the public who spoke at the board meeting, over 1,400 members of the community have signed a petition to remove the books from the library’s shelves and restrict access.
Several other members of the public spoke at the meeting to defend LaRue and ask the board to not be swayed by the voices of a few.
“For you guys to be thinking possibly about firing this liberal Executive Director Jamie LaRue would only hurt our library,” said community member May Gray. “And I do wonder, are you guys being directed to do this, and is this why the [Garfield Board of County Commissioners] is really trying to take over the board?”
One board seat for a Glenwood Springs representative still remains vacant, and if it is filled by someone who leans conservative some community members worry that the board will then decide to fire LaRue.
After taking public comment and discussing action items for nearly three hours, the board discussed norms and behaviors for its members, a topic that LaRue brought to the table.
“In various conversations with board members we’ve talked about, since we have new board members, what does it look like to have board norms and behaviors?” LaRue posed.
He advised the board members to be careful when sending emails from their library email accounts, especially when starting email conversations that may involve at least three board members. According to Colorado’s open meetings laws, anytime three or more board members have a conversation, even over email, that can be considered a board meeting and a notice must be sent to the public. He added that if three or more board members were to find themselves having a conversation at a coffee shop, that would also constitute a board meeting.
LaRue also asked the board members to consider what kind of culture they want to create, and what boardsmanship might look like in Garfield County.
“My suggestion is that we’re doing what we can to build trust and respect with each other,” he said. “We’re not trying to catch each other doing something wrong — we’re trying to catch each other doing something right. And the work of the library, I really believe, is both noble and important and we owe it to our citizens to be mature about it. It’s not easy sometimes.”
Board member Myrna Fletchall asked several questions regarding the specifics of board misconduct and how individual members should conduct themselves. She mentioned a moment at the board’s previous meeting when board president Adrian Rippy-Sheehy named a list of community members who had spoken at public comment by name, and asked if that was something the board should avoid in the future.
Hirsch said she thought that using community members’ names showed a level of respect between the board and the public and should be a best practice. “It’s respectful to the public and it lets the public know we’re going to respect them,” she said.
The board members agreed to discuss the issue further at the next meeting.