County Council appoints 5 incumbents, 1 new member to Greenville County Library Board

Savannah Moss, Greenville News
·2 min read

Greenville County Council appointed Elizabeth Collins, Joe Poore, Stephanie Cunningham, Allan Hill, Tommy Hughes and Marcia Moston for the six vacant seats of the Greenville County Library System Board of Trustees.

Out of the six appointed, Cunningham represents the lone newcomer, replacing William Pinkston, an incumbent. Members serve four-year terms on the 11-person board. Brian Aufmuth, Kenneth Baxter, Gene Beckner, James Hoard and Kristen Odom comprise the remainder of the board.

The appointment from county council comes at a contentious time ― just weeks after the Library Board voted 6 to 4 to remove themed displays from all facilities ― unless concerning “paid holidays observed by both Greenville County Government and Greenville County Library System," concluding a months-long debate regarding library displays.

In April, the Board mandated a policy requiring branches to seek permission to put up displays if they promoted certain regulated materials. Then, in June, GCLS asked Travelers Rest branch staff to remove a display including titles like Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” and Tennessee Williams' “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” The TR branch manager then replaced the display with a Pride display from last year, reading “Read with Pride.” He was asked to take it down and didn't.

Now, GCLS is the only known library system in the US to eliminate themed displays, according to Pinkston, who asked librarians to research other libraries with the same policy. None were found.

Hill has a petition asking for his removal from the Freedom in Library Advocacy Group (FLAG.)

Recently, Hill, Moston and Collins voted to remove themed displays. Poore and Hughes voted in favor.

“The county fully endorses discrimination and every act of discrimination and bullying and mistreatment of civic servants that’s happened since June," Freedom in Library Advocacy Group said in a statement to the Greenville News on Tuesday. "They had the opportunity to make change."

Savannah Moss covers Greenville County politics and growth/development. Reach her at smoss@gannett.com or follow her on 'X' @savmoss.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville County Library Board: 5 incumbents, 1 newcomer on board