GCPLD Report: Library board meeting draws a crowd

The June 1 Garfield County Public Libraries District (GCPLD) board meeting in Carbondale attracted more than two dozen members of the public and several had comments. Library board meetings are at 2pm on the first Thursday of each month, rotating around the various library branches from Parachute to Carbondale.

Why did so many folks turn out at this meeting? Well, you must backtrack to at least two board meetings earlier this year, where members of the public objected to content, placement and other concerns over library materials, many related to LGBTQ issues.

At the May board meeting, one member of the public said she was concerned that a member of one branch's staff "appears to be transgender." At the same meeting, another speaker told the board the libraries have "inappropriate" and sexual content that is "sexualizing" children.

At the Carbondale meeting, GCPLD Executive Director Jamie LaRue said that transgender people are "part of the community" and they are "human beings" deserving of "dignity and respect." His comments drew enthusiastic claps from the audience, the first of several rounds of applause for speaker remarks.

Ten of 11 people who addressed the board gave support for what some consider objectionable materials, and also support the Carbondale Library staff for making those materials available.

New Castle resident Janean Nutter started the meeting's public comment portion by telling the board that 40 years ago she was new to a town and her boyfriend confided that he was gay. She said she felt alone, so went to a library and "set out" to educate herself and learn "the real truth." Those books "were an enormous comfort to me," she said, and people today need the same access to such books as she had 40 years ago. She concluded by saying there's no excuse for banning books, "none."

Neal Pollock was the voice of dissent for the day. He started his remarks by saying his pronouns are "citizen, veteran, boater and taxpayer." Among his wide-ranging comments, which were crammed into the three-minute public comment part of the meeting, he said there are two genders: ovulators and inseminators. After the meeting, he told The Sopris Sun he objects to such books as "How to be a Girl," which is part of June's Pride Month display at the Carbondale Library.

Carbondale resident Debbie Bruell was up next. Reading from a prepared text, she said she supports a "robust collection" in the library and "it's important" for teens to see themselves represented in books, that libraries are more important than ever but they are under attack, which brought more applause.

Illène Pevec, also of Carbondale, complimented the Carbondale branch staff, saying she feels lucky for the service they provide, and the "great job" they did during COVID.

Bryan Alvarez-Terrazas greeted the board with "Happy Pride Month ya’ll" (received with claps). They called the push to ban certain books "homophobic" and said, "we’re not going to disappear" (more claps).

Carbondale resident Luis Yllanes concluded public comments about LGBTQ books by referring to "creeping fascism" and said, "I’m glad we have the strength not to allow that."

During her monthly report to the board, Carbondale Branch Library Manager Tracy Kallassy wrote that Lauren Harutun is the library's new youth services director. Harutun has "breathed new life" into "Storytime," she said, with a visit from firefighters and special "Dia del Niño" celebration. She is fluent in Spanish and "has used her skills to connect with many of our Spanish-speaking patrons."

Additionally, Rae Quiroz has been promoted to full-time library specialist. She is also fluent in Spanish.

"Our team is full of smart, creative, and talented people, and they are working hard every day to serve our patrons and make our library and our community a better place," Kallassy's report concluded.

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