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On July 1, Fremont County Library Board Chair Kristen McClelland stated:
“We have … organizations right here in Fremont County that people are a part of that are just the same as a Moms for Liberty or Mass Resistance, so like Fremont County Right to Read. That’s not a grassroots organization. They’re tied to Better Wyoming, which is tied to the George B. Storer Foundation. That’s no different than Moms for Liberty and Mass Resistance than what you name it…”
That is false and unfairly dismisses the hundreds of Fremont County residents who have volunteered their time and resources in support of public libraries.
Fremont County Right to Read (FCRR) was created by two Lander residents as a book club, and continued through concerns about efforts to restrict access to books and politicize our public libraries. We are a local group from all political affiliations. Members are from all walks of life, throughout Fremont County.
Mass Resistance and Moms for Liberty serve national interests and cannot be compared to FCRR’s truly hyper-local community connections.
Our funding proves we are grassroots. Supported by local community members who attend our public book club and voluntarily donate to purchase books, we raise funds through the sale of FCRR apparel, initially purchased with our personal funds, not by any outside organization. Those funds purchased the documentary “The Librarians,” which aired at all three Fremont County Libraries. Local people fund our work because local people drive it. Every penny ever given to Fremont County Right to Read directly benefits the FCLS through cash donations to the Library Foundation and the donation of book club kits from the FCRR “banned” book club.
In 2026, we partnered with the Fremont County Library Foundation to make licences for “The Librarians” available at all three branches. All donations received were given to the Library Foundation.
In 2024, Better Wyoming invited FCRR, formerly the Lander Banned Books Club, to participate in a statewide literature drop. FCRR shared information requesting help from interested community members. Those community members then gathered at a Better Wyoming staffer’s home to get instructions and placed door hangers around Lander. That is the extent of our connection to Better Wyoming.
If Chair McClelland has evidence that FCRR is directed, funded, or advised by Better Wyoming or any other outside organization, she should present that evidence publicly. If she cannot, she should correct the record and publicly apologize for making a FALSE statement during a public meeting.
Reasonable people can disagree about library policy, when grounded in facts, not unsupported assertions that attempt to discredit actively engaged community members.
Fremont County deserves a Library Board that welcomes public participation and conducts its business with fairness, accuracy, and respect. This kind of unwarranted and slanderous attack on the constituents of Fremont County is the opposite of that. FCRR shares information and concerns with the public, who decide how they’ll participate in civic engagement. The FCLS Board chair and members should show respect to the community they represent.
Signed,
FCRR
Carol L. Smith
Sarah Reilley