Supervisors vs. Samuels Library

Dear Members of the Samuel Public Library Board of Trustees, Employees and Volunteers:

The strength and resolve you demonstrated during last year’s funding challenge from the Warren County Board of Supervisors was worthy of admiration and respect from everyone who cares about our library. Thank you for standing up, standing strong and showing us how heroes conduct themselves. We could not have had a better leader than Melody Hotek and I applaud her.

You listened to the WC Board of Supervisors and took steps to alleviate their stated worries. You were respectful and generous in your approach. After months of effort, you and the County Supervisors agreed upon a new Memorandum of Understanding in October of 2023 that will be in effect until June 30, 2025. A collective sigh of relief could be heard throughout the county.

But a month after the memorandum was signed, an election happened in the county and two new supervisors won seats on the county board of supervisors. Those two were Mr. Jamieson and Mr. Stanmeyer and their mission was to force Samuels Public Library to conform to their personal ultra-Christian conservative standards for the collection. Elections matter.

Now Jamieson and Stanmeyer have joined forces with Cook in a blatant bullying campaign against Samuels Library Board of Trustees.

The decision to stop maintaining one of the county’s own buildings (because it houses books they disapprove of?); and the current allegations about poor fiscal management by Samuels board as the reason for the County to take control of it are irresponsible and ridiculous. How is neglecting previously authorized maintenance of a county-owned building good fiscal management? Furthermore, Samuels Library has been incorporated since 1799. It seems to me that Jamieson should be asking Samuels how they’ve lasted so long rather than telling them what they need to do differently.

The Fork District citizens who stand with you will vote again and do their best to elect a good supervisor to take Cook’s seat in 2025.

In the meantime, I urge you to stay stalwart in your resolve to serve “all the citizens of Warren County” while “protecting the rights of all citizens”. It will be difficult in the face of the bullying and threats to defund. But the principles you uphold are the very soul of the library. If those principles are abandoned for the promise of an allotment of funds from a government that can change with every election, the cycle will only repeat itself with the next set of demands from the next set of officials who get voted into office. Acquiescing won’t end the cycle and is not worth losing the library’s soul.

Members of the current County BOS are on a crusade. Crusades are kind of their thing. Fairness and equality don’t get in their way. They are unstoppable until you stop them.

The county’s financial support is critical to the operation of Samuels Public Library as we know it today. But if it disappeared, Samuels Public Library could survive. It would be a nightmare for a very long time, and a lot of people would suffer. Two hundred twenty-five years of the library’s progress would be severely set back, and the community would feel repercussions in countless ways. It would be a steep price to pay in order to stop the crusade against the LBGQT members of our community today and protect against any future crusades against other neighbors who may be or may become marginalized. I hope it doesn’t come to that point, but, in my opinion, it would be better to go to the ground than to throw one group of citizens under the bus.

There is a deep well of support for Samuels Public Library throughout Warren County and beyond. The group Save Samuels has been an amazing advocacy organization. Their members are some of the best and brightest people in our community. They were the ones who spoke so eloquently and effectively on behalf of SPL at the WCBOS meetings last year. I believe they are ready to do it again. The whole library-loving community will support you in any way we can. Please let us know what support you need.

Kelli Hart
Warren County

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