New Jackson library director avoids book policy controversy
Grace Powell steps into leadership of Jackson County’s soon-to-be standalone library system as debate over LGBTQ-themed books and challenge policies continues.
File photo
When Grace Powell walks into the Jackson County Public Library on June 1 as its new full-time director, she will inherit more than a building full of books — she will inherit a community still divided.
Powell, a lifelong Sylva resident, earned her elementary education degree at Western Carolina University, taught third grade at Scotts Creek elementary school for a year and a half before earning a master’s degree in library science from East Carolina University.
Subsequently, she moved into the role of school librarian, where she’s been for seven years.
Last week, Jackson County commissioners announced that Powell would become the first director of what will soon become a standalone Jackson County library, following the county’s decision to withdraw from the Fontana Regional Library system last June.
That controversy has centered on a handful of LGBTQ-themed titles in the young adult section and the process by which books may be challenged or removed. Critics have argued that certain materials are inappropriate for minors. Supporters of the existing system have cited the First Amendment, defended intellectual freedom and accused commissioners of politicizing library operations.
Now, as Jackson County prepares to operate its own library for the first time — at an estimated cost to taxpayers far above current FRL operations — Powell finds herself stepping into a role few would have described as controversial just a few years ago. But right off the bat, Powell dodged questions about the controversy, backtracked on her specific experience with book challenges and attempted to downplay concerns about bias.
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“My main focus is just to come in and help lead a library that’s for all of Jackson County,” Powell said, refusing to comment on if she’d followed the controversy, the protracted debate surrounding it or the ongoing aftermath of commissioners’ withdrawal vote.
She did acknowledge that her transition from a public school setting to a countywide library system will be a significant one — both personally and professionally.
“I am moving from working with a small population of kids to working with everyone,” she said. “I’m very excited to get to work with all the adult patrons, and then work with the employees.”
Powell added that she’s already talking with county officials about the library’s transition plan, expected to be completed when the separation from the FRL system becomes official June 1, and that she wants it to be as smooth as possible. The county must now establish its own policies, administrative structure and budget ahead of the July 1 fiscal year.
“I’ve been working with the county this week after the announcement, just getting my feet wet, because I want to know what the truth is, and not just from what I’ve heard,” she said.
Powell will officially begin working part-time in March before moving into the role full-time and is planning to get in on the budgeting process that commissioners must complete before July 1.
Among the most contentious issues she will face is the formal book challenge process. Under Fontana’s existing policy, challenged materials are first reviewed by the local librarian before advancing through a committee structure if necessary. As director of a standalone system, Powell will likely be at the front end of that process as well.
“I will follow what the policies are,” she said. “I do not know what that policy is yet.”
Asked about her experience handling formal book challenges, Powell said she had encountered them in the school setting but reiterated that her main focus remains on the transition period. Asked again about her specific experience with book challenges, she said she’d “done it multiple times,” but later admitted that since nobody “followed through” with filing formal challenges, the issues she actually dealt with were merely informal complaints and not formal challenges.
“My main focus for this interview is to talk about what I’m excited to set up, not to focus on the book challenges,” Powell told The Smoky Mountain News Feb. 20.
Swain County has two libraries that fall under the FRL umbrella, including the Marianna Black Library. File photo
As debate over LGBTQ-themed books has intensified locally, similar battles have played out statewide and nationally. In Tennessee, lawmakers recently advanced legislation that would effectively prohibit recognition of same-sex marriages in that state, reigniting national debate over rights that were recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 and potentially setting up a Supreme Court challenge to Obergfell v. Hodges, the ruling that legalized same sex marriages.
Against that backdrop, Powell was also asked about her personal connections.
A 2014 article in the Sylva Herald reported that Powell’s father-in-law, Rev. Jeff Powell of Tuckasegee Wesleyan Church, resigned his position as a magistrate rather than perform same-sex marriages after Obergfell. Powell declined to discuss her father-in-law or her church affiliation, but videos of Powell as recent as 2022 show her an active member of the church.
“This has nothing to do with my job. So if this is where we’re going, I’m not going to answer questions,” she said.
According to the Herald story, written by Quintin Ellison, the church’s website included a statement on the treatment of the LGBTQ community.
“We also do not, cannot, and will not endorse condemning, hate-filled, self-righteous attitudes toward those in the gay community,” the story reads.
Asked if she endorsed that statement, Powell refused to answer directly.
“My personal beliefs are not going to affect my job. I want to focus on leading a library that’s for all of Jackson County, no matter their belief,” she said. “I’m not going to bring in my beliefs at all into the library. I want it to be for the whole public good.”
Commissioner Todd Bryson abstained from the vote to hire Powell without explanation. Powell’s husband Brady — Jeff Powell’s son — works for Bryson’s Appalachian Funeral Services.
For supporters of the county’s withdrawal from Fontana, Powell’s purported focus on policy and neutrality may offer reassurance that the new system will respond more directly to community concerns. For critics concerned with religious influence over collection decisions, her reluctance to address personal affiliations leaves only unanswered questions.
There are, however, some signs of Powell’s neutrality that could be encouraging — amid a debate that’s largely fractured along political lines, Powell is registered as an unaffiliated voter and has pulled just as many Republican ballots as Democrat ballots during Primary Elections, dating back to 2016.
Similarly, Powell responded positively when asked if she was familiar with the American Library Association’s code of ethics, a nine-point plan that commits librarians to providing equitable, unbiased service, protecting user privacy, respecting intellectual property, treating colleagues fairly, avoiding conflicts of interest, separating personal beliefs from professional duties and maintaining high professional standards.
The code also mandates resistance to “all efforts to censor library resources” and calls upon all librarians to “affirm the inherent dignity and rights of every person … to recognize and dismantle systemic and individual biases, to confront inequity and oppression, to enhance diversity and inclusion and to advance racial and social justice in our libraries, communities, profession, and associations through awareness, advocacy, education, collaboration, services, and allocation of resources and spaces.”
“I would take it as if the county has hired me, they trust that I’m going to follow those ethics, because I’m going to,” Powell said.
Whether that framework calms the controversy or deepens it remains to be seen.
For now, the Jackson County’s first standalone library director is signaling that her approach will be procedural, not personal — even as the personal questions continue to surface.
“I’m just really excited that right now I’m getting to serve Scotts Creek School,” she said. “It’s a very small proportion of our population of Jackson County, and I’m going to get to serve thousands of people in Jackson County, no matter who they are, and get to make it a library that everyone wants to come to.”
