Dear editor:

As a former employee of St. John Library, now retired, I want to thank you for printing a follow up article regarding the resignation of former Library Directors Roberta Zeno August and Natalie D. Beam.

Both ladies are enthusiastic professionals with leadership skills that could have made St. John the Baptist Parish Library into an even more valuable asset to all existing and future citizens of our community, as well as attracting new businesses — businesses that would find locating in St. John Parish a good decision for the successful future of their company and their employees.

Can St. John the Baptist Parish afford this negative publicity in these competitive times?

There have been some employees of the library who have recently resigned and some who were eligible for retirement that have done so because the actions by some (not all) administrative personnel have made it almost unbearable to remain.

A few other employees are fearful of making their concerns known because when they previously voiced these concerns to the Library Board, they were ignored, and now they are aware of the possibility that they may be made an example of, and their position at the library may be in jeopardy.

I was informed by a few who attended a recent Library Board meeting that was addressing the appeal of an employee terminated by Director Beam that when
those in favor of Director Beam’s decision spoke to the board in support of that action, they were actually booed by some of those attending the meeting.

Is it not possible for our Library Board to maintain control over their proceedings and have disruptive audience attendees removed from the meeting?

It will be most interesting to see how the Library Board and Library Administrators, Parish Council and Parish Administration address the problem.

Sincerely,

Joan Paisant

LaPlace