It’s not COMMISSIONERS' role to have a political position.

According to Dave Henslee, "it’s not the government’s role to have a political position."

“It’s to provide the safety for people to have political positions,” Henslee. said, “But we can’t endorse, sponsor or have the perception that we do. And this just screams that we sponsor the opportunity for people to have that expression, and we shouldn’t.”

"Henslee said library programming is different from what’s in circulation. Because a patron is free to check out whatever book they’d like, but the programs put on by the library are focused on specific books. Henslee is committed to his viewpoint on keeping politics out of libraries."

"Minty, who acts as the liaison for the library, said one compromise the advisory board could consider is having volunteers moderate the discussions in book groups, instead of staff."

Community leaders from the county, library and Klamath County Circuit Court have made statements over the book club controversy. All of which are in favor of the library continuing to host the social justice book club. Judge Alycia Kersey has read the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Library Director Nathalie Johnston says shutting down the group amounts to censorship, and that the library isn’t endorsing the books, but promoting a free and open discussion. “The staff does not interject any personal views about the book,” she said. “They are just here to moderate the discussion.” Johnston said library staff are unsure how this will affect other programs they host.

“I think government has to be neutral, period,” Henslee said. “We take money from taxpayers that have all different types of backgrounds and religions and cultures, and then we try to create an environment that is politically neutral.”

Henslee said his main concern was the use of taxpayer funding to offer library services which presented political issues for discussion, a topic which Commissioner Derrick DeGroot said the county has “tried to stay away from in the past.”

Prior to meeting with commissioners, Johnston said she was instructed to remove the book club from library programming. Input from neither the library advisory board nor the general public was sought prior to the removal of the book club. Public outcry over potential censorship soon followed, leading to an emergency library advisory board meeting that took place today at the Klamath Falls Library.