To the Editor:

I am a former employee of Tracy Fitzmaurice and I’m writing in support of her work as director of the Fontana Regional Library and Librarian of Jackson County Public Library.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve worked in three libraries and I’ve never worked for a director who has given as much of themselves to their community as Tracy has. She always welcomes the chance to speak with patrons out in the community or in the building, whether she is “on the clock” or not. The library, its patrons, and how to best serve them are always at the front of her mind. It’s what she loves and the community is immeasurably lucky to have her dedication and expertise.

Every time a patron has a comment, question, or complaint regarding the library, Tracy without fail meets them in good faith. She seeks to hear and understand where the patron is coming from while keeping the FRL in line with First Amendment laws. I’m deeply impressed and in awe with how Tracy is able to show up, day after day, with grace and integrity despite callous and libelous attacks against her character. Despite the personal attacks and bad faith complaints, Tracy always engages with professionalism that is exemplary and inspiring. I’ve learned so much from Tracy and because of her, I’m a more patient and conscientious librarian.

In addition to her care for all community members, I truly believe that Tracy knows more than the majority of library directors and librarians about the laws and statutes that govern libraries at state and federal levels. To dismiss her would almost certainly open up the region to costly litigation at the expense of taxpayers, which is no doubt a concern for the FRL board and the commissioners of Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.

Aside from protecting the library from costly lawsuits, Tracy takes her fiduciary responsibility to the community seriously. Under Tracy’s leadership, FRL spends about 82% of its revenue on program-related costs, which The Smoky Mountain News notes is “a common metric in the nonprofit world that places FRL among elite company in terms of financial management and efficiency.” And she consistently put her employees ahead of herself in terms of wage increas-es; in my time at FRL, Tracy always gave herself the lowest percentage increase compared to the rest of staff.

Tracy has worked for FRL for over 30 years. The complexities of efficiently running a regional library system here takes a depth of expertise that will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace. Further, Tracy has lived most of her life in Jackson County and raised her sons here; I’ve seen how she loves this community with her whole heart. The board will be hard-pressed to find an-yone with as much library expertise and devotion to this community as Tracy.

Allyson Coan
JCPL Supervisor of Adult Services,
2021-2024