By MARK MILLER
Controversy is unusual for a library board. But there was some amount of tension in the air at the May meeting of the Wells County Public Library’s board of trustees.
The issue at question had begun during the April meeting when the board was doing an annual review of the library’s statistics and activities.
“We were reviewing the different themes and topics of the displays,” board member Steve Tabor said. The adult section had used the displays in the past and has plans for 2023 to highlight the variety of books in that department.
The list includes such topics as “Holocaust Remembrance Month,” “Black History Month,” and “Foster Care Awareness.”
“One of the members voiced an objection to the ‘LGBTQ Pride Month’ display,” Tabor continued. According to the board minutes, that discussion led to Matt Yergler, the board’s newest member, who was appointed by the Wells County Commissioners in February, to enter a motion to discontinue all displays in the library until such time that the Policy Committee could come up with new guidelines for the displays. The motion failed.
Based on that discussion, Tabor explained, board member Dustin Brown moved to have the Policy Committee review the Information Display policy and bring the board any suggested changes while continuing to allow the displays. That motion passed.
Although the Policy Committee, chaired by Tabor, was instructed to bring any proposed changes to the June meeting, Tabor informed the board at the May 9 board meeting — at which the News-Banner was present — that the committee had met and presented a proposed rewording. The committee members include Dawn Ulfig and Yergler.
The current policy is focused on acceptance of community-provided information. The proposed changes were focused on “postings, bulletin boards and exhibits, when not related to library materials … must be neutral.” The proposed wording goes on to state that the exhibits “should not present one side or point of view for such issues as lifestyle, political views, gender identification, racial issues, religious views, or etc.”
The discussion by the board, which consists of John Stauffer, Deb Johnson, Brown, Kim Gentis, Tabor, Ulfig and Yergler, was muted. Few members chose to speak, with some discussion on how “neutral” might be determined.
“Are there two sides to the issue of adoption?” head librarian Sarah MacNeill asked the board. There were questions from the board about whether this wording would apply to postings regarding library services.
Board president Stauffer informed them of their options: They could accept or reject the report or refer it back to the committee for further consideration. It was eventually decided to refer the matter back to the committee, with board members encouraged to provide suggestions in the interim.
Therefore, the policy will be on the agenda for the board’s June 13 meeting.
The News-Banner contacted Yergler, seeking an opportunity to discuss his concerns with the policy. He declined the opportunity.
“It’s premature to talk about it,” he said. “We need to gain more clarity. It’s just not the time to have that conversation.”
When asked if it was the “gay-pride” display that had triggered his motion to discontinue all displays, Yergler denied that. “It’s all of the displays we have to review,” he replied and then declined to further talk about library board issues.
When Tabor was asked which board member had voiced that objection, he confirmed that it had been Yergler.
Board president Stauffer confirmed Tabor’s perspective. “To suggest that this discussion was precipitated by anything else is disingenuous,” he said. He quickly added, however, that “the policy needs some review and revision. It needs more structure.” He does not like the idea of putting too much pressure on the library’s managers and head librarian with the vague wording that presently exists.
“I have no problem with any book in the library being on display,” Stauffer continued, “but how it is displayed — under what umbrella, so to speak. Context matters.”
The library has had displays in the past during June, which has been generally designated as Gay Pride Month for several years, MacNeill said. It has always been in the adult section which is upstairs, isolated from the children’s and young adult sections.
“We have families who are dealing with these issues,” she said, “and the library has resources to help them do that.”
The displays, changed each month, are meant to raise awareness of what the library has to offer for such issues as adoption, autism, Hispanic heritage and foster care, she continued. There are also seasonal displays to highlight books related to, for example, Christmas.
There will not, however, be an LGBTQ-themed display this June, adult services manager Jason Habegger said this week.
“We rotate what’s on the displays,” he said. “We’re having a more extensive summer reading program this year that we will be featuring.”
He is aware of the controversy now centered on the displays but said that’s not why it is not being used this year. “We look at these displays as being educational,” he said, as opposed to promoting any particular issue.
“As a library, we pay close attention to what’s in the news, what people are talking about,” he continued. That can drive what is chosen to display as well as designated months, so that what books the library offers can be displayed for their timeliness.
In the case of the library’s selection of books related to LGBTQ issues, “our selection is really not that big, but many families in our community are dealing with these issues so what we’re basically saying is ‘This is what we have if you’re looking for books about this.’”
While Habegger has never had any “direct pushback” about what displays his department has put up, he is aware “in a roundabout way” that there had been some questions in past years about the LBGTQ displays. He has also heard positive comments, he added.
The board is also hearing other concerns. During the public comment period of the May 9 meeting, Wells County resident Ted Claghorn voiced his concerns about the library’s association with the American Library Association, stating “their precepts and concepts” are troublesome. John Senac spoke to agree with Claghorn’s concerns. Stauffer thanked the men but no further discussion ensued.
In a subsequent conversation, Claghorn said his research has led him to point more directly to the Public Library Association which, he said, the ALA’s website characterizes as a “partner.”
“The PLA,” Claghorn said, “advocates that local libraries need to take the initiative to address issues like systemic racism, white privilege and the diversity-equity-inclusion agenda.”
He also shared that he has, in the aftermath of the May 9 meeting, had “a long talk with Sarah (MacNeill)” which he found reassuring. He understands that the library’s membership with any group does not mean the local library is obligated to uphold or promote any of their policies or initiatives.
MacNeill also noted that these groups, like all national trade organizations, are national advocates for funding and also provide resources in such areas as library logistics and human resources.
“What I am in favor of is putting up some sort of guardrails,” Claghorn said. He has heard that the library in Indianapolis has had “drag queen story hours for children.”
“I am confident, at least in the short term” that such initiatives would not be tried locally, he said.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 13, at the main branch in Bluffton.
miller@news-banner.com
