Jan 30, 2018 2 min read

In the past several years, I attended a number of meetings of the Citizens Library Board of Directors, sometimes with my daughter or my husband. We expressed our concerns about the lack of transparency. We saw requests for information from members of the board and community members  ignored or met with resentment by library personnel and board officers.

Recently, I was appointed to serve as board representative for Canton Township. In conversations with our past two library board representatives, I believe there is good reason for concern.

Our past representative, who resigned for health reasons, did not understand that she was voting for our township to pay over $16,000 each year, while a wealthier community, such as East Washington, would pay only $5,000 for a board seat, and the appointee of the courts would pay $0 for a voting seat. She, along with a couple of other board members, thought they were voting for changes to the bylaws draft discussed at the September meeting presented in a new, revised document to be unveiled at the next meeting. These board members told the board at following meetings that they did not believe they were voting for final revisions, because the revisions that were discussed were never presented in final form to the board prior to a vote.

For a growing number of residents, concern about the lack of openness and truthfulness at the library continues. In today’s world, we cannot afford to have our library’s management be a closed book.

Donna Sheppard

Canton Township