Tuesday Evening, hundreds of concerned Yancey County Citizens gathered at a special called joint meeting between the Yancey County Board of Commissioners and the Yancey County Public Library Board.
During the June 12 commission meeting, Commissioner Chairman Jeff Whitson made a motion to give the county manager the authority to begin the process of taking over the library system and turning it into a total county-run library. The motion was tabled and sparked a heated debate as many residents believed the motion was in response to the library’s Pride display in June.
Hundreds of residents filled Monday’s county commission meeting, at the courthouse, and a lot of that crowd returned for Tuesday’s special called meeting in the smaller space of the Library.
Near the beginning of the meeting Commissioner Whitson said, after research, the County would not be splitting from the Regional Library.
(Whitson)
Avery-Mitchell-Yancey Regional Library Director, Amber Briggs, explained to commissioners how being a part of the regional system is vital for their library to receive the funding that it does. She said books, technology, summer reading programs and much more do not come out of the Yancey County library budget, but from the state.
She also said the displays put up in the library are resources and the staff does not discriminate when it comes to the resources.
The commissioners and the library board both agreed that better communication is needed between the two boards and recommended having a commissioner on the library board.
Library Directory Amber Briggs said she was happy with the results of the meeting and the whole process.
(Briggs)
