Jacqueline Brandt

The North Hampton library would not exist today had authority of its governance and oversight be left to a very politicized select board. To pass this bill would risk services to the community and thwart the intent and mission of a public library. Currently libraries are independent of town government and should stay that way to ensure there is no partisanship involved in the information gathering or disseminating process. The freedom to read and the freedom of speech are too important to lose. The library is an institution created and maintained to fulfill the needs of the community at large. Passage of this bill risks the disruption or even destruction of library services by politicizing the library's very existence. Ample evidence shows that a quality library contributes far more to a community than it spends, and that availability and use of libraries is solidly linked to success in schoolchildren and education of citizens. These are not achievements that should be risked. Town officials are appointed/elected for the purpose of managing town government. Library trustees are appointed/elected for the purpose of library stewardship. These are two different goals requiring different skill sets. Library trustees are elected to govern all aspects of library activity, financial and otherwise. To take this responsibility out of the hands of the library trustees and into the hands of the Select Board would add unnecessary bureaucracy, and also give decision making power to people who may not have the best interests of the library or the library’s mission. The separation that currently exists between the library and the government provides the independence that the library requires to full fill its mission. The public relies on the library for free access to a wide variety of materials in order to become informed members of a democracy. If the library is under the jurisdiction of the government/Select Board, then the government is able to control the materials that are available to the public. The government could then limit the public's access to materials that contain information that is contrary to the government's policies. Libraries are anchor institutions in NH towns that, by the current RSA, are more removed from the political whims of the day by having a separate elected board of library trustees for governance. This bill seems to stem from the desire to centralize control of all town funds through select boards. Given the intrinsic need for libraries in our communities to promote literacy, provide information resources for an educated public, and to serve as community centers in towns without a physical town center, this bill needs to be defeated so that NH libraries can continue to focus on the core missions listed above without the fear that the governance of libraries could at any time become bogged down with agendas from elected officials who lack a desire to understand why libraries have been valued in this country for years. Library trustees manage their libraries with passion and dedication not obvious to the average citizen. Giving already overburdened selectmen the additional responsibility of overseeing the operation of the library would likely result in less responsive, consumer oriented library operations.