Background checks could soon be coming to Macon County Public Library employees for the first time.
On Tuesday, Oct. 3, the Macon County Public Library’s Board of Trustees agreed that mandating background checks is a good idea following a suggestion from Leah Gaston.
Gaston asked Fontana Regional Library Director Tracy Fitzmaurice, who took part in the meeting by Zoom, if FRL did background checks. Fitzmaurice said no, adding they require applicants to disclose any criminal convictions of a non-traffic-ticket crime on their applications. When asked by Gaston how they’ll know someone is telling the truth, Fitzmaurice said the FRL can look at the sex offender registry, but otherwise, there is no way of knowing.
“I view that as a liability that FRL employees that work with children don’t have a background check,” Gaston said. Fellow board member Diann Catlin felt like not having background checks was “dangerous.”
Board member Justin Bohner suggested using a third party to conduct background checks. Overall, board members Wood Lovell and board chair Bill Dyar said it was a good idea, although it would require a budget component. Board members noted that Pre-K centers and churches conduct background checks for prospective employees.
“I will say in all of our years, we’ve never had that issue,” Fitzmaurice said of the potential criminal issues with employees, adding that she will ask leaders in Raleigh, where she was at for a conference, about it.
Catlin asked if this would apply to current employees, and the consensus was that it would.
The next step is to research the potential costs of instilling background checks.
The Macon County Public Library, Hudson Library and Nantahala Community Library are part of the nonprofit Fontana Regional Library, maintained by a charter signed by Macon, Jackson and Swain counties. As such, library employees are not considered public employees.
Macon County Human Resources Director Tammy Keezer said that Macon County does a background check for all its employees, full- and part-time, through a third-party vendor.
Hardison gave the librarian’s report, saying a lot is going on. Highlights include 81 seniors attending technology literacy events in the last couple of months. This has included going to people’s houses and hooking up their internet and devices. Hardison said she feels so strongly about the program that despite the grant ending in September, they’re doing everything to keep the teachers for the couple hours a week they have done the program.
Other highlights include Libraries with a Heart, Healthy Little Learners, blood drives, and future programs, including one from Region 8 Partnership for Children that would take place in June 2024 as the kickoff for the Summer Learning Program.
Hardison told the board a new polywood patio was installed in the memorial garden and that people are using it.
Board member Debbie Tallent gave the FRL regional board report from its September meeting, which was only informational due to a lack of quorum to vote. Lovell reported about Hudson Library’s planned exterior renovation process, and board member Ed Trask gave the Nantahala Community Library report and the eventual move to a new building.
Earlier in the meeting, Gaston asked Fitzmaurice about video recordings of the meetings, saying there’s “intense interest from the public” about streaming. Fitzmaurice said not at this time, but FRL is looking at uploading videos to YouTube and linking them through their website. Each of the six FRL libraries has a Meeting Owl, which can take a 360-degree video and display multiple angles of a meeting. Staff used the Macon County Public Library’s Meeting Owl for this meeting.
Additionally, Gaston asked about the process of appointing a new board member to replace Bill Trotter. Trotter resigned from the board in August after it was discovered he lived on the Jackson County side of Highlands. Hardison said the Hudson Library board members, where the appointment must come from, must apply to the county commissioners for the spot.
Comments on new law
Trask said he received a message from Jim Gaston about the new law “Prevent Harm to Children.” In his letter, Gaston states the law “is a step in the right direction for our libraries and public schools to be held accountable for the actions of staff who desire to force their personal preferences upon impressionable children.” Gaston further states “anything sexual, occult related, or otherwise potentially damaging to minors should be avoided at all costs in the promotions, displays and celebrations at tax-funded entities that are required to remain neutral and unbiased.”
Jim Gaston spoke briefly during the meeting after Trask brought up the letter. In the letter, Gaston quotes N.C. General Statute 14-190.1.3. (a), which covers obscene literature and exhibitions. According to NCGA’s bill page for Senate Bill 579, now Session Law 2023-127, there are two changes to that section in the new bill. The first is changing the wording “person, firm” to “person 18 years of age or older, firm” in several sections, and increasing the penalty of those guilty of violating the obscene literature provision “in the presence of a minor” to a Class H felony, instead of a Class I felony, which ups the maximum punishment from 24 to 39 months in prison.
The new law increases punishment for disseminating obscenities and clarifies restitution for sexual exploitation of a minor. It does not change the definition of what is obscene.
FRL’s attorney Dr. Lynn Hogue of Atlanta has said the library’s position is that obscene material, by law, cannot be accepted by a public library. Thus, anyone challenging library material by claiming it’s obscene must do so in the court system.
Trask asked that they look over the letter at the meeting, but Tallent said the board needed a chance to look it over before deciding anything.
The next Macon County Public Library Board of Trustees meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 4 p.m.