Kathleen Stoltz appears before the Wood County Commission on Thursday to interview for re-appointment on the Vienna Public Library Board. Commissioners Blair Couch, Robert Tebay and Jimmy Colombo asked her a variety of questions about serving on the board and how the library functions. The commission voted unanimously to re-appoint Stoltz to the board for a four-year term. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — The Wood County Commission made an appointment to the Vienna Public Library Board which also resulted in a discussion with various community members about what is available at local libraries.

Around 10 people attended Thursday’s commission meeting.

The interview with Kathleen Stoltz was for a re-appointment to the Vienna Public Library Board for a four-year term. She has already served on the board for eight years and was willing to serve another term on the five-person board.

“I would be glad to,” she said when asked if she wanted to serve another term. “We have a lot of programs going on.

“We have programs for children, teens and adults going on. There are crafts, book clubs and more going on.”

Officials talked about adult literacy efforts, children’s programs and more as well as how people used the library during the pandemic and having internet access for those who need it.

Stoltz said the board meets monthly and everyone serves voluntarily with no one on the board being paid to be there. She talked about being a fan of libraries since she was young.

The board gets regular reports of how many people come through the doors, what kinds of books are being checked out and more.

“It is a lot of data to let us know what is working and what isn’t working,” Stoltz said.

She said fiction and children’s books are among the most checked out types of books with westerns and romance novels making up a big part of the works of fiction checked out.

“We are a small library and people don’t really come there to do research,” Stoltz said. “We don’t have the space to have a huge amount.”

The commission asked questions about how materials are acquired. Stoltz said the titles they get are usually determined by the librarians. Stoltz said they do not have a huge demand for non-fiction titles.

The board looks at the type of books being circulated, but does not get into the day-to-day acquisitions of specific titles, she said, adding however in-demand books might have multiple copies to meet the demand. They have tried to make the library more appealing for younger people.

Stoltz said they are not getting a lot of teenagers into the library which impacts whether they carry as many titles for them.

Commissioners said they have traditionally supported the local libraries for providing books and other materials to people in the community who need them.

The commission unanimously approved Stoltz’s appointment.

Members of the community talked with the commission about the type of books available, specifically books of a sexual nature being available to children or in places in different local libraries where children can easily look at them.

Many felt there was no accountability for the materials chosen to be in a library with various people passing the responsibility to another.

The people who attended have cited the book “Let’s Talk About It” by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan at different local city council meetings and past commission meetings. The book was available at Parkersburg South High School where they said it was removed after complaints were made. They said it is still available at the branches of the Parkersburg-Wood County Public Library.

Excerpts were read talking about exploring sexual fantasies with the book illustrated with pictures of male genitals and more.

Some of those attending said they have been through local libraries and found objectionable materials in the children and teens’ section. Some said they refuse to take their grandchildren into the local libraries because of the availability of these materials.

Some of those in attendance said they were not asking for an outright ban of the titles after First Amendment concerns were discussed. They wanted the books put somewhere where children did not have direct access but where a parent could ask for it if they felt it was something their child could look at.

The commission said they will ask Parkersburg-Wood County Library Director Brian Raitz to appear before them to discuss these matters in more detail.

In other business, the commission unanimously appointed Joe Campbell to the West Virginia Little Kanawha River Parkway Authority and Patsy Hardy to the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com