Photo by Soul or System Photography

Over the last year, the Marshalltown Public Library Board of Trustees has remained professional, calm, and resolved in its decisions regarding The Epoch Times and American Rifleman requested by a patron in November of 2022. However, over the last month I have realized a need to clarify the events surrounding these decisions. I have served as the President of the Board throughout this time and would like to share my perspective.

During our November 15, 2022 board meeting Sarah Rosenblaum, the Library Director, shared a request from Mr. John Worden to have the Epoch Times newspaper and American Rifleman magazine included in our collection. At this meeting, she shared with us the recommendation from her staff to not include these items for a number of reasons.

Library policy includes the following guidelines: “Good reviews in a standard library selection guide,” …”[a]ppearance of the title in special bibliographies, indexes, or book lists, [r]eputation and standards of the publisher,” and “[a]uthoritativeness.” A librarian at the Marshalltown Public Library researched both periodicals. She shared with the Board that no libraries in Iowa carried The Epoch Times, it has been given a NewsGuard assessment of 49.5% (which is a pretty bad score), it can not be found on any list used by our library to attest to its credibility, and many of its health claims have been debunked by reputable sources.

Board members were also encouraged to do their own research before we convened for our December meeting and voted on the request. At the Nov. 15, 2022 meeting there was no public comment for or against these publications.

Having never heard of The Epoch Times, I did what most people would do — I Googled it. I typed “Epoch Times credible source” into my search bar. This is the same strategy I teach students to use when working toward the 6th grade writing standard: “Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources.” My independent research only confirmed what our librarian had shared with us. Source after source, including The New York Times, NBC News, and a variety of fact checking sites, claimed that The Epoch Times was not a credible news source.

After my own research I realized two things. First, I would not advise 6th grade students to use this as a reliable source. Second, there is no reason for me not to trust our librarians.

They each hold a degree in library sciences, and their professional opinion was that this publication does not meet the guidelines set forth by our policy. I agreed with their recommendation and felt confident voting no at our December meeting.

It turns out I was not the only one. Each board member had conducted their own research, and we unanimously voted to decline Mr. Worden’s request to include these publications in our library collection. We also thanked our librarians for doing what they do best — researching the topic thoroughly and making an unbiased decision based on what they found.

Mr. Worden spoke during public comment during this meeting. At this point in time, public comment was at the end of our meeting, after we had already voted. The board realized that citizen comments would not be heard by the Board until after we had voted. To be more accessible to the public, we moved public comment to the beginning of our meetings.

Another reason the Board voted not to purchase these publications included cost. It is no secret that our library budget, which is a part of the city’s budget, is in danger. The Board did not consider the purchase of additional periodicals a good use of taxpayer funds. Periodicals and the demand for this medium have decreased significantly in recent years.

Our library only subscribes to three newspapers. Others are available digitally. A number of magazines very similar to American Rifleman are available digitally through our library. For these reasons, the Board did not consider an investment in additional periodicals a good use of funds.

Since then and continuing to this day, Mr. Worden has regularly attended meetings of the Library Board of Trustees. Mr. Ray Mitchem has also joined in attending and speaking at most of our meetings. Mr. Mitchem has been professional and respectful. I appreciate our conversations on the topic of the Epoch Times and the manner in which we hold public comment.

After each of these respectful interactions, I felt I understood his perspective. Based on these conversations, we’ve adjusted how we set up the room for public comment.

Over the last year, a number of patrons have also spoken at public comment supporting the library’s decision. If you add this to the many Marshall County residents who have approached me at work, in the community, or by email, our city overwhelmingly appreciates the work of our librarians and that we uphold the policies we have in place. A much smaller number of patrons have also expressed their desire for the library to carry The Epoch Times but have yet to show that this publication meets the guidelines set forth in our collection development policy.

As Board president, I have sought compromises on this issue. My goal is to find a way to meet patron demand without compromising our collection development policy. Library staff have offered a few compromises to Mr. Worden, such as making the donated publications available as we would any other donated material, and none have been met with appreciation. Each time, he demanded that we add these publications to our official collection.

Lastly, I’ve also spoken to a few community members who feel the Board has declined this request because this publication is associated with conservative politics. I personally don’t care for politics. I have never once thought this publication was not reliable because of its political affiliation.

My opinion, and the opinion of the Board, has been based on research, our collection development policy, and the constraints of our budget. I’m thankful for those community members who have supported us. I’m thankful for the insightful and meaningful conversations I’ve shared with community members on this topic. I’m hopeful that we will be able to find a middle ground solution that meets the needs of Marshalltown.

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Tonya Gaffney is the president of the Marshalltown Public Library Board of Trustees.