Libraries are normally an oasis of calm but the Pawlet Public Library lately has been the center of a yearslong drama.
The community rift is centered around a former library director Lyndsi Barnes’ tenure, which ended in 2023 after the Library Board of Trustees decisively voted to dismiss her. Two years later, the Pawlet Library Board of Trustees voted three to two on Sept. 16 to offer Barnes back her job, the Manchester Journal first reported.
At issue is whether Barnes was wrongfully terminated, with her supporters arguing she is an asset to the library after working in a previous job at the New York Public Library. Her detractors call for a new face in the post.
The kerfuffle left the library in a lurch after two staffers quit, leaving the library without leadership or paid staff, the Manchester Journal first reported.
Barnes’ role as director highlights the crucial role libraries play in helping define a community’s identity. In Pawlet, Barnes became a lightning rod for complaints that she shirked her duties and created barriers for homeschooling and other community groups to use the library.
The Pawlet Public Library Board of Trustees Chair Cory Rail wrote in a statement that the board voted to rehire Barnes due to her qualifications and vision for library services and programs.
Unresolved lawsuit
Now, two months after receiving the job offer, Barnes has not signed a contract and resumed leadership of the library due to an unresolved lawsuit she has against the town and a former Board of Trustees chair.
The slew of charges in the suit include wrongful termination, breach of an implied employment contract, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Barnes’ lawyer Richard Bowen said they are working with the town to come to an agreement over her claims before Barnes would sign a contract and return to work.
“I think that the library would benefit from getting Lyndsi back to work as soon as possible,” Bowen said in an October interview. “Libraries are important anchors in our community, and I think that that’s something that we want to be able to support and make sure that they survive through some difficult times that they’re facing.”
The town of Pawlet’s lawyer James Carroll denied a request for comment due to the pending litigation.
Community response
This past summer, the community began rallying around the issue. Letters to the board poured in from volunteers and donors during the interview process and after Barnes was rehired, voicing concern that bringing back the former library director during an active lawsuit would sow more division. Community members told the board they would halt volunteering efforts and monetary support for the library if Barnes took the helm of the library.
A local petition started by Arena Heidi, of nearby Danby, has called for the library board or Pawlet selectboard to reverse the decision to rehire Barnes, as “the vast majority of the library community simply wants to leave division and difficulties behind and move forward with someone new.”
The petition garnered 91 signatures as of Monday, of which 38 Pawlet residents signed and 53 residents of neighboring towns signed.
In a statement, Board Treasurer Lauren Herbert acknowledged two difficult years.“While outside voices are always welcome, decisions about our public services — especially those funded and used by local residents — should be guided by the people who live here,” Herbert wrote.
Staff resign
Nina Dubois, the community resource coordinator, resigned on Sept. 20, citing two years of community conflict and concern for the future of the library given the former director’s appointment.
“There are two sides, both of which feel as though they have made the right decision. In this case, that means rehiring an old director or choosing not to participate in the future of the library,” Dubois wrote in an email to VTDigger. “It is my hope that all parties involved look at the role they played.”
Adele Santwire, the former assistant librarian of 10 years, resigned two days later on Sept. 22. Santwire said that issues with Barnes’ leadership started a year into her term as director, when she took extensive paid-time off, opened the library late, closed it early and asked the library staff to cover her shifts often.
Kat Zemmel, a homeschooling parent and group coordinator, said Barnes’ imposed onerous rules and restrictions on local groups meeting, including proposed charges for the use of the library space during open hours.
On the other hand, Judy Lake of Pawlet said the former library director was “railroaded” by the Board of Trustees in 2023, and Lake said she will support the direction of the library under Barnes.
“I think it’s going to be great,” Lake said. “I think the donations will grow. I think they’ll have events that can fundraise, and it just takes time in these small towns.”
One of the dissenting board members, Joni Lee, said she voted against rehiring Barnes’ because she worried it would not help mend Pawlet’s “fractured community.” But, ultimately, her hope is that “the library can once again return to being the heart of the community and that in this next chapter, that everyone who comes in the door feels welcome,” Lee said.
