Two new members of the Library Board of Trustees were appointed Tuesday by Washoe’s Board of County Commissioners. Gianna Jacks and Anne Silver were selected from among 50 applicants to fill the board’s two vacant seats.
Applicants included business owners, current and former educators and librarians, a literacy expert, an artist, retirees and religious leaders. Some included with their applications personal letters of recommendation from local and state leaders.
Commissioners each selected their top six candidates for the two vacant positions. Candidates who received at least three votes were then voted on for the appointment.
Alexandra Wilson, who works on the county’s commissioner support team, told commissioners this batch of applicants was much larger than any in recent years.
“It’s amazing that we received this many individuals interested in some of our boards and committees when in the past we were having trouble getting two or three individuals,” she said.
Commissioner Mike Clark, who has pushed county staff to improve community promotion of commission and board vacancies, said he appreciated seeing a larger pool of applicants for the library board. He warned, however, that with so many candidates not everyone would get what they wanted from the selection.
“We’re trying to balance this,” he said. “This is going to be a tough decision. Lots of people are going to be unhappy with whatever way this goes down. I’m going to support people that I think will balance this board.”
Gianna Jacks was selected to fill a full-term vacancy on the library board beginning in October and continuing through June 2027. Jacks moved from Carson City to Washoe County six months ago and runs a tax and business consulting firm with her husband.
Jacks filed for the position in October 2022 but didn’t include a resume or letters of recommendation with her filing. She gave a speedy, earnest and impassioned speech to commissioners to select her for the role, telling them about her 18 years as a realtor, her eight years in the U.S. Navy Reserve, her experience serving on boards and her three sons, who she said love to read.
“I think the library board of trustees is a great checks-and-balances system as a curator for a fluid library system,” Jacks said. “It’s a huge public system of wants and needs. However, the library board of trustees isn’t just about who loves the books the most or how much you love books.”
Silver was appointed to fill the second vacancy, a mid-term position, beginning in October and continuing through June 2026. She is the chief executive officer of the Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce and has led organizations and served on boards in the community for the past 15 years.
Community members voice concerns, public comment shut down again
Commission Chair Alexis Hill shut down public comment and called a lunch break shortly into the comment period for the library board appointment. The person speaking used their three minutes to discuss defunding libraries, rail against Drag Queen Story Hour and denounce the American Library Association. Hill asked the speaker to direct comments to the selection of two library trustees, and when she refused, the gallery began to heckle Hill, who then called a recess.
Following the break, public commenters continued to touch on issues championed by the far-right, including removing books, the alleged sexualization of children through library programming, and the removal of the library system director Jeff Scott.
Commissioner Clark used the discord to rail against Hill’s removal of public comment from the start of commission meetings. He suggested that if commenters could discuss concerns not specific to agenda items before decisions were made, there would be fewer disruptions during agenda-specific comment periods.
In contrast, public comment provided on the county’s online SpeakUp portal was largely in favor of selecting non-partisan candidates who would uphold the First Amendment and maintain the library system’s diversity and inclusion efforts.
Bri Schmidt commented online on behalf of Silver State Equality.
“Libraries are meant to be a safe space for all,” she said. “When we begin to ban books or diversity programming, we remove that safe space. The library continues to do well in the modern day because of [its] inclusion efforts.”
