JAMESTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — For the third time, voters saw an operating millage on the ballot for the Patmos Library, which has gained national attention recently for some controversy surrounding books focused on LGBTQ+ themes and authors.
The first time it failed came during the August primaries in 2022. The second one happened just a few months later in November.
At that time, people opposed said they were concerned about the LGBTQ+ content.
"I would like those books not to be available for children. You know, to me, it's just minor pornography to a point," one woman who has lived in the area for decades told FOX 17 back in November 2022.
"We're all God's kids, you know, and you got to love the people, but not love what they're doing or what they're saying."
Board President Larry Walton has clarified that, out of the 67,000 total pieces of material at the library, only 90 of them relate to the LGBTQ+ topic. That's .13% of their full portfolio.
If this vote does not pass, the library board president told us the Lakeland Cooperative will remove the library from their membership and it will not have the funds to operate on March 31, 2024.
There are two major differences between this new millage and the two that failed. For one, this version is only a three-year renewal, while the previous two were 10-year renewals.
Moreover, the library's board of trustees has since adopted a content labeling policy on September 11, 2023, to label the library's books on the inside with their subject matter and genre. This will be sourced by the Library of Congress.
Because these labels are considered informational, the idea is they will allow patrons to make a more informed decision on the book's content before it is checked out of the library. A compromise that some voters that FOX 17 spoke with are in support of.
"I think, if you as a parent or guardian is bringing your child to the library, those labels alone, and being involved in your child being at the library should be enough for you to be able to censor what you want for your child," Jamestown Township resident Shelby Patterson told FOX 17. "If I want to bring my child to the library, and eventually Sunday, he decides to pick up a book that they don't agree with, that should be my choice to allow my child to read that material should not be up to some community members who's who don't have the same views as me."
Beyond the books, other residents that we spoke with noted that this library is beyond a place to read, but a vital part of the community.
“Our library has a little vegetable stand that they put out for the youth, like people from the community can put food out for other people," Salem Sousley said. "There's children's resources. They used to do coding lessons there. And it's just like, it's sad to see it go, especially also that it is also a voting station. Yeah. That's true, too. Which seems ironic."
