Tears, questions erupt as Shelby County library board is pushed out

Morgan Barnes’ voice broke with emotion before he adjourned his last meeting as the North Shelby Library board president.

Barnes, who joined the board in August 2018, lost his position Thursday due to a new law that strips the library – the only one in the state to directly elect its leadership – of its board members, and shifts it to an appointed model. Five elected positions will become appointed.