On December 17th, the Carolina Journal published the following op-ed by Ashley Vaughan, NC Values Press Director, entitled “Setting the Record Straight on Randolph County’s Library Board”
Last Monday night, the Randolph County Commissioners took a bold step: They voted to dissolve the library board after it failed to address parental concerns over the book “Call Me Max” being included in the children’s section of the library. “Call Me Max,” recommended for 5-9 year olds, teaches children that their parents may be wrong about their gender, and that their gender is actually whatever they feel it is.
At the Monday night meeting, attended by over 200 people, much of the public debate was driven by a fundamental misunderstanding of the vote itself.
What did not happen: Randolph County commissioners did not vote to ban or remove any book. No title was pulled from the shelves. No list of prohibited materials was created. No commissioner voted on the content of any book.
What the commissioners did vote to do was dissolve the existing library board in order to begin the process of rebuilding it in a way that better reflects community standards, parental concerns, and lawful governance.
Randolph County Commissioner Lester Rivenbark explained to me via email: “We voted to dissolve the entire board — not to remove a book. We will be adopting new bylaws, appointing a new nine-person library board, and we will not be voting on books. That authority will reside with the new board.”
This distinction matters. Library boards exist to oversee library operations and policies — including how challenges to materials are handled — not to operate independently of public accountability. County commissioners, who are elected by the people, have clear authority under North Carolina General Statutes to dissolve and reconstitute appointed boards when necessary. That authority is not controversial; it is explicit in state law.
In this case, commissioners exercised that authority after repeated concerns from parents and residents who felt their voices were dismissed. Dissolving a board is not censorship. It is governance working properly.
Opponents have also framed the action taken by the County Commissioners as an attack on the First Amendment. But that argument does not withstand legal scrutiny. In a recent case in Texas involving a similar dispute, the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit affirmed that curation of public library collections was not a violation of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. The courts have consistently recognized that publicly-funded facilities such as museums, libraries, and schools may make selections and adopt reasonable policies, overseen by accountable bodies, without violating constitutional protections. Their selections constitute government speech, not private speech protected by the First Amendment.
Across the country, concerned families have been told that questioning age-appropriateness or placement of materials is “bigotry” or “censorship.” But parents in our state simply will not back down when young and developing minds are being exposed to harmful materials in our public libraries. The public uproar over the library board’s decision to include this book in the children’s section shows that Randolph County parents are committed to protecting childhood innocence and the wellbeing of children in their community. Public libraries should never expose children to books that lead them to question their gender or include other inappropriate sexual content.
Commissioner Rivenbark was clear when explaining his vote to me: “I stand by my vote to dissolve the entire library board. I made a promise when running for County Commissioner that I would protect families and children, and that is what I did with this vote. The nuclear family is under attack, and we must stand firm to protect it.”
The Randolph County commissioners who voted to dissolve the library board are brave local leaders who used their lawful authority in their elected offices to fix a broken process and protect the role of parents in their community. It is laughable that some would frame this as a story of authoritarian censorship, when it is actually democracy in action.
Ashley Vaughan is the press and political director for NC Values.
