Citizens Protest After Director of Castleton, NY, Library Is Ousted

Local political leaders also question board's action at five-star library

Lynn Blumenstein -- Library Journal, 10/22/2009

• Director dismissed despite winning awards, grants
• Citizens, politicians call for her reinstatement
• Board president says they can't discuss personnel matters
• Some want library board ousted

Supporters of Darlene Miller, the ousted director of the Castleton Public Library (CPL), NY, aren’t letting up in their efforts to get her reinstated, citing major recognition won by the library--a runner-up in LJ's Best Small Library last year and a five-star rating from LJ--and a questionable process behind her dismissal.

Their efforts have attracted much attention in the local media and support from state (corrected) and local politicians, as documented in the Save the Castleton Library! site. The rural village of 1600 is less than ten miles south of the state capital, Albany.

Director dismissed via courier
Miller a 30-year veteran of CPL, was let go last month while on medical leave following emergency surgery. According to former CPL part-time staffer Carol Dratch-Kovler, "a stranger knocked on Miller’s door to deliver a note" informing Miller of her dismissal.

Trouble began some two-and-a-half weeks into her leave, Miller told LJ, when she received an email from the library board informing her that they were hiring a temporary replacement. "It was ridiculous," said Miller, because she was planning to return in less than one month.

At the same time, the board informed Miller that they were letting go all part-time staff due to budget constraints, but would rehire up to three (corrected)—who had to commit to working a minimum of 15-20 hours a week. Very few agreed to those conditions, said Dratch-Kovler.

But CPL staff soon informed Miller that they found the advertisement for Miller’s position, described as a temporary-to-permanent hire. (It currently is listed in HotJobs, with a salary of $40,000.)

Library has impressive service record
"They’ve just been writing their own rules for a while now," Miller said in describing the board’s behavior. Even though their charter says they have a three-year term, several have stayed beyond that time, perhaps out of necessity. Eleven board members started a year ago (out of a maximum allowed of 15), but five resigned (corrected), said Miller, "because they couldn’t tolerate how I was treated."

"How do you remove a director that gave us the title of first runner-up for Best Small Library in 2008 and a five-star rating in Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service, 2009?" she asked.

According to Miller's description of CPL in her write-up for the five-star designation, "We use a very personal approach at the library. We know the names of nearly all of our patrons, and have taken the time to get to know their interests and what brings them into the library on a given day... The small size, familiar faces at the desk and genuine concern for them make patrons feel at ease and not intimidated."

Community rallies
Some 150 people showed up at library board meeting on October 3 to protest the dismissal, according to the Troy Record.

At the Town Meeting, Miller supporters asked the Village Trustees to dismiss the current library board on the grounds that they weren’t appointed by the Village Trustees for their current terms and didn’t file an Oath of Office. On October 21, Village Trustees called for the Library Board to interview candidates for the nine openings. 

Two Rensselaer County legislators have joined in calling for Miller's reinstatement. Just two nights ago about 75 citizens participated in a candle-light vigil.

"The community is being punished for [the board's] selfishness," said Miller. "I’d like to know what their future plans are."

Board president weighs in
When asked by LJ for a comment, board president Caroline Stetson wrote, "This is a personnel matter and all communications regarding this are governed by New York State laws prohibiting their discussion by employers." 

Stetson took issue over the timing of a story in American Libraries that didn't allow for her response, mistaking it for LJ. She added in a follow-up message, "The atmosphere has been poisoned by manipulative stories placed in selected press outlets and because we are unable to comment and present the facts (and there are many) we have become very reactive. I regret the misunderstanding."

Services suffer
Meanwhile, no one has been hired to take Miller’s place and, with the dismissal of many part-timers and five others walking out in support of Miller, only two out of eight employees remain, said Dratch-Kovler.

Story time, originally funded by a grant, has been cancelled, as well as all other programming. Town trustees have been filling in.