The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

To The Eagle:

Why does Trudy Fredrickson have all the books donated to Johnson Park? The Friends of the Bend Library and librarians say they only donate to public facilities not private individuals. So what happened? Apparently old board members were angered the library they configured had been changed. Mrs. Fredrickson was right when she said the conditions where the books were housed were ideal. The room was dark and warm, and it was almost impossible to read the titles of books, so great for books, not so wonderful for users.

In an effort to make the library more appealing and inviting, the current board decided to move the library for the third time. Apparently angered by the move, Mrs. Fredrickson made a proposal to the county commissioners and then to the Grays River Valley Center (GRVC) Board of Directors to separate the library from the community center and run it herself privately, with a board she appointed.

Several months of meetings took place; the board choice of room and other options were offered but none were acceptable to Mrs. Fredrickson due to the codes being given only to board members. She was given the codes but other demands were not met, and Mrs. Fredrickson stated she was giving notice and removing the books.

During this time Mrs. Fredrickson said no one was to enter the library including GRVC board members! This occurred after almost two months of ongoing public and private meetings. Finally fed up, Commissioner Mike Backman told her to take the books, and she did. He had no right to confer the books and she has no right to take them, in my opinion.

Mrs. Fredrickson was responsible for finding the books and cases for beginning the library with the 7,000 books from Bend. Of the 7,000 books hundreds upon hundreds have been donated to the fair for their book sale through the years, additional sales were held at the center. I was told 4700 books from Bend were removed and 618 from donations. Even if another public library should open, it will be with books donated to Johnson Park.

The new GRVC board is moving on and looking forward to continuing donations from our community. The halls are lined with bookcases filled with paperbacks and open to everyone. Libraries across the country are changing, and GRVC at Johnson Park hopes to change to meet your interests and discover and implement affordable new library technology. That Mrs. Fredrickson began the library will not be forgotten, but know your library at GRVC Johnson Park remains open to all.

An observer to GRVC board meetings,

Cynthia Cook

Rosburg