The Christian County Library Board of Trustees Tuesday night opted not to take up a motion to consider adding an invocation to their meetings.
It was presented by Trustee John Garrity but the motion did not receive a second and was never put up for a vote.
The board also reviewed notes related to updating the library district’s policy and bylaws, including proposed edits to collections and material policies. Trustee Garrity presented the draft Tuesday. The document spoke in broad strokes about age-appropriate materials and referenced state and federal laws like the Children’s Internet Protection Act but was scant on details. Trustee Mary Hernandez de Carl referenced other libraries’ policies and expressed a desire for more refinement. For instance, Christian County’s current materials selection policy includes a subsection titled “How We Decide What to Buy,” that appeared to be absent from the draft.
Hernandez de Carl explained, “I just think for the sake of transparency, if we’re able to provide that framework of what criteria our library is utilizing to purchase materials, that that would be helpful to the public.”
Garrity said he agreed, adding that “a real collection policy says things like, ‘we’re going to have books on science, we’re going to have books on mathematics,’ and the real full blown collection policy would have all that,” but Garrity added, responsibility for those details will rest with incoming Executive Director Will Blydenburgh.
The board also discussed hypothetical policies related to library cards and the possibility of additional options for cards with limited or ala carte access to services and material types.
And they rejected a new Sunshine law policy that was a part of a potential settlement agreement proposed last week. Per court documents the settlement would seek to resolve an ongoing lawsuit over board members handling of a board officers’ election last summer. They expressed concerns over a passage in the proposed policy that would mandate the library district seek independent legal counsel in disputes over sunshine law violations. Trustees felt that was an unnecessary burden. It is unclear how Tuesday’s decision will impact the settlement and court case.