Timberland Regional Library right to welcome everyone

Published 1:30 am Saturday, July 18, 2026

The 250th celebration of our nation’s birth provided a wonderful time to reflect on the formation of the United States and the foresight of our founders in establishing a republic to withstand the test of time.

I’ve reflected on the nation’s birth, the people who fought against oppressive British rule to ensure they had representation in their government. I considered how fortunate we are that they set into place a system of checks and balances — the executive branch to administer the government, the legislative branch to reflect the will of the people in creation of laws, and the judicial branch to ensure proper and equitable enforcement of the laws.

Although Pilgrims fled England seeking freedom to practice their religion without interference from the government, the founders didn’t set up this nation as a theocracy with one religion governing all.

Instead, they opted to protect religious freedom so people can practice their faith — whether it be Christian, Judaism, Muslim, Hinduism, Buddhism or another doctrine.

As a Christian, I understood fellow columnist and Timberland Regional Library Board President Brian Mittge’s list of desired outcomes in the library district that he shared with the executive director.

The list proposed, among other things, keeping materials that reference sexuality and gender identity out of the children’s section of libraries. Conservatives may see library support of gay pride and LGBTQ+ activities as using taxpayer dollars to promote a liberal agenda and, as Mittge put it, “hotbeds of activism.” He proposed libraries become politically neutral, focused on uniting rather than dividing, and family-oriented or beige rather than rainbow.

But at a meeting last month at the Ocean Park Timberland Library, I listened to dozens of speakers — many of them gay, lesbian or trans — share heartfelt stories of how they felt isolated and alone with nowhere to find information about the questions plaguing them over their identity and sexual orientation. Many found answers in books at the library, which they see as a reason to keep materials available for kids.

This is an example of the free speech guaranteed in the nation’s Bill of Rights: Mittge shared his vision of desired outcomes for the library with the executive director and people responded by voicing their objections to his list and why the libraries should welcome the LGBTQ+ community and homeless people.

By the way, Mittge gave the list as a discussion point to Interim Executive Director Andrea Heisel, who clearly shared it with other staff members. Thus, news headlines then focused on the list rather than the district’s $3.8 million deficit and the board’s hiring of an administrator who was party to putting the library in such a financial quandary.

I don’t know the answers, but I thought back to criticisms of the controversial Hamilton Farms sign along Interstate 5 between Centralia and Chehalis that often blared contentious statements. I wrote a column years ago noting that the sign reflects freedom of speech, and those opposed have the freedom to post their own signs.

The same is true with the library, where trustees and many of those speaking, said libraries should welcome everyone. They celebrate gay pride. So, see if it’s true. Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope, who endorsed Mittge’s desired outcomes, could decree a heterosexual pride day and see if the libraries celebrate that too. If they do, all is well. If they don’t, then library trustees and administrators are hypocrites who don’t welcome everyone but only those who lean politically to the left.

I found myself angry when people cast aspersions on Mittge’s character — and even his writing skills — during their public testimony. He is a devoted husband, a loving father, a dedicated volunteer who gives tirelessly of his time and energy to the community, and an excellent writer.

When they called for Mittge to resign, I thought, nope — if you want him to step down, then every single one of the trustees should resign because they allowed the library system to plunge $3.8 million into a deficit.

Taxpayers all must spend less in order to balance their household budgets; why don’t government officials do the same? Instead, the trustees failed to properly review the budget and trusted library administrators who had to have known of the shortfall but did nothing to correct it.

I wouldn’t support lifting the levy lid to increase the amount collected in taxes until the library district has trimmed costs and proven it can make tough decisions to balance budgets. I also believe trustees need to negotiate with the union to allow better and more extensive use of volunteers in the libraries.

We have a wonderful, volunteer-run library in Toledo with only a kiosk from Timberland despite the taxes I’ve paid for decades while living outside the city. Volunteers do a tremendous job in our library, but are they allowed to help out in Timberland libraries? If not, that needs to change.

Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.