Coronado is poised to clarify its policies on access to library meeting spaces after a local story time group said it was being unfairly denied access.
Rachel Racz, founder of Tiny Patriots Story Time, sent a letter via Burke Law Group in January demanding that she be allowed to rent community space at the library after being denied meeting space for Veteran’s Day and Christmas themed children’s story hours.
This week, her attorney called and said she could now rent a room, so she did. Library staff later called and asked how she would like the room to be set up. It was anticlimactic, but still a relief, she said.
After the issue arose, the city reviewed its policy governing reservations of library spaces, which had not been updated since 2009 and is based on a 1983 edition, according to Andrea McCullough, the city’s communications and engagement officer.
City Manager Tina Friend proposed changes to the library’s policy that clarify the parameters for use of public meeting spaces at a regular meeting of the Library Board of Trustees on Feb. 13.
The proposed 2024 policy revision continues the prohibition of for-profit organizations from renting the library meeting rooms, but does not mention “non-religious activities,” McCullough said.
When Racz first attempted to book a room for a Veteran’s Day story time, she was told that library volunteers must pass background checks. There wasn’t enough time, so she used the city’s community center instead. Her request to book a room for a Christmas story time was denied because library policy states that any religious-toned readings the library hosts must be academic, rather than proselytizing, in nature.
The library’s current room use policy states that religious organizations may book rooms for secular purposes, but prohibits them from using library rooms for religious ceremony or worship. It also says that events held at the library’s meeting rooms cannot be advertised as sponsored or hosted by the library without permission.
Friend’s proposed update would clarify the parameters of non-library sponsored programming that is hosted and presented by an individual or outside group.
The full update reads, “Community Benefit: Use of these Rooms are limited to civic, cultural, educational, informational, or charitable purposes in furtherance of the mission, vision, and values of the Coronado Library and for the benefit of the community of Coronado.”
If approved by the Library Board of Trustees at a future meeting, the new policy will take effect within a few months to allow time for administrative changes to the reservation system and to notify current reservation holders of the changes.
“The existing meeting room use policy was based on a former version that is over 40 years old,” Friend said in an emailed statement. “It was in need of an update to contemporary standards and to provide more clarity as to how and when public use is welcomed. The revised policy standardizes conditions and provides a simple framework for administration.”
In the meantime, Racz is hosting a preview event of Tiny Patriots Story Time at the library’s Ruby Room on 10 a.m. on March 27, with a larger event at the Winn Room at 10 a.m. on May 2. She was not asked to complete a background check this time.
“I’m excited the library is doing the right thing,” Racz said. “But it’s been really eye-opening and sad how negative it got in the community really fast.”
The issue was hotly debated in Coronado and beyond. Racz took her story nationally, appearing on Fox News ahead of other publications picking up the story, which she said at the time she hoped would put pressure on the library to resolve the issue.
The story prompted a flurry of negative comments submitted via the library’s connection card suggestion box, which accepts online submissions. Some incited violence: “Will the staff please pour gasoline on their bodies and torch themselves?” one comment read.
But Racz said she never intended the story to grow in the negative way that it did.
“There was so much anger about this for a little while, and so much speculation on what I was trying to accomplish,” Racz said. “All I wanted was to use the Winn Room like everyone else.”
Racz said some people inaccurately aligned her and her supporters with the controversial Awaken Church and accused her of book banning. Some even contacted the U.S. Navy – her husband is a Navy SEAL – seeking discipline.
Racz sent her letter of demand with Jessica Tompane, who was a vocal critic of a Pride-themed toddler story time in June 2023 and has been fighting for policy changes at the library over content available to young patrons.
Racz said she has never attended Awaken Church and was not actively involved in the controversy over children’s programming last year, but that people still assume she – or anyone speaking in support of her fight to rent library meeting rooms – is.
“A small internet mob can make such a large impact, and we let it happen,” Racz said. “It did highlight how something this small – it’s just a room at the library – causes this much tension. The loudest people are the meanest ones, and people don’t want to say anything (in support of me) because they won’t want to be tied in with Awaken Church.”
Still, Racz said she was proud to stand up for her beliefs and that she appreciates the city’s efforts to address her concerns.
The next meeting of the Library Board of Trustees is scheduled for April 9 at 3 p.m. in the library’s Winn Room.
“Our dynamic library is a community hub that is a welcome place for all,” Friend said. “The library continues to be a place to engage and share with the community a multitude of resources, services, and programming where viewpoints, ideas, and expressions can be represented.”
