HOSTILE TAKEOVER
by Marylaine Block
When I was writing my book about how thriving libraries get that way, I ultimately decided to focus on public libraries. Not because there weren't thriving academic, school and special libraries, but because there seemed to be less connection between doing a bang-up job and gaining continuing support and funding - it was too easy for one or two administrators who didn't understand the value of libraries to save money by shutting them down (witness the current efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency to close most of its libraries). With public libraries, on the other hand, responsive administrators who do a great job of meeting the needs of their communities can usually count on popular support, for their administration and for their referenda.
What I hadn't taken into account was the possibility that a hostile library board with its own political agenda could ignore widespread public support and fire outstanding directors and undermine library programs. It simply hadn't occurred to me until the Gwinnett County (GA) Public Library's board fired the library's Executive Director, Jo Ann Pinder.
Under Pinder's direction during the past 15 years, Gwinnett County Public Library became one of the thriving libraries I wrote about, and was recognized as Library of the Year in 2000 by Library Journal. The strategic plan Pinder adopted was a response to both the changing demographics of Gwinnett County (including a steadily-increasing Spanish-speaking population) and to the expressed wishes of business, education, ethnic, financial, health and government community leaders who participated in two half-day-long meetings.
The service areas they wanted the library to stress were "Lifelong Learning ... meeting community expectations for knowledge"; Commons, featuring "fun, friendly environments people will choose before a bookstore"; Information Literacy; and "resources and services supporting formal education for all students." The group also wanted to see more cultural recognition and sensitivity in all library services and better marketing to increase public awareness of those services.
Accordingly, Pinder improved public spaces in the libraries, gave more emphasis to Spanish language materials, reduced wait times for popular fiction through the purchase of multiple copies, beefed up homework help and other formal learning support, added tutorials and increased training for library databases, added downloadable audio, video, and music, and placed a new emphasis on services to teens - all strategies approved by her then-board members.
The current board, however, is headed by an Phyllis Oxendine, one of Pinder's former employees who is opposed to both the popular fiction emphasis and the purchase of Spanish-language recreational reading. Backed up by two other board members (one of them newly appointed and attending her first board meeting), she fired Pinder. She admitted that the firing was without cause, which means the board is required to pay Pinder her $127,000 salary for one year - a spending of tax dollars that should reasonably require an explanation. None was put forward.
The board did this despite the fact that the board had previously given Pinder one glowing performance review after another, and despite the fact that 200+ supporters showed up at the meeting to defend her, some of whom couldn't fit into the packed room and had to stand in the hallway. Board member Brett Taylor had asked people to wear red at the meeting to express support for Pinder, and according to the June 13 Gwinnett Daily Post, the audience was "a sea of red," shouting "catcalls" and chants of "fire the board." The board went on to cut off the funding for popular reading in Spanish.
It's ironic that one of the board members who ousted Pinder accused her of a "pattern of not listening to the community." I sent the board a message pointing out that, as one who had actually read the library's strategic plan, I seemed to know more about what the community said it wanted than they did.
Worse may be yet to come. Brett Taylor, in an open letter to Gwinnett County citizens in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said Oxendine had "a personal vendetta against Pinder" and planned to "dismantle the library executive staff, first by firing several people, eliminating positions, and then by attrition..."
So, apparently doing a great job and wining the enthusiastic support of your community is not enough if there is a hostile takeover of your board of directors. So my question to those of you who have been there is this: is it possible to win over a hostile board, and if so, how? I'd love to hear from you.
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COOL QUOTE:
Freedom means learning to deal with being offended.
Andrew Sullivan. "Your Taboo, Not Mine." Time, February 13, 2006, p. 100
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