Borough libraries remain active hubs; advisory committee recommends early sunset amid contested book review process
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Summary
Community development director Jillian Morrissey told the Assembly the borough has five libraries that serve as community hubs and that the Library Citizen Advisory Committee (LCAC) recommended sunsetting early and moving reconsideration reviews to the Library Board. Public comment at the meeting included divergent accusations about book removals and calls for and against censorship.
Jillian Morrissey, community development director, briefed the Assembly on Jan. 6 about the borough’s five libraries and recent procedural changes around materials reconsideration.
Morrissey said borough libraries (Big Lake, Sutton, Talkeetna, Trapper Creek and Willow) act as community resource hubs that offer meeting rooms, Wi‑Fi, programming for all ages and interlibrary loan via the Alaska Joint Library Network. She recounted LCAC and library‑board milestones in 2024–25: the Assembly created a Library Citizen Advisory Committee; the LCAC held advisory votes and later recommended that the LCAC be sunset early and that responsibility for reconsideration reviews move to the Library Board. Morrissey noted the LCAC chose not to review adult‑collection materials beginning in August and that the library board now conducts prescreening of library purchase materials. A public dashboard for materials-for-reconsideration remains available online.
The presentation included operational details: the borough’s five libraries recorded over 100,000 visits in 2025; LCAC reviewed eight titles and issued eight advisory recommendations; the Library Board has reviewed more than 2,000 titles and flagged five for further review. Morrissey described a new opt‑in email notification for parents about minors’ checkouts; two families have signed up so far.
Public comment during the meeting showed clear division. Jackie GoForth said a Friends‑of‑the‑Library leader had asserted librarians removed 10 books before LCAC review and called that an admission that obscene books were present; she said she filed a FOIA request for the list of those 10 titles. Other speakers, including Kathy Kaiser, framed recent library reviews as censorship and urged returning ordering authority to trained librarians. The Big Lake Chamber’s leader urged reconsideration of recent actions that limit alcohol rentals at the Big Lake facility because of their economic effects; separate commenters worried about access and parent concerns.
Morrissey and staff told the Assembly the upcoming website refresh will clarify the separate roles of borough advisory boards and independent “Friends of the Library” nonprofits, and staff offered to return with requested budget and collection‑spending details.
No Assembly action to change library policy was taken at the meeting; Morrissey said the LCAC’s resolution recommending sunset was included in the packet and will proceed through usual processes.