Platte County Commissioners have weighed in on a topic that has made recent headlines concerning what some consider questionable programming at public libraries.
At the commission’s administrative session Monday, Oct. 21, community member Janet Stark spoke up about her opposition to a LGBTQ program hosted by the local public library system.
In Lee’s Summit last month, the Mid-Continent Public Library (MCPL) hosted the first of a few planned “Trans 101” programs at the Colbern Road branch. Due to public feedback at the Tuesday, Sept. 15 library board of trustees meeting, library leadership delayed further programs.
While Platte County is a part of the MCPL system, no Trans 101 events were scheduled in Platte County.
Stark attended the Tuesday, Oct. 15 library board of trustees meeting and was concerned that tax funds could be used for these programs. She also had procedural questions on who decides on programs offered by MCPL, whether it is the board or MCPL director Steve Potter.
Stark brought up drag queen story hours, which have been trending in various libraries across the country. The St. Joseph Public Library hosted a drag queen story hour last month, sparking controversy from both those in support and in opposition. By the time of the event, St. Joseph police had to maintain safety at the library with protestors and counter-protestors outside.
Stark brought copies of books read at drag queen story hours to the commission meeting and questioned the motivations of the events, and of the American Library Association, which she said has recently discussed how to “queer” public libraries.
“On their website, it says targeting ages two to five,” she said. “Now when I read the word ‘targeting,’ that really, you know, got my attention because these books, in my opinion do not belong — this is adult information, adult material that should not be in our preschool, two to five area.”
Presiding commissioner Ron Schieber thanked Stark for her pursuit of the subject.
“I think this is a good project we need to keep our eyes on,” he said. “I appreciate you as a citizen getting actively involved in this. As you probably remember, I opposed the tax increase that they had put out. I thought it was illegal and unnecessary. They talked a lot during their education campaign about what they wanted to do in the library. I find it interesting that none of this was included in any of that campaign information. I wonder how the voters would have reacted had they known.”
In 2016, voters in Platte, Clay and Jackson counties approved MCPL’s first tax increase in decades to update facilities and offer new programming and resources. That year, elected officials in Platte and Clay counties questioned the validity of the proposed increase and attempted to block its placement on the November ballot. A ruling from the Platte County 6th District Circuit Court in late August led the Platte County Commission to vote 2-1 — Schieber the dissenting voice — to approve the ballot language.
According to the Facebook page for the Trans 101 program, participants would “Hear about the transgender experience and what it means to identify this way. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about people in our community. This event was created in response to community need, and designed for teens and adults to attend.”
The program is hosted by a transgender man, Riley Long, who speaks about his experience transitioning and answered basic questions. A petition to bring the program back was launched online, with 1,171 supporters, and the follow-up programs in Buckner and Blue Springs were scheduled by the end of the September.
Potter released a statement on the situation in late September as well.
“As a public institution, we deeply value customer feedback and take all comments we receive seriously, taking the time to understand them and weigh them against our core principle of intellectual freedom, which ensures that each and every person has the right to access information they seek,” Potter said. “The delay was never meant to be interpreted as a reevaluation of the program content.”
Stark said she was disappointed Potter did not attend the commission’s Monday meeting and plans to contact him in the future.
Ron Thiewes, who serves as a Clay County representative on the MCPL board of trustees, also spoke at the Monday meeting. He said he is part of a minority which has concerns about the subject matter. He has served on the board for a little over a year, and the last two meetings are the only times when the board has received public input, he said.
Of the approximately 900 programs the various MCPL branches host per month, he said a few may be deemed inappropriate by some members of the community.
“This needs to be addressed, and I think how this can be addressed most effectively is to have people express themselves,” he said, calling for vigilance in how tax dollars are used by the library. He said programs such as Trans 101 are a distraction from the library’s primary service of promoting literacy in children.
Commissioners Schieber and Dagmar Wood thanked Thiewes for his service.
“I know at times it’s not easy and I appreciate you being a voice of reason,” Wood said to Thiewes.