Letter to the Editor: Libraries to close for Juneteenth, but not Good Friday

Dear editor:

There is apparently significant confusion and misleading information regarding the holiday schedule of the Big Horn County Library system. As one of five library board members, I wish to provide transparency and encourage county residents to become active in planning the direction of our county library system.

At the November 2024 monthly meeting of the library board, we were presented with a schedule of “Suggested Holidays for 2025” by the branch managers and staff of the county library system. The list of holidays given to the board is traditional and included Good Friday holiday. It was created to best serve patrons and staff. The county library system is not required to follow any federal, state, or county list of holidays: The schedule of holidays is intended to best serve the community and staff. 

Board member Barbara Fiedler and director Tina Ely immediately objected to a holiday on Good Friday because it was “religious.” Lea Sorensen, stating her support for this reasoning, made a motion to eliminate the Good Friday holiday and substitute Juneteenth. This was clearly stated to be a direct substitution of Juneteenth for our Good Friday holiday. Juneteenth was never one of the “Suggested Holidays for 2025” as was submitted by our branch managers and staff. Barbara Fiedler seconded this motion. I strongly objected and asked if they would therefore eliminate Christmas holiday. The other four board members and director admitted that would be “going too far.” Barbara Fiedler, Lea Sorenson, Nikole Greene, and Ted Menke then voted to eliminate the Good Friday holiday and substitute Juneteenth. I voted against the motion and vigorously protested this action; I believe it violates the will and interests of the people of Big Horn County and is a deliberate insult to their religious beliefs.

This is a particularly egregious action for the library staff. Branch managers and staff of the county library system do not receive any paid holidays. They are allowed three paid personal leave days every year. With the action by the director and the other four board members to eliminate Good Friday holiday and substitute Juneteenth, library staff must now take a day without pay or use one of their three annual personal leave days if they wish to attend religious services or join family and friends to observe the most important holiday of the Christian faith! They will now be required to observe Juneteenth and will lose a day of work and pay. Additionally insulting is that Juneteenth is in the middle of the week and it is the busiest time of year for the library staff because it is during the Summer Reading Program.

After each meeting of the library board, the secretary, Lea Sorenson, is required to produce minutes of the meeting in a timely manner. Minutes of the November meeting were not produced until after the library board meeting in February! The minutes that were then produced were blatantly false: It was stated that the board adopted the “Suggested Holidays for 2025” with one unnamed person voting against acceptance. During the monthly library board meeting on March 6th, 2025, Menke, Sorenson, Fiedler, and Greene voted to accept the minutes as written. I strongly protested and demonstrated that the four board members did not adopt the “Suggested Holidays for 2025” but instead lied about what they had actually done. Particularly egregious is that when asked by a member of the public if staff could still observe Good Friday holiday the board members disguised the fact that staff would lose a day of pay if they did so and that they were now required to take a day off without pay and observe Juneteenth. 

The action of the four board members and their director in this instance is of course merely one example of them implementing their personal goals and beliefs without regard to the will and best interests of the citizens of Big Horn County. The purpose of a library is to serve as a repository of knowledge. It has always been for the betterment of mankind. A good library will help people increase their knowledge and better themselves and the community economically. The purpose of a public library is not to advance a political agenda or to provide entertainment.

We can once again have a good, useful library system throughout the county, but it will require active participation by the public to obtain this. I strongly encourage members of the public to join this effort. Please come to library board meetings, please demand transparency and honesty from the board and director. PLEASE GET INVOLVED.

John D. Bernt

Greybull