Garfield County commissioners and members of the public library district board of trustees met Thursday to interview more than two dozen applicants for open trustee positions in New Castle, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs.

Current trustees Michelle Foster, John Mallonee and Myrna Fletchall joined commissioners Mike Samson and Tom Jankovsky in the interview process, which took more than five hours.

Trustees Susan Use and Jocelyn Durrance are seeking reappointment and were interviewed. Adrian Rippy-Sheehy, president of the board of trustees, and Commissioner John Martin were not present for the interviews.

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Newly appointed or reappointed trustees will be announced during the Garfield Board of County Commissioners meeting at 8 a.m. Dec. 16 at the County Administration building, 108 8th St., Room 100. The announcement will come a week later than the originally expected date, Dec. 9. 

The county received 27 applications for the three open positions. Applicants Carole O’Brien, Heather Exby, Ginger Currie, Brit McLin, former Garfield District RE-2 School Board member Tony May, Carole Boschert, Dawn Dexter, Masandra Gray, Jess Hedden, and Emily Sampley interviewed for the New Castle position. Katrina McAlpine applied but did not attend the interview. 

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For the Glenwood Springs seat, Trustee Susan Use, Jacqui Edelmann, former Glenwood Springs City Council member Tony Hershey, Beth Lambe, Mallory Kaufman and Maureen Biermann interviewed. Danielle Ingram, Rebecca Percy and Tony O’Rourke applied but did not attend the interview. 

Trustee Jocelyn Durrance, Susan Cole-Tribble, Kathy Small, Stephanie Pierucci Hirsch, Carolyn Howard and Niki Delson interviewed for the Carbondale position. Keelan Bozman withdrew his application before the interview. 

Each trustee and Commissioner Samson asked interviewees a question regarding their ability to work with differing opinions, present a united front as a board, their views on the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, Senate Bill 24-216 and the future of the library district. 

Commissioner Jankovsky asked all candidates a key question: “The library district’s bylaws require the library to protect children from material on the internet that is harmful to their beneficial development,” Jankovsky said. “Do you believe there should be the same reasonable policies for children’s access to books that are designated to mature audiences?” The commissioner’s question reflected the ongoing community debate about restricting access to adult materials in libraries, which began in fall 2023. 

Most interviewees agreed that policies restricting children’s access to adult content within libraries is needed, although opinions on how it should be done varied. 

For the New Castle seat, Exby and Currie emphasized that policies should protect children without limiting access to knowledge, while McLin expressed his surprise that age-restricted access to adult materials isn’t already in place. May agreed with the need for such policies but stressed that it should not involve censorship. 

Boschert supported the idea but noted a distinction between books and the internet. Dexter stated that libraries should have a policy outlining where certain materials are stored, while Gray and Hedden argued that books and the internet are not directly comparable. Sampley agreed with Jankovsky but did not expand on her statement. 

Glenwood Springs Trustee Use acknowledged the importance of the issue but emphasized her obligation to follow laws that govern access to library resources. Candidate Edelmann supported the idea of physical barriers to separate children from adult content. Hershey agreed that libraries should restrict children’s access to certain books, stating that many parents rely on libraries to ensure their children’s safety.

Lambe believes the libraries’ current approach is effective, while Kaufman recognized the difference between internet content and books, asserting that it is up to parents to decide what their children should read. Biermann stated that there is no place for “pornography” in libraries.

For Carbondale, Trustee Durrance stated that each library’s collection is carefully curated and not comparable to the internet. Cole-Tribble agreed with Jankovsky, echoing Hershey’s views that libraries play a caretaker role.

Small suggested exploring the option of children’s library cards, while Pierucci Hirsch proposed placing adult content on high shelves, but emphasized that it is a parent’s responsibility to instill morals in their children. Howard expressed confidence in the libraries’ current system, and Delson agreed that policies should be in place but echoed Howard’s view that the system is working well.

As the interview process concluded, Trustee Mallonee expressed gratitude to the candidates, many of whom waited several hours to speak “We appreciate all of the time that the community members put in and all the energy that’s out there,” Mallonee. “There are only three appointments, but with the people who are here, I hope we can channel some of that energy in a positive way to support the library from everybody who participated.”

A full recording of the interview process will be available on the Garfield County website under the board of county commissioners’ past meetings.