Bay County library board shelves a plan to give trustees more say over book selection, days before voters decide its millage

BAY CITY — The Bay County Library System’s board has set aside a proposal that would have written a bigger role for trustees into how the library chooses, keeps and removes books and other materials.

The board tabled the bylaw change at its Wednesday, Oct. 28, meeting, MLive reported. The meeting agenda listed “Proposed Bylaw Changes” for discussion and approval under unfinished business.

Trustee Sherry Bledsoe proposed restoring language removed from the bylaws in 2024, which said the board would “determine the selection of library materials,” and expanding it. Her version would have the board establish, approve and periodically review the library’s collection development and materials selection policy, including the standards for selecting, acquiring, keeping, withdrawing and reconsidering materials, according to MLive.

Bledsoe pointed to the board’s existing duty to provide a balanced collection and its fiduciary responsibility for oversight. Trustee Mary Herr asked whether trustees would be expected to review individual books, and said she could not see anyone doing that. Board Chairman Paul Travis said the library’s trained staff make those decisions and the board steps in when an item is challenged. “I just don’t want us as a board delving into every book,” he said.

MLive did not report when, or whether, the proposal will come back.

The version of the bylaws posted on the library’s website sets the board’s purpose as determining and monitoring library policies to assure “a balanced collection of library materials” for all county residents. The day-to-day job of selecting, acquiring and discarding books is listed among the director’s responsibilities. The board has five trustees, all appointed by the Bay County Board of Commissioners. A trustee code of ethics in the bylaws asks trustees to back librarians “in resisting censorship of library materials by groups or individuals.”

Voters don’t choose the trustees, but they do decide the library’s money. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Bay County voters will consider renewing the library’s operating millage at up to 1.7399 mills for six years. The ballot language estimates it would raise about $6.69 million in its first year, and the library says the tax supplies about 86% of its operating revenue.

Sources:
MLive, “Bay County library board tables book selection bylaw change,” Oct. 28, 2026 (proposal, Bledsoe, Herr and Travis remarks, tabling), https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2026/10/bay-county-library-board-tables-book-selection-bylaw-change.html
Bay County Library System Board of Trustees, regular meeting agenda, Oct. 28, 2026, https://www.baycountylibrary.org/sites/default/files/2026-10/10.28.26%20Regular%20Mtg%20Agenda%20for%20posting.pdf
Bay County Library System, Bylaws (posted version): purpose, membership, director’s responsibilities, trustee ethics, https://www.baycountylibrary.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/Bylaws%20November%204%202024.pdf
Photo: Asher196, “Sagelibrary.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sagelibrary.jpg

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Tags: Bay City · Bay County Library System · Library Board · Books · Bylaws · Millage