The Athens City Council and Limestone County Commission on Monday voted to create a joint library service.
The vote means the Athens-Limestone Public Library board will go from having five seats all appointed by the Athens City Council to three seats appointed by the council and two seats appointed by the county commission.
The vote is a response to calls from some citizens in the county who have complained for months about not having representation on the board. Those citizens have also challenged books with LGBTQ+ and sexual content in the children’s and young adult sections of the library.
With the change in board makeup, the council and commission also appointed new members to the board.
The city reappointed Craig Beasley and Allison McCormick to serve on the board, and appointed one new member Chandra Brown.
Chairman Craig Anderson stepped down at a special meeting of the library board immediately following the special meeting of the city and county to form the joint board, but the new members were not introduced. Their terms will begin in March.
The members will serve staggered terms to ensure smooth continuity of the board.
The agreement last for 20 years and requires both governments to fund the library with $80,000 from the county and $120,000 from the city in its initial year.
The county had withheld funding from the library until the joint service could be established.
