Meyer announces re-election campaign for Community Library Network

Community Library Network Trustee and Vice Chair Judy Meyer has announced her re-election campaign. Meyer said in a news release that she is running for re-election because she feels the Community Library Network is under attack and could find itself in a similar position to North Idaho College.

The Community Library Network is one of the region’s best success stories, the release said.

When Meyer joined the board, the library had one branch and one small bookmobile. Over the years, neighboring communities have been included in the district and today the network covers all of Kootenai County, except the city of Coeur d'Alene, and part of Shoshone County. There are seven branches circulating over a million items annually with about one-third of the items in the children’s sections in Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, Athol, Harrison and Pinehurst. The library network now has three bookmobiles, including a bus-size library on wheels, the STEM Discovery bus and a Sprinter van taking books to remote corners of the counties and to senior facilities with place-bound citizens.

"With Meyer’s consistent guidance on the board, all of this has been accomplished within the district’s budget by its staff of 100," the release said. "Meyer believes libraries are for everybody, so the district extends library privileges to anyone who has a library card."

In her announcement, Meyer said, “There are some in our community who would like to take over the Kootenai Country institutions and turn them into organizations that reflect their political, social or religious views. We are seeing this at NIC, where the college’s accreditation is currently in jeopardy. I am running for re-election so our libraries will continue to serve everyone. That means no political, social or religious agendas imposed on our patrons.”

Meyer said, “Across the country we are seeing some children and teenager books that are more graphic and inappropriate for these age groups. It is a phenomenon of our changing culture. Our CLN libraries have separate sections by age with parents in charge of deciding what materials their children and teens read.”

“It is our policy,” Meyer said, in the release, “to have a kid card and teen card so parents may restrict their minor children’s access to just those collections. The library has an extensive process for review requests. Any parent or any library user may request a book be reconsidered if they find them objectionable.”

Meyer said, “But, here is what is very interesting. A group of people in this county are parading objectionable children and teen books around, reading them to audiences of adults and insinuating that they are from our libraries. In some cases, the quoted book is not from our library. In our collection of over a quarter of a million items, in the last year we have received nine challenges or about .000035 of our books.”

“I believe keeping our libraries agenda-free and serving everyone in our communities is worth fighting for,” Meyer said, “and Regina and I intend to do just that.”

Regina McCrea is also a trustee with CLN who has announced her intentions to run for re-election in May.

“Our libraries contain books and programs that reflect the communities’ values,” Meyer continued. “We know this because we periodically survey library users to see if we are meeting their expectations. The overwhelming response to our queries over the years is, 'Yes, we love our libraries and the services they provide.'"

Meyer said the network's libraries are well-staffed and well-run.

"Our libraries are fiscally sound. Our libraries are busy, active and welcoming places. They are a true reflection of the communities we serve,” she said.

Meyer first began her library service when she was elected to the Hayden Library board of directors. A former elementary school teacher, Meyer and her husband, Steve, settled in the Coeur d’Alene area in 1968. They started Parkwood Business Properties in 1975, which has grown into a significant commercial real estate company investing in Coeur d’Alene. The Meyers have two adult sons and four grandsons.

"Meyer has extensive board governance experience to guide our vibrant library system," the release said.

In addition to serving as a CLN trustee, Meyer served previously on the Idaho State Board of Education and as president of the board in 1998. She was elected to the board of Blue Cross of Idaho and served for nine years. She has served several terms as a trustee for North Idaho College. Meyer was a founding director of Hospice of North Idaho and Idaho Business for Education, an organization where she is currently serving as vice chair for northern Idaho.

"The library district is a dynamic, moving, changing organization with many and complex objectives to serve everybody," the release said. "Judy Meyer brings extensive experience in managing large organizations with diverse members. She is eager to continue serving the patrons of the district."