The union representing most Timberland Regional Library (TRL) workers and TRL Board of Trustees President-Elect Dustin Loup have added their names to the list of those opposed to current Board of Trustees President Brian Mittge’s “desired outcomes” for the regional library system.
Several TRL employees snapped photos of the list posted inside TRL’s Administrative Service Center in Tumwater on Monday, June 15.
The TRL Administrative Service Center is not open to the general public, but houses offices for TRL’s administrative, IT and collections staff.
Mittge has confirmed that he brought the document as notes into a conversation with TRL Interim Executive Director Andrea Heisel on Friday, June 12.
The document is below:
Desired outcomes:
No sexuality for kids. Materials about sex, sexual & gender orientation moved from children & youth sections to adult section.
No sexuality in children's activities.
Make libraries places of unity, not division. A neutral place that taxpayers can be proud to support, that parents can be excited to visit.
Make libraries safe places of respite, not hotbeds of activism. Nonpartisan and neutral. Earn back people's trust.
Open and geared toward safety for families, not activists and homeless.
No rainbow and activist displays. Monthly celebrations aren't uniting, they are dividing. Be beige, not rainbow.
No dividing kids from parents, no suggesting they hide things from them.
Libraries aren't places to teach about sexuality and librarians aren't therapists.
Just get back to being a library. You're alienating people. They're saying no.
The union AFSCME Council 2 Local 3758-B issued a news release Wednesday, June 17, denouncing Mittge’s document and “the harmful views it expresses.”
“As library workers, we are committed to protecting First Amendment rights and upholding core library values of intellectual freedom — the principle, as defined by the American Library Association, that ‘every person has the right to access information from all points of view, in all formats, and without restriction.’ The fundamental purpose of public libraries is to provide access to information, ideas, and stories that represent the diverse needs and experiences of its community. We oppose any proposals that would restrict or remove access to books and materials based on the identities they represent,” the news release reads.
The union went on to say that library workers are “dedicated to ensuring the safety of young patrons” and “encourage caregivers to be active participants as their children make choices about accessing library materials and activities.”
TRL employees are responsible for upholding TRL’s policies and guidelines regarding unattended children, teen spaces and internet use that are made to protect young people in TRL facilities.
TRL additionally presents early learning storytimes intended to empower children and families with information about health, bodily autonomy, consent, identity, and more, the union said.
“Attempts to stigmatize and restrict information and services poses a tremendous risk to children’s safety and well-being,” the union stated. “Libraries are critical resources for building safety into our communities. Free access to information keeps us safe.”
Local 3758-B expressed an overall commitment towards equity, diversity, and inclusion in public libraries, and stated its support for marginalized communities who utilize the public library — including those who are LGBTQIA+, unhoused, poor, disabled, young, immigrant, and Black and Indigenous people of color.
“These community members are often the most dedicated library supporters, and we have a responsibility to provide a safe space for them and everyone else,” the union stated.
Local 3758-B added that, at a time when TRL is working to recover from a financial crisis, “efforts to restrict access to materials and undermine principles of intellectual freedom moves us in the wrong direction.”
Now more than ever, the union stated, adequately funding TRL should be a top priority “so that libraries across the five county district can continue to offer free access to affirming and often life-saving information and resources for all.”
The union encouraged the TRL Board of Trustees as a whole to “denounce the exclusion of our most marginalized community members and support a levy lid lift to reaffirm their commitment to protecting intellectual freedom, equitable access to information, and public libraries that serve everyone.”
While not speaking on behalf of the TRL Board of Trustees, one trustee has publicly disavowed the views expressed in Mittge’s list of “desired outcomes.”
TRL Board of Trustees President-Elect Dustin Loup, who represents Grays Harbor County on the TRL Board of Trustees, issued a statement to The Daily World expressing his personal views on Tuesday, June 16.
His statement is below:
“I do not align with the ‘desired outcomes’ in the document. They don’t reflect my values, and I don’t believe they reflect what a public library is for.
“Public libraries are for everyone. That includes families of every kind, and it includes the people who need the library most, including our unhoused neighbors. ‘Open to all’ isn’t a promise we get to qualify when it becomes inconvenient.
“Relocating materials based on the identities they represent isn’t neutrality. Unity doesn’t come from sorting people, or the books that represent them, into separate sections. It comes from a community that can hold its differences and still show up for one another. That’s the library I’m proud to help support, and it’s the one I’ll keep working toward.
“I am a parent and I appreciate having access to diverse books. They provide a world of stories and illustrations, through which I can teach my children about the world around them. A broad collection protects this choice; a narrowed one takes it away.
“There are books in the library that I disagree with, and I’m not compelled to check them out or read them to my children. I’m also confident in my ability to explain my values to my children and no book on a shelf takes that away from me.
“Separately, I think there is a very important point to make: The existence of LGBTQIA+ people should never be conflated with ‘sexuality.’ A book about a family of penguins isn’t sexual content. It’s a book about a family.
“A rainbow is the full spectrum of visible light and the opposite of that is invisibility for many of the people who light up our community. I want a library where my own kids, and every kid, can find books that represent their family, including queer families like mine, visibly on the shelf.
“I believe deeply in intellectual freedom, and I’ll keep championing it. Our library staff are professionals. They have my trust, support, and gratitude.”
Loup’s term on the TRL Board of Trustees expires in December 2027. Mittge’s term expires in 2029.
The terms for board president and president-elect last for a year, beginning and ending at the board’s annual meeting. The board votes for a new president and president-elect each year.
The president-elect presides over TRL Board of Trustees meetings in the absence of the president.
Mittge’s most vocal supporter remains Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope, who published an op-ed in The Chronicle on Wednesday, June 17 doubling-down on his support for Mittge’s stated vision for TRL.
“I’ve worked closely with Brian, and he has been engaged, thoughtful and committed every step of the way. He listens to the community and fights for the responsible use of public dollars, especially as the library faces budget challenges,” Swope writes. “If the board and library leadership refuse to change course and keep alienating families with this politicized approach, I will fight hard against any levy lid lift. I will also look at every option to stop forcing Lewis County taxpayers to fund a system that no longer serves its original purpose.”
Mittge is facing some opposition within his home county, however.
The Friends of the Centralia Timberland Library, which welcomed Mittge and fellow Lewis County representative on the TRL Board of Trustees Hal Blanton for a Q&A on TRL’s budget crisis back in April, issued a statement Wednesday opposing Mittge’s “desired outcomes.”
“We do NOT support these stated goals. Libraries are for EVERYONE. Including everyone doesn't equate to discluding 'beige' people; it's not pie,” the Friends of the Centralia Timberland Library stated in a social media post.
Lewis County commissioner candidate and Lewis County Democrats Chair Zac Eckstein published his own op-ed on Thursday, June 18, opposing Mittge’s stated goals for TRL and the “culture war” he reignited.
"The new administrators, and the board, and by extension the county commission, have spent too much time paying attention to anything but the essential task in front of them. And now, they’re falling back to their same old culture war playbook, because they don’t have a good enough answer for the mess they’ve helped create,” Eckstein states. “Letting them control the narrative at this point would be the wrong move. We don’t have to stoop to their level and use the LGBTQ+ community as a proxy for this battle. The cause is strong enough already.”
Eckstein and fellow challengers Kyle Wheeler, Tim Toerber and Michael Hadaller are vying for a seat on the Lewis County Board of Commissioners that is currently held by Scott Brummer, who is looking to retain his seat. They will face off on the Aug. 4 primary ballot.
The next TRL Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 24 at 5:30 p.m at the Ocean Park Timberland Library. There will be an option to attend remotely via Zoom.
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Note: Brian Mittge is a longtime contributor to The Chronicle newspaper. He currently serves as a columnist and in the past has worked as a reporter and editor.
