News Photo by Steve Schulwitz New Alpena County Library Interim Director Tina Markowski, left, and Assistant Director Jessica Luther sort through books to return to the shelves while at work on Monday. Luther stepped down from the interim director’s position in September.

ALPENA — The interim library director for the Alpena County Library has stepped down from her position saying the drama and controversy surrounding some children’s books at the library has impacted her health.

Jessica Luther said she will revert back to her assistant director role at the library and turn the reins over to Tina Markowski who will act as the new interim library director.

Luther was entangled in a local controversy involving children and teen books that contain sexually graphic material.

Concerned residents involved the Alpena County Board of Commissioners who voiced their concerns about the books and called for them to be moved to a more appropriate section or placed behind a shelf, while the library said doing so would violate people’s freedom of speech rights.

Today, the books remain in the children and teens sections, but the library has changed its filing system to make it harder for minors to stumble across the books.

Luther said as director, she became wrapped up in the issue and was subjected to personal attacks. She said all of the negativity was impacting her and she needed to step away from it.

“It has been tough and it took a huge toll on my health,” Luther said. “After talking to my husband and family, I decided I couldn’t continue to do it any longer.”

Luther’s resignation comes on the heels of former director Debra Greenacre resigning in July during the peak of the public debate and just before a critical vote on a property tax renewal needed to keep the library open.

Voters approved the renewal in August.

Library Board President Joe Garber said the library board had made Luther the interim director with a review every 30 days. He said reviewing the position every month allowed the board to pivot during its search for a full-time director and for Luther to step away if things got too stressful for her to continue in that position.

Garber said Luther has been a top-notch employee for nearly a decade and handles the patrons of the library, members, and library operations well. He added that he believes the treatment she received was undeserved and over the top.

“I think she was unfairly targeted over the books,” Garber said. “She was simply doing her job and there was never anything nefarious going on. We know it has been rough on her and everything was beginning to weigh on her.”

Garber said the search for a full-time director is underway and the library has hired a consultant to help with the search. He said with the controversy still swirling over the children’s books, it could be difficult to find.

Garber said the selection of Markowski, who has a Master’s in Library Science, to be the new interim director, makes sense.

“She is extremely qualified and making her the interim now gives her a little runway to see how she does and help her decide if she wants to apply for the job,” Garber said. “We already met with the consultant, but with all of the uncertainty with the county it will make it hard to find people because there may not be many people who want to step into this hornet’s nest.”

Despite all of the negative blowback from the books, Luther said she is just as committed as ever to serving the public and working with the staff to make the library the best it can be. She said she loves the library and that will never change.

“I have grown to love this job and it has helped me grow to love the community,” Luther said. “The staff is amazing and always positive. They come into work every day ready to help our patrons. They know we have a mission to serve our community and they won’t let other people stop us from doing that.”

Markowski said Luther has been a good leader and she has learned a lot from her. She added that she is eager to continue to work with her and other staff to continue to improve the library for everyone.

“My goals for the library are to move us forward and create a neutral safe space for everybody in our community,” she said. “Jessica has definitely been a mentor and an inspired leader and I look forward to continuing working with her.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.