Leaked Timberland Regional Library Board of Trustees ‘desired outcomes’ document outlines homogenization plan
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 16, 2026
As Timberland Regional Library [TRL] is emerging from a major financial crisis and has begun the laborious process of rebuilding public trust, a source has provided an image of a internal document with a list of “desired outcomes” to The Daily World. This document has been confirmed by Grays Harbor County Board of Trustees representative Dustin Loup to have originated from Board of Trustees President Brian Mittge.
Mittge supplied the following comments via email:
“Most people would agree that we should never sexualize children – that we should protect them and parents. That’s what I’m aiming for in these desired outcomes, which come directly from people in our communities who are asking for changes at TRL. These are common-sense steps we can take to de-politicize our libraries to make them safer and more welcoming for children and families.
“In 2024, as we were updating TRL’s mission and vision statements, I proposed this new vision: ‘In a divided time, our libraries are a place of respite where people can safely tap into the wisdom of the ages in politically neutral public spaces that are valued, beloved and widely supported by the people in each community we serve.’
“That’s a vision to unify, creating places of common ground that earn and deserve widespread public support. That vision is the context for the list of bullet points which I brought as notes into a conversation with our new interim executive director [Andrea Heisel]. These bullet points were distilled from conversations with many people across our five-county region whose voices deserve to be heard.”
The “desired outcomes” include:
No sexuality for kids. Materials about sex, sexual and gender orientation moved from children and youth sections to adult section.
No sexuality in children’s activities.
Make libraries places of unity, not division. A neutral place that taxpayers can be proud to support, that parents can be excited to visit.
Make libraries places of respite, not hotbeds of activism. Nonpartisan and neutral. Earn back people’s trust.
Open and geared toward safety for families, not activists and homeless.
No rainbow and activist displays. Monthly celebrations aren’t uniting, they are dividing. Be beige, not rainbow.
No dividing kids from parents, no suggesting they hide things from them.
Libraries aren’t places to teach about sexuality and librarians aren’t therapists.
Just get back to being a library. You’re alienating people. They’re saying no.
This document comes to light as TRL trustees are meeting with friends groups across the five-county library district to rebuild public trust and garner support for a proposed levy lid lift.
When reached for comment, Loup said via email:
“I want to be clear about where I personally stand. I’m speaking for myself here, not on behalf of the Board.
“I do not align with the ‘desired outcomes’ in the document. They don’t reflect my values, and I don’t believe they reflect what a public library is for.
“Public libraries are for everyone. That includes families of every kind, and it includes the people who need the library most, including our unhoused neighbors. ‘Open to all’ isn’t a promise we get to qualify when it becomes inconvenient.
“Relocating materials based on the identities they represent isn’t neutrality. Unity doesn’t come from sorting people, or the books that represent them, into separate sections. It comes from a community that can hold its differences and still show up for one another. That’s the library I’m proud to help support, and it’s the one I’ll keep working toward.
“I am a parent and I appreciate having access to diverse books. They provide a world of stories and illustrations, through which I can teach my children about the world around them. A broad collection protects this choice; a narrowed one takes it away.
“There are books in the library that I disagree with, and I’m not compelled to check them out or read them to my children. I’m also confident in my ability to explain my values to my children and no book on a shelf takes that away from me.
“Separately, I think there is a very important point to make: The existence of LGBTQIA+ people should never be conflated with ‘sexuality.’ A book about a family of penguins isn’t sexual content. It’s a book about a family.
“A rainbow is the full spectrum of visible light and the opposite of that is invisibility for many of the people who light up our community. I want a library where my own kids, and every kid, can find books that represent their family, including queer families like mine, visibly on the shelf.
“I believe deeply in intellectual freedom, and I’ll keep championing it. Our library staff are professionals. They have my trust, support, and gratitude.”
Speaking on behalf of himself and AFSCME Local 3758, the union that represents numerous TRL employees, union President Brent Caron said via email, “I think Mr. Mittge’s stance is abhorrent to library values. I’m sorry he’s associated with the public library that I work for and love.”
According to the American Library Association [ALA], the proposed “desired outcomes” fall under the category of “censorship.” ALA’s website states, “Limiting or removing access to words, images, or ideas. The decision to restrict or deny access is made by a governing authority. This could be a person, group, or organization/business. Censorship by the government is illegal.” An example of censorship at a public library is when “library boards require library staff to pull materials without following established reconsideration policy/procedure.”
In recent months, the federal government and numerous other organizations have dropped support for cultural observations such as Black History Month, Hispanic History Month, Women’s History Month, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other remembrances. This document proposes following suit.
The TRL website currently features LGBTQIA+ Pride Month booklists for adults, teens and kids curated by staff and TRL is hosting a variety of Pride Month events. All TRL locations will be closed in honor of Juneteeth on June 19.
Since the budget crisis came to light in late January, Executive Director Cheryl Heywood and Finance Administrator Paige Preston have resigned, and Operations Director Brenda Lane is no longer with TRL. Lane’s departure came on the heels of the release of scandalous Microsoft Teams chat transcripts between Preston and Lane that disparaged trustees, patrons and others. Andrea Heisel has been promoted to interim executive director and is in the process of revamping TRL leadership while the search for a permanent executive director unfolds.
Many Friends of the Library groups have complained of fractured relationships with TRL leadership, including the erasing or covering up of local culture at neighborhood branches. During a recent visit to the Montesano branch, Loup indicated that change is afoot.
“… there are definitely some hard feelings and some of the refreshes have really taken away a lot of that local character,” Loup said. “And so again, moving forward, we brought this up in the last facilities committee meeting that we want to reevaluate the process for planning these refreshes.”
Loup added that for the upcoming Aberdeen refresh, there will be more local decision making, and for other future library refreshes, they will look to engagement with the friends groups and the community.
“They know their libraries best and they can provide that feedback,” Loup said. “And they can weigh in on a lot of the different decisions and they can listen to that community. … [Heisel] is “definitely empowering the regional directors and local library staff to take more ownership.”
However, the “desired outcomes” would appear to contradict the empowerment and ownership of the library experience at the local branch level.
The next TRL Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 24 at 5:30 p.m at the Ocean Park Timberland Library.
