VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The Volusia County Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday to dissolve its Library Advisory Board.
The board is made up of six people who live in Volusia County and are appointed to their roles. They hear residents’ concerns and make recommendations to the council for programs and services the libraries provide.
Back in April 2023, News 6 reported when the county council was first looking to dissolve the board and several council members chimed in about needing more control over material in the libraries.
“We find out what’s going on at the libraries, give our opinions on things, maybe make some suggestions and it’s kind of like a free consultation because we are not paid for our time or even more our mileage,” Deborah Dubois said.
Dubois is a retired librarian and serves on the library board. She told News 6 she hopes the council votes to keep them running.
“Of course, anybody could go and make suggestions at the library but having a formal way to do that and someone that people can go to and say, ‘Hey, can you ask the library about this,’ I think that would help,” she said.
In March of this year, council member David Santiago moved to officially dissolve the board, which is what is going to a vote on Tuesday.
“This may survive this discussion, or it may even increase it. Our staff is going to give us an overview of the results and how they’ve been doing and how it’s still relevant,” he said.
Santiago told News 6 this isn’t for control over material but is to make sure the board is still meeting the intended needs.
“This, I think, is a good healthy exercise amongst the county council members to review every single program we have, including our library board, to make sure their relevant and make sure the tax dollars we spend on this are giving us a return on our investment,” he said.
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