Colson running for library board

Incumbent William “Lee” Colson is running for the Boundary County Library Board in Zone 5 in Naples.

“I have been volunteering in this community since I arrived in 1991: on the writer’s group, the fire department and for Scouts,” Colson said. “Our community needs volunteers to succeed and we must work together.”

Colson said he knows that everyone in the community has different views on just about everything.

“I respect your view and that it is different from mine. The library’s materials and selection policy seemed to be a point of contention. I wanted to work together, as a community, to review and update this policy,” he added. “After forming a committee of board and community members, we worked together on the newly adopted materials and selection policy and it became clear to me we agree on much more than we disagree. Regardless of whatever policy we have, I firmly believe parents and/or guardians are best at determining what their own families need. Our library was founded with the idea that a family chooses books for itself.”

He said the library follows all state and federal laws pertinent to a public library.

“If a book is considered by someone to be inappropriate for our library, or for a particular area of the library, they may complete a reconsideration form and the board will thoughtfully discuss and decide the placement of the book,” he said. “I want to reiterate something I firmly believe — you and your family have the final choice of any material you check out from the library. Our library not only respects this value of the family, we also reinforce it by only having family library cards, not individual cards. In this way, we preserve the right of parents to guide their children, up to age 18, to the appropriate books for them.”

When he first joined the board, the library was just beginning to recover from a very contentious period, Colson said. The following spring and summer brought more challenges.

“Our library staff and volunteers quietly and effectively carried on and they have built back our trusted institution and forever earned my respect and support. I want to continue to work for the library,” he said.

“As a member of the library board I have: collaborated with our insurance provider, ICRMP, to satisfy their requirements and continue our insurance coverage; supported and listened to library staff as they outlined their ideas to move the library forward; formed a committee to review and revise the materials and selection policy in a public format; and I have listened to each person who has contacted me regarding their view of the library,” he said.

“I want to thank all of you who are supporting the library through this time: those who have written letters to the editor, made posts and comments on Facebook, allowed election signs to be placed on your land, to those who set up the many discussions and emails I have participated in, and to the folks who have already gone out and voted: Thank you,” he said.

“I was appointed by the board to fill the giant vacancy left by Judy Mace and I have done my best. I will continue to do my best to support the rights of all the patrons of our library,” he said.

“To the voters in Zones 3 and 5: you will determine the direction of our library. I hope you choose to elect the current members of the library board. Regardless, we all need to support our library as it regains its place as an important center in our community,” he wrote.

After an application and interview process, Colson was appointed to the board in fall 2021, due to the untimely death of the late Judith “Judy” Mace.

The winning candidate of the May 16 election will fill the remainder of the Zone 5 term until 2025.