The Jackson County Board of Commissioners is holding a special joint meeting with the Fontana Regional Library (FRL) Board to discuss library operations as local leaders have floated the idea of breaking away from the library system.
The Fontana Regional Library System is made up of three counties.
Discussions about the library system – which includes six libraries in Macon, Jackson and Swain counties – have been fierce since 2022. Macon County ultimately decided to stay in the system in 2023 and elected leaders signed a new regional agreement among all three counties in November.
At the beginning of May, Jackson County Commissioners discussed leaving the Fontana Regional Library System, citing issues with “left-leaning content” as well as what they call general mismanagement. Commissioners addressed the topic at their May 20 meeting. The crowd was so large that the meeting had to be moved to a larger room, explained Sylva Herald Editor David Russell who has been following the story.
“It was kind of overwhelming in the support of the pro-library people,” Russell said.
The next meeting, in June, was moved to Southwestern Community College to be able to accommodate the expected crowd size. The crowd was a mixture of yellow shirts in support of the library and “J-EXIT” signs calling for Jackson County to exit the library. Russell says there ultimately were more supporters of the county not leaving the regional library structure.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by State Troopers and others, provided security and large backpacks were not allowed in the building.
Still, Russell said, “It wasn’t as tense as you would think. It was more of the same public comments…perhaps a little booing here and there. ”
Deputies and police, Russell said, encountered no violence but were on hand because of “Antifa” protest rumors.
The root of issues with the library stems from progressive-leaning works and alleged “pornographic” materials at the library, Russell said. He wrote a column searching for pornography at the library in May.
“I found nothing in the children’s section - not even cleavage,” Russell said. “I went up the young adult section, where the books are geared to 12 to 18-year-olds, and there's some things up there that I didn’t find objectionable, but I could see how other members of the community would.”
The FRL has a collection policy that allows community members to submit a request that a book be removed from circulation or moved to another section of the library. FRL confirmed to BPR that one book – out of thousands available for library checkout – has been requested for review in Jackson County since 2023.
The library also has a “Safe Child” policy, most recently updated in November 2023, that requires children under 12 to be supervised in the library.
On May 1, Fontana Regional Library introduced a new limited library card for children under 15 years old. Parents can opt for the card so that children will only be allowed to check out items from the children’s section.
At the County Commissioners June 3 meeting, County Manager Kevin King shared that if the county leaves the FRL system the county will need to pay at least an additional $500,000 to run the library plus additional costs for the transition.
“Commissioners have been made aware of how much information and services [Jackson County] might lose if we leave the FRL,” Russell said.
The 2024 FRL regional agreement explains that if a local government removes itself from the system, shared library resources will stay with the library system. If a building or other property is owned solely by the county, it will remain with the county.
The agreement is tied to the fiscal year, with the annual deadline to withdraw being June 30.
Elected leaders in Sylva have not formally weighed in on the issue, despite the fact that the Jackson County library branch sits on Main Street.
A proposed resolution to express support for the Fontana Regional Library system by the Sylva Town Council was killed during the meeting on June 12, the Smoky Mountain News reported.
Russell says it’s unclear what will happen at the upcoming Thursday meeting between the regional library system’s board and Jackson County officials.
“I think now they are looking into a compromise…,” Russell said. “They will talk to them about some changes in leadership and restricting certain displays in the library. I think if a compromise along those lines can be met, I think the Jackson County Public Library might stay in the FRL.”
The Jackson County Commissioners and FRL Board Special Joint meeting will be held at the Jackson County Justice and Administration Building in Courtroom 1 at 5:30 P.M. on June 19.
