County library policy comes under scrutiny for religious, political groups

{Contributed Photo}

A Davidson County library policy could be crossing the line after one mother alleges she was not allowed to set up her foster care display at an Easter egg hunt. Genevieve Traversy said a Thomasville branch staff member pointed to a cross on her hat and shirt before referring to a policy that prohibits political and religious organizations from setting up on library property. 

Traversy, a certified foster care recruiter, said she called the library to gain approval before the event.  

According to library management, Traversy spoke with a staff member who was on leave the day of the incident. Both parties have confirmed that while Traversy and her children were offered the opportunity to participate in the egg hunt, her display was not permitted on the property. “I asked the manager after he told me they’re a public library that can’t have a religious organization set up anything. I asked him if I needed to leave because they didn’t want to associate with a Christian or ‘religious’ organization,” Traversy said. “He shook his head and said again they’re a public library that can’t associate with ‘religious’ organizations [while pointing at the cross on my logos]. I then turned to my girls and told them that I’m sorry we couldn’t stay for the Easter egg hunt because we needed to leave. He stared at me and looked at the door and said sorry. It’s amazing what people can say without actually saying ‘leave.’”

According to her Facebook page, Traversy has authored a number of articles for groups such as Focus on the Family, related to foster care. Her TikTok post recounting the incident had gone viral but was removed by Traversy.  “I just want to make those who have invested in this wild 2 days aware that I took down the video. I feel like changes are being made through it and now that I’m receiving not so nice messages and my work has been contacted, it’s gone too far. I’m not sure how politicians handle it.” She wrote on Facebook, “I am a child of God, a wife and mother first. I need to make sure my family is protected. Thank you for your support!”

The policy in question is slated for discussion between commissioners next week. 

It states, “The Davidson County Public Library System maintains meeting rooms in all five of its libraries. These rooms are designed to meet the general needs of educational and cultural programming. Meeting rooms are intended primarily for library programming and civic and/or community programs presented in cooperation with the libraries.”

It goes on to say, “Rooms are not available for meetings of social, political, partisan or religious purposes; for the benefit of private individuals or commercial concerns; for the presentation of ‘one side only’ controversial matters; or when in the judgment of the director any disorder may be likely to occur. The rooms may not be reserved for denominational groups. Exception is made when committees or associations affiliated with more than one church are involved.” 

Library Services director Sheila Killebrew addressed the incident in a statement. “We have been looking into the situation that occurred at the Thomasville Public Library’s Easter egg hunt on Tuesday night. Normally, the involvement of outside organizations at library events is arranged well in advance. Unfortunately, the manager on duty had no advance notice of Ms. Traversy’s expectation to set up a booth for her organization and the decision to proceed with the event without that booth was made in good faith in keeping with current policies.”

Traversy has heard from a number of elected officials and county management about the details of the day. She said her major question is regarding this policy affecting a site that is also used annually as a voting location. 

Commissioner Chris Elliott said this was the first he heard of the library policy. He issued a public statement apologizing to Traversy on Facebook. He said the policy will be reviewed promptly. “It’s sad, disheartening and disappointing that [Genevieve] and her children felt unwelcome at the library. She wasn’t there to preach; she wanted to recruit foster parents.” 

This type of controversy is not unique to Davidson County. Elliott pointed to the American Library Association’s guidelines and plans to review this during the upcoming discussion. ALA created an interpretation to answer specifics about the meeting room clause in the Library Bill of Rights. “If a public library makes a meeting room open to the public, library staff cannot deny anyone from using it based on the subject matter of the meeting.” 

Some commissioners have noted that the policy would still need to be reviewed from a county leadership perspective. 

Commissioner James Shores said that the situation “needed to be looked into” and be “more in line with Davidson County.” Traversy agreed and added that she went to the facility for an Easter egg hunt and that the celebration of Easter is often associated with the Christian faith. 

Traversy said she doesn’t blame the library staff. “I am Christian, so I am forgiving.” The Lexington-based mom says she is concerned about trolls since sharing her personal foster care story publicly through several media sources. “Between ages three and 18, I was placed in 16 different homes. I grew up surrounded by social workers, lawyers, multiple foster parents and siblings. So many lives touched mine, yet I felt like no one could relate to me,” she shared. “I don’t want to bash anyone. I just never got the chance to say, ‘I am here to advocate for the children.’ I hope they review the policy and change it.”