LIBRARIES: Democracy shelved at CLN board meeting

At the June 24 special meeting of the Community Library Network board, trustees debated filling the vacancy left by Trustee Katie Blank — as if her depth of knowledge and commitment to the community could ever be replaced. With 100% of the board endorsed by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, they’ve forgotten that a quality board thrives on diverse perspectives. Instead, their purity tests ensure we’re stuck with carbon copies of their nationalist principles.

The trustees decided each board member will bring forward a nomination for the vacant position, but there was no discussion of soliciting nominations from the community. Additionally, there will be no public comment at any meeting prior to the nomination and appointment. This closed-door approach means only citizens known to the board get nominated, a clear case of nepotism that guarantees more nationalist clones.

Adding insult to injury, starting July 1, HB710 will permit private citizens to demand that libraries relocate materials they find inappropriate. If not moved to an adult section within 60 days, these citizens can file civil rights lawsuits and receive $250 per incident, with no cap on potential damages. Public libraries, already underfunded, would bear these costs, further depleting their budgets.

It’s ironic and troubling that a space meant to foster open-mindedness and the free exchange of ideas has become an echo chamber.

When our libraries are stripped of diversity and plagued with a theocratic purity test, future Idahoans will look back and wonder how our libraries turned into bastions of strict religious principles. The cause is simple: Nationalists have taken over a major party in the KCRCC, and they put their theocratic beliefs into action. It has never been more important for the Coeur d’Alene Press to cover the library board meetings. The public needs to know their right to read is being stolen.

DR. TERESA BORRENPOHL

Post Falls