Hundreds of people on Monday protested the termination of the Susquehanna County Library’s administrator and demanded for the protection of LGBTQ+ books.
A majority argued that Administrator/Librarian Kristina Ely’s termination was a political move to enable library board members censor books they feel are inappropriate or offensive.
On Dec. 16, the Board of Trustees of the Susquehanna County Historical Society and the Free Library Association laid off Ely by a 6-4 vote during an executive session. Their decision sent shockwaves through the board, as several members were absent that day due to illness.
Two of the absent members and the four who voted to retain Ely resigned from the board over the following weeks. President Stephen Spero also resigned effective Jan. 27.
How the board voted on Dec. 16
Members’ votes are supposed to be kept private when in executive session, but that information was leaked to the Rocket Courier newspaper and the board acknowledged it on Monday:
- Voted to lay off: William Squier, Dawn Augenti, Lorraine Chidester, Craig Benson, Fred Cicilioni and Angela Zick.
- Voted to keep: Jim O’Pecko, Rob Vermette, Joann Reimel and Vickie Calby.
- Did not vote: outgoing president Stephen Spero.
- Absent: Eileen Baessler, Cathy Harter and Kathryn Matis.
Squier, the board’s new president, said its decision was due to “budgetary reasons.” When asked what those reasons were, he said he couldn’t talk about it due to “legal reasons … outside of anybody on this board’s control.”
He did not give a date for the board to make its budget public.
Library supporter Bruce Baessler spoke on his wife Eileen’s behalf during Monday's public comment. Eileen Baessler was one of the board members who was absent during the Dec. 16 vote.
He said she was indignant after the decision, adding that it was worse than any health issue she faced.
“She said, ‘I had cancer. We both had COVID. The biggest problem in my life is the coup that had taken over this library.’ And that's what it was. Call it what you want — it was a coup because [the board] said, ‘Aha, there are six of us and only four [in opposition], we can get this vote done. It wasn't tabled when there wasn’t a full board of members here,” Baessler said.
Ely said the vote came out of nowhere. The board had been running a regular meeting, when it went into executive session and Ely was asked to leave the room. Afterwards, she was told she had been laid off.
Her relationship with the board had been “tense … behind the scenes,” she added.
Ely explained she had “made a point” of showing that the “library is an accepting place” by purchasing queer books, and said the board “got rid” of her to limit materials.
The board has not banned any books, but Ely worries the board will censor LGBTQ+ content.
During public comment, she railed against the board for appointing current board member Lorraine Chidester as the library’s chief operating officer to serve as an interim administrator.
The county library is required under state law to have a librarian with a master’s degree in library and Information Science.
Chidester has never worked as a librarian and does not have the required master's degree, according to Squier.
Ely argued that the library could lose out on $280,000 in state aid because of its decision.
“You're talking about restructuring the organization to have a director that oversees the business of the organization and then another person with an MLIS (master’s degree in library and information science) to head the library side, but that is going to blow your budget up, not fix it. You would be paying for two high level employees instead of one and that puts a huge hole in your budget deficit,” said Ely. “...You don't really care about this library being run at a professional level. You'd rather spend your time trying to trick the system.”
Chidester is not being paid by either the library or the board, said Squier, and he added that her position will be temporary.
Ely also criticized the board for not meeting its yearly book purchase requirements and for not aggressively fundraising for the library despite the alleged budget deficit.
Northeast Library District coordinator Michele Legate said the board needs to act fast to protect its funding. If the board wants to continue to receive state aid, it must hire a librarian with the required degree and follow other state standards.
The district acts as a liaison between libraries and the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.
In an interview after the meeting, she estimated that the board has six months to hire a master’s level librarian before becoming at risk for losing its funding.
Besides funding concerns, the library board could face legal action.
Ely is considering pursuing litigation against the board for wrongful termination and defamation. She said that although Pennsylvania is an at-will state, meaning an employer can fire an employee at any time, she doubts the board could let her go without having all members present.
The Board of Trustees of the Susquehanna County Historical Society and the Free Library Association’s next meeting is Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. at the Historical Society building, 18 Monument Square, Montrose.
List of resigned members since Dec. 16 decision:
- James O’Pecko, Forest City representative: resigned Dec. 16
- Joann Reimel, secretary: resigned Dec. 17
- Robert Vermette, treasurer: resigned Dec. 19
- Cathy Harter: resigned Dec. 31
- Kathryn Matis, Susquehanna representative: resigned Dec. 31
- Stephen Spero, president: resigned Jan. 27
- Vickie Calby, vice president: resigned Jan. 27
List of current members:
- Angela Zick, Hallstead-Great Bend representative
- Dawn Augenti
- Craig Benson, Susquehanna County Historical Society representative
- Ginny Lewis, new member as of Jan. 27
- Eileen Baessler, Montrose representative
- William Squier, new president as of Jan. 27
- Fred Cicilioni, new vice president as of Jan. 27
- Aaron Boyce, new member as of Jan. 27
- Lorraine Chidester
- Eric Powers, new member as of Jan. 27
- Steve Hinds, new member as of Jan. 27
