THE WITHDRAWAL
Following a dispute over a Pride Month display, the Yancey County Commissioners voted in a one-minute meeting — without public discussion or input, and in probable violation of open meeting laws — to remove the Yancey County Public Library from the Avery-Mitchell-Yancey Regional Library System.
Unless stopped, the withdrawal will go into effect on July 1, 2025 — at which point all current library staff will be terminated and the commissioners' hand-picked replacements will be installed.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Our legal case is expected to set precedent at a moment when several counties in North Carolina and across the country have launched efforts seemingly out of the same playbook: to remove public libraries from regional systems in an apparent attempt to exert more direct control over their collections, policies, and speech.
To put it clearly, this case is about stopping politicians from hiding behind bureaucratic rules to justify discrimination.
We're fighting not just for our library but for Fontana, other regional libraries in North Carolina, and beyond.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
THE LAWSUIT
A group of concerned Yancey County residents has organized, funded, and is filing this lawsuit. We are represented by Brooks Pierce.
We’ve officially raised enough money to pay the retainer fees; the legal fight to defend our library and the First Amendment is now underway. Our legal team includes some of the best in the state, most recently recognized for representing Justice Allison Riggs in her successful litigation to protect North Carolina voters. With a long track record of standing up for the people, they’re now standing with us. Let’s keep pushing forward — history is watching.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The livelihoods of beloved and
experienced library staff
Our commissioners are targeting the same library staff who served as an emergency lifeline during Hurricane Helene's devastating impact last fall. When flooding severed roads and cut off communities, the library became a critical emergency hub, providing Wi-Fi hotspots to churches and shelters, hosting FEMA representatives, and helping residents access aid and communicate with loved ones. Amber Westall Briggs, director of the AMY Regional Library System, received the 2024 North Carolina Library Director of the Year award for her service to the community.
Services for children, seniors,
and homeschool families
AMY Regional Library's Children's Librarian serves across all libraries in the system, hosting weekly storytime and children's programming. If Yancey leaves the system, we will no longer have a Children's Librarian, and this loss will hit many families hard, including homeschool families.
We'll also lose access to AMY's Digital Literacy Librarian, who hosts weekly drop-in tech help sessions and other educational programs that benefit our seniors. And the bookmobile will keep serving Yancey for one year —
but after that, we may lose this resource as well.
A welcoming & inclusive community hub
LGBTQ+ members of our community have been deeply impacted by the commissioners' decision and the culture war it set off. In June 2024, our library set up a simple Pride Month display: books on a table — no flags or banners — in the adult section. That muted display had been developed by our librarians in a good-faith effort to compromise, and in response they were publicly accused of being pedophiles and groomers. That same month, our county commissioners voted to withdraw. This is a manufactured controversy designed to punish our librarians, make queer community members feel unwelcome, and divide us all.
Nearly $100,000 annually in taxpayer money
The county commissioners have repeatedly said that a county-run library will maintain all current services without increasing the financial burden on taxpayers, but the numbers don't add up. For the 2024–25 fiscal year, Yancey County contributed $125,297 to the AMY Regional Library System. Under the proposed county-only model for 2025–26, that amount will increase to $210,689 — and the county will lose access to $98,000 in regional block grant funding. We'll be paying more money to get less: instead of the current 5 dedicated Yancey County Public Library employees and 6 regional support staff, the county plans to employ just 3 full-time staff.