The Randolph County Board of Commissioners is holding a public hearing Monday night to determine the fate of the local library’s board of trustees.
The meeting comes two months after trustees voted to keep a picture book about a transgender boy, "Call Me Max," in the children's section of the library.
The decision has put a spotlight on the board of trustees and ignited a fire among Randolph residents.
Several community members came out to the commission’s December meeting to speak on the issue. Most voiced support for the library board and transgender kids in Randolph County.
“Think about what we're saying to those children when we say that we're going to fire the people that allowed your book to stay in our library," said Clyde Foust Jr.
But Commissioner Lester Rivenbark argued that the issue wasn’t about whether the book could stay in the library, but where it should be kept.
“All that was asked is for it to be an appropriate area, not to elementary school children," Rivenbark said.
Library Board of Trustees Member Tami Hinshaw doesn’t see it that way.
“Well, restricting books, to me, is censorship," she said.
She’s been on the board for 14 years and could be removed from her position after voting to keep the book on the shelves. But that’s not what she’s worried about.
“I feel angered that people want to censor books, that it doesn't even bother me if they think I don't belong on the board," Hinshaw said.
She’s more concerned about what all of this could mean for the future of the library, seeing as the commissioners control its local funding.
“I think they have a job to do, but I don't support them doing something for their own political power," she said.
Those wishing to speak at the public hearing are required to sign up between 5 and 6 p.m.
Names will be randomly drawn from a bowl, and each speaker will be given three minutes to make their comments for a total period of two hours.
After that, commissioners will “take action as they see fit.”
