FRL Concerns and a New Jackson County Library Board

This week, you may have seen a draft of the soon-to-be-voted-upon FRL Collection Development Policy. This draft raises serious First Amendment concerns because it allows books to be relocated based solely on a parent’s objection to their content. Many people have sent formal public records requests to obtain an official copy of the draft or the finalized version so that residents can study it before the vote. Bill McGaha, Interim Director of the FRL, has refused to release anything so far, claiming that he needs legal advice before doing so. This is a highly unusual response to a public records request. This shows a serious lack of transparency, and also, a likely understanding by the board that their new policy will be deeply unpopular. Even though Jackson County will no longer be part of the FRL, we have concerns about the contents of the collection policy.

In addition to policy changes, we have concerns about the lack of principles observed by the FRL Board. Bill McGaha is Chair of the Board. The board has installed him as the Interim Director of the FRL until a replacement for Tracy Fitzmaurice can be found. According to recommended protocol, an Interim Director should have a current, valid NC Professional Librarian Certificate. Mr. McGaha does not. Also, if a member of the Board of Trustees is to become Interim Director, they should resign from the board first, to avoid any conflicts of interest. McGaha is currently serving on the board and as Director. This continues a long-term lack of concern for ethics shown by this board. It worries us that other guidelines might be ignored during this transition period and actions will be taken that could affect the Jackson County libraries.

We are watching to see how this plays out and making plans to respond, should this draft become official policy which spreads to Jackson County.

The FRL Regional Library Board of Trustees has called a special meeting to vote on its new Collection Development Policy. The meeting will be on Monday, June 22, at 4 p.m. at the Macon County Public Library, 149 Siler Farm Rd, Franklin. According to the FRL website, public comment will be permitted. We think it's important to attend this meeting to support our neighbors in Macon and Swain counties in opposing this policy. Please consider speaking out about this policy proposal.

In other news, the Jackson County Commissioners finally appointed a board for the new Jackson County Library System at their meeting last night. You can watch the video of the meeting here.