News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Lydia Hanna organizes books at the Alpena County Library while at work on Friday.

ALPENA — The Alpena County Board of Commissioners will again appoint a new member to the Alpena County Library Board.

The commissioners appointed two new members in December, and now, a recent resignation will allow them to add another new member.

There has been a large shake-up on the library board after the commissioners last year said they intended to replace every member on the board following a debate about some children and teen books that some people say are sexually graphic were found on the library shelves.

The commissioners said they wanted the books moved behind a counter or into a more age-appropriate area, but the library board at the time refused to do so.

The books are still where they were originally shelved, but the library has since implemented a new book organization system.

The commissioners later had a change of heart and instead of replacing the entire board in one swoop, they decided to make appointments when terms expired or someone stepped down.

Alpena County Administrator Jesse Osmer said Quintin Meek is resigning from the board because he is relocating. That opens the door for the county to appoint someone of their choosing.

Alpena County Commissioner John Kozlowski said many people applied for the appointments on the library board late last year and a selection could come from those who were not selected the first time. It is also possible, he added, that the opening could be posted and allow others who are interested to apply.

“We could go back to the pool we have, contact the people, and see if they are still interested. That would be the easiest way,” Kozlowski said. “Or, we could just advertise it.”

When the commissioners were considering replacing the entire board, some of the commissioners said they wanted a library board made up of people with different viewpoints, beliefs, and political leanings. However, their first two appointments happened to both be people who objected to the books being in the children’s section.

Kozlowski said he still believes the library board should have a broad range of thoughts and opinions.

“I don’t think we want a board that is one-sided, that’s not good,” he said. “We don’t want all like-minded people and to have some diversity on the board.”

Kozlowski said the county’s personnel committee will review the committee candidates and ultimately make a recommendation to the full board of commissioners for approval. He said the county wants to add the new library board member as soon as it can.

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