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Residents urge transparency after Columbia County leaves regional library system; board asked to appoint local advisory members
Summary
Multiple speakers at the Sept. 5 meeting criticized the county’s withdrawal from the Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System, raised staffing and programming losses, and asked commissioners to appoint a Columbia County Regional Library Board for the transition period.
Several residents used the public-comment period at the Sept. 5 Board of Commissioners meeting to criticize the county’s decision to withdraw from the Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System and to request more transparency during the transition.
Karen Parham told commissioners the state librarian had recommended forming a Columbia County Regional Library Board to establish policies during the transition so that policies would be set by Jan. 1, 2026. Parham said the county instead dissolved the existing county-level advisory board and “created a shell of a regional board with no members,” leaving citizens without public meetings for six months. She said library staff have stopped normal email communications because of concerns about open-records requests and that staff turnover and reduced programming have followed the change.
Parham and other commenters also criticized newly adopted local library guidelines from Sept. 3, 2024, which they said moved certain materials into adult sections and have been applied unevenly. Commenters said teen programming at the Evans branch has been reduced and that staff departures have hampered operations. “Government done in the dark is government we cannot trust,” Parham said, urging commissioners to appoint members to the Columbia County Regional Library Board and to hold public meetings during the transition.
Why this matters: Public libraries are publicly funded institutions that rely on trust, open meetings and predictable governance structures. Residents warned that reduced programming and staff departures could harm community services and local economic spillovers such as library visitors from neighboring counties.
What’s next: Residents explicitly asked the commission to appoint members to the Columbia County Regional Library Board and to place policy discussions on the public record during the transition. The commission did not record an immediate appointment during the Sept. 5 meeting.
