The Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees is again struggling to implement changes as it trudges forward without legal representation. 

At the Nov. 12 meeting, held in Jackson County, Cynthia Womble, who in September resigned her position as board chair but remains on the board, again expressed concern that Rady Large, an attorney who worked with the board on a pro bono basis, took a new job and couldn’t continue that service.

To the Editor:

The decision facing Jackson County’s leaders is more than an administrative matter. It is a test of values. Will our commissioners uphold the long tradition of education, cooperation and integrity that has defined our community, or will they yield to a small, insistent minority determined to restrict access to educational information under the false banner of protecting children? 

The Fontana Regional Library Board chair and vice chair have both resigned from their leadership positions ahead of the regularly scheduled Sept. 9 meeting.

In the first of what will be many additional expenditures of taxpayer funds related to the withdrawal from the Fontana Regional Library system, Jackson County commissioners have formally engaged a library consulting firm to help them understand what it takes to run an independent public library and to facilitate the transition if necessary. 

I first read “Fahrenheit 451” around 1953 when we were dealing with the McCarthy era. This country was in the grips of a politician who preached a dangerous message. He said that America was being invaded by communism and he urged everyone to assist him in seeking out and removing anyone who had joined this dangerous movement.

To the Editor:

I just read the opinion by Regan Fleming. This individual is part of a group of people who are working to dismantle the Fontana Regional Library. 

Let's be clear. No one is “attacking” libraries because we all support the basic function of a true library which Webster's Dictionary defines as “a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (such as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale.” To spread disinformation that people are “attacking” the library we love is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I think some people are just mad that the light has been shined under the bed at the problems.  

To the Editor:

Have you noticed how quietly our basic freedoms can disappear? Right now in Jackson County, a small group of commissioners is on the verge of dismantling our entire library system — not because it’s failing us, but because it’s succeeding at something they fear: exposing people to ideas beyond a single worldview. 

Anyone who thought that two years, dozens of meetings, thousands of dollars and hours of public comment to reach a new interlocal agreement between Jackson, Macon and Swain counties for the Fontana Regional Library would spell the end of the controversy over local libraries thought wrong. 

The Jackson County Commission invited Library Director Tracy Fitzmaurice to come before the board and give a report on the state of libraries in the county after concerns were raised over library security last month.