Josephine Community Library Eviction
In this article, Audrey will report on the events leading to the Josephine Community Library eviction notice and inform readers of the predicted construction of a new building.
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Eviction of Josephine Community LIBRARY
Eviction of Josephine Community LIBRARY
By: Audrey Roetling
By: Audrey Roetling
On Feb. 6, 2025, the lease for the Grants Pass branch of the Josephine Community Library was terminated by Josephine County commissioners, who are now officially able to evict the library from the building. The commissioners used this eviction notice as a tactic to bring the library board to the table; however, the library was not given an adequate opportunity to represent themselves in the decision of the eviction.
Libraries all over the United States have been having problems with staying open with issues such as book banning, defunding, and eviction. According to The Guardian, legislatures have been passing policies to ban books and force libraries to pay tremendous fees for all violations. There are incidents of the American Association of Publishers selling e-books to libraries with unfair pricing, that differs from stores. There are also many cases of publishers suing libraries over book rights and pricing. One example of this is that, according to AP News, Missouri “cut roughly $4.5 million in public library funding from the budget, citing a lawsuit by two library groups to overturn a new Missouri law.” It is becoming increasingly harder to deny that there has been a trend with laws passing book bans and the closures of libraries. Although the circumstances and legislation in Grants Pass may not directly compare to all of these incidents, the closure of libraries is evidently becoming a trend in communities all over the nation.
Libraries are essential to the community. They provide technology, such as computers and printers, for those who cannot afford them in their own homes. They also provide free spaces to study for high school and college students, and provide free, tangible books and resources, which are helpful to provide resources to learning without electronics. Libraries expose children to books and public story readings at a young age and even lead competitions to encourage reading in the community, such as Battle of the Books. Libraries give young adults a place to form study groups and retired adults a place to read and discuss local and national news. Most importantly, libraries provide people with books to read, which increases critical thinking, language skills, understanding of how the world works, learning history, developing empathy, boosting their imagination, and broadening perspective — which are all vital to being the best possible person.
The Josephine County Library signed a lease in 2008 allowing them to pay $1 a year for rent. The library simply does not have the money or support allowing them to pay market-value rent to the county. In an interview with KOIN 6, Commissioner John West said, “The county pays $22,000 to $25,000 per year to maintain the library building. Under the library’s now-terminated lease, the community library paid the county $1 per year to rent the building. With the county in need of funding to repair a leaking roof at the Josephine County Jail, West said that the library needs to pay market value to rent the space at 200 C St.” The library does not have the money to pay more in rent, but the County does not feel obligated to fund the library, either, with new budget cuts.
In an interview with OPB, commissioner Chris Barnett stated the eviction of the library was merely “a landlord/tenant issue, according to a lease agreement that the county has with the community library … I guess from the past board”, explaining that the Josephine Community Library had some repairs they had to make. Later in the interview, Barnett stated, “ I went to the library. I’ve tried to reach Ms. Kate Lasky, the director of the community library. And nobody’s reached out to us. Nobody whatsoever.” In an interview with Kate Lasky, she told KDRV News: “The county administration has not reached out to the library in the last six years about changing the lease agreement or negotiating for maintenance costs or other maintenance concerns that they actually have." There was a ton of miscommunication and some back and forth about the notification that she got from the commission about this meeting. As a result, the Josephine Community Library was ultimately not represented at the commission meeting to close the library and received only a 30-day eviction notice.
Fortunately, the Josephine Community Library will be working to fund and construct a new building. Grants Pass President of Friends of the Library, Jennifer Roberts, has stated, “This has really highlighted why it’s important for us to get our own building. So far, we are still fundraising. The foundation is planning to break ground in 2027.”
Ultimately, the decision to close the library is not completely solidified and the Librarians and Commissioners will be meeting on Feb. 11 at 1:30 p.m. to further discuss this issue. Regarding the potential case of the library closing, a new building is not predicted to be opened until 2027. Since that is a few years away, students should be keeping an eye out for reading resources, especially in the summer, when the school libraries are closed. This could include using Sora, free digital books, through the Grants Pass High School Website or E-Books through the Josephine Community Library Website. Some people might want to consider supporting bookstores, such as Oregon Books, Barnes and Noble, and Evangelical, trying libraries in Medford or nearby areas, or even borrowing and trading books with friends. As stated by the author of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, “You don't need to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
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