News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Charles Peters draws in his notebook while sitting next to the Christmas tree at the Alpena County Library on Friday. The library board could get a pair of new members if the Alpena County Board of Commissioners confirms two appointment recommendations from the personnel committee.

ALPENA — The Alpena County Personnel Committee has recommended two new appointments to the Alpena County Library Board after recently interviewing candidates.

The recommended appointments have raised concern from current library board members because if approved, it could lead to children and teen books that some people have deemed as controversial being moved.

The committee recommended to the full board of commissioners that Julie Byrnes replace Lauren Mantlo for a term that will expire in 2029 and Traci Collins finish up the term of Michelle Cornish who resigned from the board, a term that goes to the end of 2027.

Library Board President Joe Garber said he was surprised that Mantlo wasn’t reappointed. She is the library director at the Alpena Community College and has a wealth of knowledge on library operations, business, and laws that govern them. At a commissioner meeting earlier this year, Mantlo was adamantly against the idea of the children’s books being relocated in the library and told the commissioners they were putting the county at risk of litigation if the books were moved or banned.

Garber said recommended members Collins and Byrnes have made public comments at library board meetings in the past and he is concerned they may be motivated to have the children’s books being moved. He said he would work with the new appointments if they showed they could work with others for the betterment of the library.

“I’m puzzled as to why she (Mantlo) wasn’t reappointed based on her experience with libraries, including the college’s and the library board,” Garber said. “I don’t know what the new appointments agendas are but based on comments they both made previously, I think they’ll be focused on moving the books and less on the overall library. I’ll work with them if they are willing to listen and work as a group and not for their contingency.”

Collins believes she is someone who would be beneficial for the community and could step into the position understanding what the board has been walking through over the past two years. She said she has attended library meetings and understands its issues and challenges, but also has concerns about the children’s books. She said she understands why the commissioners haven’t pushed the matter of moving the books with more vigor.

“I would not have wanted these resources made available to my children when they were younger,” she said. “Now that my children are older, the books are still not ones I would choose for them to read or that they would choose for themselves. I understand the board’s reasoning for voting to not move these books based on their legal guidance.”

Byrnes said she wanted to wait until the commissioners made her appointment official before making a comment.

Committee chairperson Brenda Fournier said there was a lot of interest in the library board positions. She said the committee interviewed 11 candidates and of them, she believes, Byrnes and Collins stood above the rest. Fournier added that she suspects the controversy surrounding the library and its board over children and teen books that some felt were sexually graphic amped up interest in serving.

“That is a huge number of people to be interested in an appointment,” she said. “I think that everything that has been happening with the library helped drive up interest, but the two appointments seemed knowledgeable, sincere and I think they will do a good job.”

After becoming involved in the drama over the children’s books and the library board’s unwillingness to move them, concerned residents approached the county and asked for it to become involved. After reviewing some of the books, many commissioners wanted to see the books moved but not banned. They thought moving them to a different section of the library or placing them behind a counter where only adults can check them out for minors was appropriate. When a majority of the library board and former Interim Library Director Jessica Luther balked at the idea, some of the commissioners threatened to replace everyone on the board.

Later, the commissioners eased its position and said each appointment would be considered through attrition as terms expire, with Byrnes and Collins being the first dominoes to fall.

The commissioners have said in the past that they want a diverse library board that is made up of people with different beliefs and ideas. Garber said he believes Collins and Byres are too similar and their addition will make the library board uneven and possibly one-sided.

Commissioner Bill Peterson, who is on the personnel committee and was involved in the interview process, said both women have a good grasp of library operations and services. He said one was a volunteer at the facility for years, and the other home-schools her children and depends on it often to help with their education.

Peterson said there was no lengthy discussion about the children’s books and relocating them with the candidates, but he acknowledged that some of the applicants did broach the subject.

“Let me start out by saying all of them believe the library is great and want to see it prosper and grow,” Peterson said. “Some expressed their opinions on the books and said they opposed censorship, but others were in favor of having the books moved. Overall, it wasn’t discussed much.”

The commissioners could vote to approve the appointments at Tuesday’s Alpena County Finance, Ways, and Means Committee meeting. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Howard Male Conference Room in the county annex building.

This meeting is open to the public and public comment is welcome.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.