Who gets to name the next Fresno County library? Whoever writes the biggest check

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27-04-2025

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Buildings in Fresno County can now be named — pending the approval of the Board of Supervisors — by whoever can sign the biggest check.
The board adopted the new policy in January and began asking for bids in April for the Clovis and Reedley branches of the Fresno County Library.
The supervisors get the final say on which bidder can name the buildings, but the policy allows corporations, wealthy groups or an individual with a disposable income to try to stake a claim on the name of public buildings.
Supervisor Nathan Magsig, who brought the policy to the board, said he had recently had constituents asking about getting the name of a loved one on a public building. He said the county had no formal policy so the board needed one.
Projects like a library can rack up high construction costs, and he said the county may need to get support from the public sector. The two new libraries are estimated to cost $37.4 million, for example.
'It could be used for furniture, it could be used for artwork and even could be used for decorations in general inside the building,' Magsig said. 'Anything that we can do to get the private sector involved to cut a check.'
The libraries are the only buildings officials are actively seeking sponsorship for, but the policy does not rule out other county-owned structures. The policy says the naming rights can be purchased for no more than 99 years.
Naming rights are common in the private sector, like those on NFL stadiums and NBA arenas. College campus buildings are also often are named after donors or sponsors. The Fresno State Bulldogs play at Valley Children's Stadium and students may also study inside Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Union, named after a wealthy farming family.
Though it may not be unprecedented, what is less common is soliciting for bids for a structure like a library — a utilitarian space open to all residents.
The new policy begs the question: Who gets to be honored on a public building?
'There's a lot of questions there about what is this saying about power and money and access?' said Andrew Fiala, a professor of philosophy and founding director of the Ethics Center at Fresno State. 'A corporate entity that is using this as advertising, that gets a little bit odd from my perspective.'
Residents could see allowing corporations to name a public building as a step towards oligarchy, when a small group of people, who are typically wealthy, have greater power.
'Big corporations and wealthy people have lots of access and that breeds distrust and resentment, and there's a whole cascade of negative public things that come out of so-called oligarchy,' he said.
The names on buildings and in public spaces are often intensely debated. Some draw praise, like when the Clovis Unified School District named its newest school after World War II internment survivor and beloved educator Satoshi 'Fibber' Hirayama.
Many areas of the country had a reckoning with the names of monuments and statues in the wake of the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a Minnesota police officer, and that included Fresno County.
The city of Fresno studied whether some of its monuments with connections to racism and sexism — the Meux Home and Chandler Airport — should be renamed.
The federal U.S. Board on Geographic Names ordered the change of several names in Fresno County that were considered offensive. The most commonly debated location was Yokuts Valley, which is the new name for the region that formerly went by a sexist, racist and derogatory term against Native American women.
But, Fresno County's leaders say opening up the sponsorship of county buildings is a smart decision that could be a blessing when budgets see shortfalls.
Supervisor Luis Chavez, too, stressed the board will get the final decision, saying the leaders will make a decision that is correct for the community and the region where each individual building is located.
'It's very narrowly outlined to make sure you don't get the library sponsored by Camel cigarettes or something,' he said. 'As budgets get tighter, I think it's going to be important that we get creative.'
Both Chavez and Magsig said any corporation that throws its hat in the ring would have to at least be considered.
Magsig noted developers have before been given leeway to name streets as they built out neighborhoods, saying the naming rights of a library isn't any different.
'I can't think of an example of how something like this could be problematic,' he said. 'We will see. Time will tell.'