MERIDIAN, Idaho — Thursday morning, the Ada County Board of Commissioners accepted a petition to dissolve the Meridian Library District. The petition, which needed 50 valid signatures to be accepted, was brought to the Board of Commissioners by a group called Concerns Citizens of Meridian.
There is still a long process before the petition would be put on a ballot, as outlined in Idaho Code.
RELATED | A group of local citizens petition to dissolve the Meridian Library District
The next step in the process is a public hearing that will be set for sometime in the next three to six weeks, in which members of the public would be able to provide testimony with their thoughts on the bill.
Some Meridian Library users were not happy about the petition or what it would mean for the community. Idaho News 6 spoke to some of those people, a few who asked to remain anonymous.
“I don’t know what a community would do without a library," said Rodger Maxwell, a Meridian resident. "There are always cars here so you know people are using the library and so I think it’s very important for the whole community.”
Some residents think censorship should be the responsibility of the parents and the families.
“My idea of censorship, and this is me personally, is if you don’t like it, walk by it," said a Meridian resident named Luckie. "If there is a library book I won't like, I won’t check it out.”
“It’s a slippery slope," said a resident named Lee. "Books are super important. To just shut down all libraries because of something like that. Let’s control our kids, let's be good parents.”
Another concern residents have is what might happen to library access if the Meridian Library District is dissolved.
“Yes it impacts me," said a resident named Hugh, who uses the Library frequently. "I’d have to go find another Library service. Are we going to be able to use the services Valley-wide, or am I going to be cut out of it because there’s no library district?"
