LCLD Trustee Election
May 16, 2023
Question 1. In which Latah County community do you live?
Rural Moscow.
Question 2. What kinds of civic experience qualifies you to be a library trustee?
Worked in hospitals, homecare and volunteered in church organizations, sports organizations and the Director of the Palouse Community Christmas Festival.
Question 3. What are the most important issues facing public libraries today?
The discussion of competing ideas threatens to reduce the library to a means of pushing an agenda. The library has never been intended to platform agendas. It has been the means of pooling our resources to bring the very best, brightest and most meaningful media into the hands of the general public.
Question 4. What is intellectual freedom and why is it important to all segments of society?
I read once, “There is a paradox to religious freedom — a genuine gain arising from an apparent loss. The dilemma goes something like this: If you want your religious beliefs to be protected, you must protect religious beliefs that fundamentally differ from your own. “This is what intellectual freedom looks like in practice. We can respect another’s beliefs without necessarily endorsing them.
Question 5. What is a public library’s role in promoting equity and inclusion in the community?
The great test of a peaceful society is the ability and extent to which that community nurtures civility and respect. All public interactions should be thoughtful and respectful, allowing for mature discussion of ideas.
Question 6. List your top three goals if elected to a trustee position.
A library trustee should be an efficient and valuable steward of the trust and money granted to it by the members of this community. I want our library to be a safe place where children and adults can gain access to the world’s best books and technology; a place where we are uplifted and inspired.