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Health & Fitness

Too Quiet on the Library Front

Library needs to explain why good helpers got bad treatment.

being fired and then rehired by the public library played before the eyes of Town Meeting.

But it was never really explained. Seeing that it was spread for TM and the cable television, the situation needs closure.

Library trustees are five elected officials. They administer Dedham library affairs. Library director Pat Lambert runs the libraries. She is salaried. Her boss is Town Administrator William Keegan. The pages were part-time employees.

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Trustees fired the two pages because of too little funds; then the trustees reversed themselves and rehired the two pages. They had power to make these moves. But they had different ideas of what, exactly, they had done. That was clear as they discussed it before TM.

Director Lambert says she didn’t write the letters of dismissal for the pages. Someone else did that. The letters were, according to some, cold; and they did not bear the library letterhead usually used for formal communication such as notices of dismissal.  Lambert would not extend an apology, nor would she reveal the writer.

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She must.

This is public business, not something that can be  quietly filed away.

All the details of the fire-rehire episode were spelled out for the public.

To resolve the matter Trustee Joe D’Amico offered a public apology to the victims from the five trustees.

While that may calm the waters with the two pages, it does not settle the question of how these letters went into the pages’ hands.

Director Lambert has sway over personnel. Not the trustees.

As uncomfortable as it might be for Lambert, she must identify the letter writer. Whoever it is, the person violated department rules. There may be no need to take disciplinary action against the letter writer, but rules should be reiterated because library rules were transgressed.

Trustees seemed confused by the whole matter. Chairman D’Amico and members Brad Bauer, Rached Forsythe-Tuerck, Rebecca Peluso and Mike Chalifoux obviously didn’t want to fire the two helpers. They rehired them quickly. Why all the misunderstanding?

In the short period of firing and rehiring the pair were given improper dismissal letters and a cold shoulder instead of a pat on the back.

No one should be treated that way.

Next election, all the confusion needs to be explained by candidates in the library trustee race, even if the seats are unchallenged.  

Administrator Keegan needs to take director Lambert aside and advise her to keep him up to date on personnel matters when Town Meeting is about to vote on library budgets.

Of course this item has been solved. Both pages are restored.

Basic principles remain open, however, and an explanation is required.

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