Save The Alamance County Libraries

08/09/2026

07/09/2026

Just a reminder about the Commissioner Meeting tomorrow morning at 9:30! Please show even if you're not making public comment! We want them to know that Alamance County residents care about the libraries!

From Indivisible Alamance:

We are showing up to be vocal and visible in support of the Alamance Libraries. Specifically to make public comment opposing the way the County Commissioners have ignored the lists of nominees submitted by the City Councils and instead appoint their own, hand-picked people.

Rejecting the Cities' Nominees deliberately circumvents the process by which the cities, who pay for the library buildings, their maintenance and upkeep, are represented on the Library Committee. These appointments allow the right-wing commissioners to push their repressive agenda with no opposition on the Committee.

This is not what We The People expect from our elected officials. Let's show up and let them know this will not stand. Even if you don't want to speak, being their and present in the gallery sends a clear message that people care.

We are showing up to be vocal and visible in support of the Alamance Libraries. Specifically to make public comment opposing the way the County Commissioners have ignored the lists of nominees submitted by the City Councils and instead appoint their own, hand-picked people. Rejecting the Cities' Nom...

01/09/2026

It is National Library Card sign up month!!! Stop by one of the awesome branches of ACPL and get a library card!!!

25/08/2026

Save The Alamance County Libraries is made up of concerned residents of Alamance County who support our amazing library system and its well-deserved place in our county budget! We also want to keep partisan politics out of our libraries and want to make sure that people have the freedom to read! In that vein, we have created a survey for Alamance County residents asking about current events with the library system and your opinions on what is being done and what should be done! We would love to have people from all walks of life and all political backgrounds give their opinions- remember, we believe reading is for everyone and politics have no place in the library! Please take the survey and share!

Made with Tally, the simplest way to create forms.

18/08/2026

Libraries, Lies, and Videotapes. That’s what it has come to with the Alamance County Board of Commissioners and their appointments to the Library Committee; YouTube has receipts. Since its inception in 1988, the municipalities of Mebane, Graham, and Burlington have had the right to two representatives on the Library Committee. This is because they fund the library buildings, maintenance, and utilities and the county funds operations and materials. The non-profit Friends of the Alamance County Libraries funds all programming through their twice yearly book sales. This system worked well for 37 years but in 2025, the residents appointed by the municipalities of Mebane and Burlington started being replaced by Commissioner picks without any transparency. When pressed in 2025, Ed Priola stated he wanted members of the committee to align with his politics and financial priorities of the libraries. Apparently Graham’s nominees of Lindsay McKinney and Bonnie Whittaker fit with Priola’s desires, as they were appointed with a 4-1 vote on 7/20/26. Bonnie Whittaker’s appointment to the Library Committee comes with ethical questions in its own right though, as she is a sitting Graham City Council member.

In January of 2026, Ed Priola replaced Pam Thompson as the Commissioner overseeing the Library Committee and the replacement of Committee nominees continued. Burlington nominated James Shriver (MA of Education) and Sara Blanton (PhD candidate in Literature) but instead Debbie Johnson (no background in education or libraries) and Timothy Check (MBA) were appointed. Mebane nominated Melissa T***s (AP Literature teacher) and Kayla Schilke (Masters in English Literature) but they were replaced by Carolyn Burns and Steven Squires, neither of whom applied for the position (although Kelly Allen stated 8/17/26 that Steven Squires called her to ask to be put on the Committee after Mebane made their nominations, because he had applied in a previous year and was not selected; the Board of Commissioners did appoint him on 6/15/26). When pressed at the 7/20/26 Commissioner Meeting on this, Kelly Allen said she called Ed Hooks, Mayor of Mebane and non-voting member of the City Council, to ask him if she could replace a nominee. Hooks has admitted he gave Allen permission to do so, but has since expressed remorse to his constituents for having done so.

It seems that Ed Priola is running the show concerning the Library Committee: he can say or yell whatever he wants at his constituents and Kelly Allen is hapless to do anything about it, even though she is the Chair of the Board of Commissioners;* and he can select whomever he wants to place on the Committee without input from the municipalities that are supposed to be represented. Commissioner reactions to the appointment are as follows: Pam Thompson asks for more information and debate at a future meeting, Ed Priola yells, Kelly Allen gives questionably truthful answers (33% of nominations were respected, not 95%), and Powell and Carter keep quiet and tow the line for Priola when voting time comes.

Correction to video: Kayla Schilke (Masters in English Literature)

*See video for this conversation between these two: Ed, “I’d like to continue.” Kelly, “Can you do it nicely?” “No.” “Well, I guess, okay.”
https://youtu.be/CePuUpW36LQ?si=Xs8Gknb-O9Fs3HaN

**Library Committee discussions begin at 36:38 of the 8/17/26 Commissioner Meeting
https://youtu.be/SY9VBbq0XZQ?si=eWZBMmhtey-k9en7

https://alamancenews.com/commissioners-differ-over-municipal-picks-for-countys-library-committee/

https://www.youtube.com/AlamanceCountyNC

https://www.youtube.com/

12/08/2026

Commissioner Ed Priola's outbursts towards audience member at the 8/11/26 Library Committee Meeting.

Clips are taken from this hour long video of the library committee meeting.
https://youtu.be/H7shXnh6XdM?si=-7YjMtju4BIJwaBx

12/08/2026

Summary of the 8/11/26 AlCo Library Committee Meeting. There were some spicy moments!

During the meeting Ed Priola had two borderline threatening outbursts at a constituent who was making a public comment! See YouTube for video
https://youtu.be/lO9DcVARq14

Director’s Report: Summer Reading program was very busy! More than 1 million minutes recorded by all participants (children and adults). 257 programs were held with 5,368 people attending! New self-checkout machines will be installed this month and starting August 31st, libraries will close early due to budget cuts by the County Commissioners (7pm).

Four books were up for discussion about being stickered- Library staff had already determined that they did NOT meet the criteria for a sticker as they did NOT include graphic violence, explicit sexual content, substance abuse, self harm/suicidal themes, or profanity. All four books were submitted by Library Committee Member Lindsay McKinney who recused herself from voting on the stickers but stayed in the room with the other members during their discussion of the books! None of them were stickered on appeal, however Cheryl Sanford and Carolyn Burns voted YES for three of the books, and Paula Hendricks voted YES on two.

Girl From the Sea was submitted for “intimacy between two girls”*, but as Bonnie Whitaker noted, this was just a kiss. Spin With Me was submitted for “Gender Identity and Explicit Sexual Content” which turned out to be just details about gender labels. Out: How to be Your Authentic Self was submitted for “Homosexuality and Gender Identity.” Jessica Simmons then had to point out that gender identity and homosexuality are NOT part of the library stickering policy. Cheryl Sanford and Carolyn Burns referred to mastectomies as sexual content and self harm and thought the book should be stickered for this, as well as a web resource list and song list that included websites and songs that refer to sexual content. Let Me Play! was submitted for “Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation” but no one voted to sticker it and there was no discussion of it.

I think at this point there is no question that despite the Library Committee claiming that LGBTQ+ issues have no place in the stickering policy or its origins, that is patently false.

*Reasons for submittal cited in this post are taken directly from the sticker request forms submitted by Lindsay McKinney to the ACPL.

Hour long video of the Library committee meeting that the clips were taken from.
https://youtu.be/H7shXnh6XdM?si=-7YjMtju4BIJwaBx

11/08/2026

Did you know, all ABSS students automatically have ACPLibrary accounts with their student ID number??? Actually, all ABSS, Blessed Sacrament School, The Burlington School, Burlington Christian Academy, Clover Garden School, Faith Christian Academy, The Hawbridge School, Positive Day School, Providence Montessori, and River Mill Academy students are automatically enrolled in this program!!! It is called ACPL Connect.

https://library.alamancecountync.gov/kids/acpl-connect/

06/08/2026

Library Committee/Board of Commissioners Update:

At Monday’s BoC meeting, Commissioner Pam Thompson quizzed the county attorney about appointments to the Library Committee. The Commissioners choose and appoint 3 of 9 members to represent the county and because the municipalities of Burlington, Graham, and Mebane pay for half the library cost, they are allowed to recommend 2 members each. In what seems be a battle for control of the Committee, the Commissioners are banking on the word “approval” in the bylaws to appoint whomever they want, whether the municipalities ever even knew of the applicant. For example, Mebane’s City Council voted on their appointments for the Library Committee on 5/4/26, after the application period had ended. However, Commissioner Ed Priola requested that Carolyn Burns be appointed… even though she applied directly to the county, not to Mebane, and not until 6/11/26! Mebane's City Council was never given the opportunity to review her application as Commission Chair Kelly Allen intervened and had Burns seated on the Library Committee.

The resolutions creating the Committee were written in 1988 and 1992, and seem to be in need of an update, especially as some of the Commissioners seem to be keeping to the letter of the ordinance rather than the spirit of it, very much in bad faith. Commissioner Thompson has said that she would request that Chair Kelly Allen include a discussion of the ordinance on the agenda of the next work session of the Board of Commissioners (Tuesday, 9/8/26 at 9:30am).

For more background information, please see video from the latest BoC meeting and the linked article from the Alamance News.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anOSWB_VDoM

https://alamancenews.com/commissioners-differ-over-municipal-picks-for-countys-library-committee/

Please reach out to your Commissioners and let them know how you feel about all of this! Remember, THEY work for YOU.

Alamance County Commissioners:

Chair Kelly Allen: [email protected]

Vice Chair Steve Carter: [email protected]

Commissioner Pamela Thompson: [email protected]

Commissioner Ed Priola: [email protected]

Commissioner Sam Powell
[email protected]

29/07/2026