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Fired Director Sues American Library in Paris BoardFollowing a contentious annual membership meeting attended by some 130 members of the American Library in Paris June 20, Library Director Shirley Lambert revealed that she is filing suit against the board of directors for unemployment compensation under French law.Lambert told American Libraries she had been “unilaterally” dismissed by the board’s executive committee via letter in April. Other trustees got wind of the firing and organized a protest that culminated in members demanding that the dismissal be rescinded and calling for the removal of Board President Charmaine Donnelly and three others on the board. The meeting ended with Donnelly, who chaired, refusing to recognize the protesters, said Lambert, whose employment ended July 7. Lambert, who began as ALP director in 2002, said she was fired for disagreeing with the board on financial and management issues. “They don’t understand that policy-making is not running the library; the director runs the library,” she said, adding that she has “a stack of support letters” from patrons who loved the programs and services she delivered. Donnelly told AL the reasons for the termination were valid and “in complete accordance with all of the procedures and regulations of French and U.S. law” and that Lambert’s “personal dignity was respected at each step.” “We wish her well,” she added, but “it’s very disappointing that something that should remain private and that we sought to keep private has been made public. It’s detrimental to her and to the library.” The American Library in Paris is a privately funded, 2,000-member institution founded in 1920 by the American Library Association, which still maintains a liaison seat on the board, currently occupied by former ALA president Patricia Glass Schuman, who told AL she was not involved in the decision. Former ALA president Betty Turock is also a board member, and said of the dismissal, “It was clear that the director and the majority of the board could no longer work together for the benefit of library.” Posted July 7, 2006; modified July 12, 2006. |
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