The Deschutes Public Library Board could be more divided and rancorous. We wouldn’t want to see it.

On Wednesday the library board meeting was a place where cool temperaments sometimes went missing in policy disagreements. That was underscored repeatedly. Board member Bunny Thompson accused board member Ray Miao of subterfuge. The meeting featured the reading of a letter from some library staff calling for the resignation of Miao and board member Anne Ness, if they continue to be outspoken about their different views from the board’s majority. Library Director Todd Dunkelberg likened Miao’s questions about the margin in the library bond vote to the views of those that took action on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Dunkelberg apologized.

Wednesday’s board meeting was always likely to be a turbulent one. Perhaps, people needed an opportunity to vent. It was the first meeting after it became clear the Bend City Council was not inclined to support changes necessary for the board’s plan for a new, large central library on the north end of Bend. Dunkelberg pulled the district’s application.

The big question for the board Wednesday was: Now what?

The board’s answer was: Look for 5-12 acres near Bend that will give the board options for another location.

Miao called for the district to restart a process of gathering community input. Ness has a vision for a smaller central library than the proposal of 100,000 square feet and more of a regional library emphasis. The remaining three — Thompson, Ann Malkin, Cynthia Claridge — the majority, don’t want to restart the visioning process and want to stick closely to the existing plans for a larger, central library. Malkin also emphasized the continued need for the library system to find new ways to be more accessible to the public.

Any new board plan cannot veer too sharply from the ballot information provided to voters, according to advice from their attorney. The ballot information stated there would be a central library and improvements at all the others.

It’s too early to say how the library’s plans may shift. Because of expected delays and what will surely be increasing construction costs, the board will get less bang for every dollar of the $195 million bond. Greg Holcomb, the library’s construction manager, quoted a figure of losses of $23,000 a day. We are trying to get information from the district about how that was calculated.

The library board is not speaking with one voice about the district’s future plans. And there was much discussion Wednesday about the need for compromise so it could. The board talked about meeting to specifically figure out how to work better together. That’s a good idea. Continued sour meetings may sour the public’s mood and further sour the mood of library employees about their board. The polarized positions on the board, though, may not have much room to budge. They should at least strive to be civil in their disagreement.

The decisive verdict on this board and the library system will be how it moves forward. The verdict will be based on the plan to spend the bond money and how well the plan is executed. What the board actually did Wednesday was the right thing, direct staff to gather more information about the options now. How that got done was the disappointment.

You can tell the board what you think at board@deschuteslibrary.org.