|
It is exceedingly painful to watch what has happened to the Patten Free Library in Bath in the last month. When Nyree Thomas was summarily fired in late September after 22 years of honorable service, a cancer that threatened the life and health of the library was finally brought into sharp focus. Parents and children, teachers who depended on the staff of the children’s library, and others have voiced their emotions, ranging from bewilderment to sadness to anger. Since her departure, many, many former library employees have described a poisonous atmosphere for both workers and patrons.
We understand that there are two sides to any issue, including this one.
However, we also believe that the inaction and silence on the part of the board of trustees and director, not only on the Thomas affair, but also on the problems raised by many other former staffers, have led many in the community to question whether this board and this director are capable of pulling the library out of the serious malaise into which it has descended.
The board of trustees believed that the outcry over the departure of Nyree Thomas would die down. It hasn’t. If anything, more and more voices are adding to the chorus every day, a chorus that speaks of dysfunctional management, favoritism in hiring and firing, and a lack of communication bordering on the pathological.
We are told by many patrons that they are refusing to support the library financially this year. Many have sent only a fraction of what their previous year’s gift was. There are movements within some towns to cancel library support altogether.
This would be a disaster for the patrons ... especially the children ... who rely on the library for reading material, internet access, and community.
Regardless of the truth of the charges and countercharges that have flown from former employees to the director and board and back again, we believe it is time for the board and the director to do the right and honorable thing for the library and the communities it serves.
We call for the board and the director to resign, in order to give the library an opportunity to recover before it is too late. We believe that the board, and Anne Phillips, the director, have the best interests of the institution at heart. However, it is far too late to correct past mistakes, and these mistakes have the potential to destroy the library completely. Please, please, demonstrate your dedication to the library and to all it serves, and stand down, so that a new board and director can breathe new life back into a proud institution.
|
