Two rulings in Flathead District Court

last week resulted in the continued removal of books from the

Whitefish library and the temporary closure of the building.

Flathead District Judge Stewart Stadler

Friday ruled against the Whitefish Library Association’s request to

prevent Flathead County from removing books from the branch

library. He also ruled that the county could close the library June

18 to transition control of the facility to the City of Whitefish

by July 1.

The Whitefish Library Association had

asked for an injunction, a temporary restraining order and a

permanent injunction to ensure that all materials housed in the

library on March 1 remain. Stadler denied the request, but ordered

the Flathead County Library Board to allow the association members

access to the library to create an inventory list of the remaining

materials.

Stadler told both parties to resolve

the dispute as quickly as possible and resolve issues that remain

in a lawsuit filed by the library association against the

county.

Mike Collins, chair of the Whitefish

Community Library Board of Trustees, said the trustees are pleased

that the orders supported the trustees’ and association’s desires

for a collaborative review and inventory of the library books and

media in question.

“Our position has always been to work

together for the ultimate benefit of both the city and county

library patrons that we’ve pledged to continue serving as a

community library,” he said in a press release. “We regret that it

had to come to this but we are very pleased that the judge has

ordered the mediated negotiations suggested by the Whitefish team

early in the process. For the first time in this process, we may

have some assurance that books and other materials being removed

from the Whitefish library will be tracked.”

County library officials previously

removed about 6,000 books from Whitefish. The Whitefish City

Council voted last fall to terminate the city’s agreement with

Flathead County and open a city library. Flathead library officials

then began removing books and announced plans to close the facility

June 18.

The Whitefish Library Association filed

a lawsuit against the county June 1. The group wants the court to

order all materials purchased for the Whitefish branch over the

years be returned to Whitefish and the library association be paid

for any materials that were destroyed.

A hearing on the temporary restraining

order began in District Court Thursday.

Joey Kositzky, who has been hired as

the director for the new Whitefish Community Library, testified

that she had “some concerns” about donated books being reassigned

to other libraries.

Kositzky, long-time library branch

manager in Whitefish, said she discovered at least one book

specifically donated to the Whitefish library that had been

relocated to the Columbia Falls branch.

“The home library location had been

changed,” she said of the book’s barcode.

All library materials have a barcode

that designates the book as being a Flathead County item and also

being assigned to a specific library in the county system. Some of

the books donated to Whitefish are designated only as such with a

sticker inside the book.

County library officials have promised

that any books specifically donated to the Whitefish branch would

remain in Whitefish after the county stops running the branch.

Officials, however, denied a request by the library association to

inventory books alongside county workers as the books are

sorted.

“The books are not physically being

looked at,” Kositzky claimed. “They may have a sticker saying

they’re donated, but that’s not in the computer.”

After more than two hours of testimony

Thursday, Stadler began questioning Flathead County Library

Director Kim Crowley.

Stadler asked Crowley what county

officials would do if at some point the county ordered that some of

the removed books be returned to Whitefish.

“What I don’t want is this to go to

trial in a year and then after it’s decided someone says they can’t

find the books,” he said.

Crowley said the original 6,000 books

removed are gone.

Stadler asked if the remaining books to

be sorted could be tracked and if any are required to be returned

to Whitefish those books could, in fact, return.

“Well, there’s always some books that

don’t get returned or their dog eats them,” Crowley said.

Stadler asked Crowley if donated books

could have slipped through in the review process and were no longer

in Whitefish.

Crowley admitted that it was

possible.

When he asked if “two sets of eyes”

looking at books would make it less likely for a donated book to

“slip by,” Crowley said, “yes.”

Stadler asked Crowley if there would be

any reason a person from the library association couldn’t be

present during the review process.

“It’s pretty intensive computer work,”

she responded.

“You don’t look at the books?” he

asked.

“Sure we do,” she responded.

He then asked if a library association

volunteer could look at the remaining books during the continuing

review process. Crowley’s response was “yes.”

Volunteers could assure the remaining

books with donation stickers remain in Whitefish, he asked. Again

she responded, “yes.”

The city of Whitefish is set to begin

operating the Whitefish Community Library on July 1. Library staff

plans to provide some limited services in the Community Room of the

library building — possibly computer access — during the transition

time. The library will re-open the first week of July.

For more information on the transition

visit www.whitefishlibrary.org.