Oak Park Public Library’s board of trustees scheduled its third special meeting in the span of two weeks to discuss the “appointment, employment, discipline, or dismissal of Executive Director.”
The upcoming meeting follows weeks of heated controversy as the library’s leadership received backlash for their handling of a Palestinian cultural event and the elimination of two staff positions, at least one of which, Tatiana Swancy’s, was related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The library’s executive director, Joslyn Bowling Dixon, has issued an apology which former staff and community members said wasn’t enough.
The board’s president, Matthew Fruth, told Wednesday Journal in a statement that the board is “committed to listening to our community and our employees, and to maintaining the standards of excellence, openness, and equity that our organization is known for and that we all value.”
Fruth wrote the board wants to reestablish trust between the library and the community, as well as employees.
It might be easier said than done.
At a special meeting March 14, at least 20 staff, community members and others gave or submitted public comments. Juanta Griffin, the library’s multicultural learning coordinator, said that despite the library stating it supports antiracism initiatives, the approach toward the Palestinian cultural event was not treated that way.
She said she has been blamed and “thrown under the bus” by library leadership, specifically by Dixon, for the event’s designation, despite being on medical leave at the time. Dixon did publicly attribute complications regarding the library’s cooperation with the sponsors of the event to Juanta Griffin.
Juanta Griffin said she has been publicly ridiculed and harmed as a result.
“It doesn’t matter what the intention of Joslyn Bowling Dixon was,” she said. “The impact of her decision caused harm to a marginalized community group.”
OPPL reflects the values and diversity of the village, Juanta Griffin said, and the community engagement team — which had two staff positions recently eliminated — is restorative and builds relationships in the community.
“We deserve a board and leadership that believes in our work and trusts us to do our jobs without micromanagement, threats and hostile work environments,” she said.
Juanta’ Griffin’s husband, Anthony Griffin, echoed her concerns. He said Dixon and Suzy Wulf, the library’s deputy director, lack integrity, adding that Juanta has been “bullied into silence” over the concern about having her employment terminated for speaking out.
“Leadership of the two directors, or a lack thereof, has caused a toxic environment to develop within the library,” he said. “Leaders don’t fear strong leaders … The current leader only knows how to deflect and blame and is not willing to be held accountable for her actions.”
Through a spokesman, Dixon said last week that no one would be terminated for speaking publicly because the library’s leaders supported their First Amendment right to speak.
Another commenter, who spoke last week about his disapproval of the library’s “fact-checker,” a public response to the incidents posted on the library’s website, said a recent, public narrative circulating is that a group of activists and “upset” library employees are conspiring against and harming Dixon, who is a Black woman.
“Who is speaking up for Juanta? Who is speaking up for Tatiana?” he asked. “Last time I checked, they were African American, too.”
In contrast, many commenters shared their support for Dixon and encouraged the board not to listen to what they called a “small, vocal minority” and “angry people.” One former colleague of Dixon’s, who said she works at Northbrook Public Library, said many communities want to follow in Dixon’s and Oak Park’s footsteps.
“It is devastating to me to see a Black woman, in Joslyn’s position, in a field that has been dominated by white people for so many years, be harmed and targeted and told that she is not doing her job,” she said. “What she is doing is actually holding people accountable.”
Another commenter and Oak Park resident agreed that Dixon is a nationally regarded leader.
“Our public library is this community’s most treasured public asset: open and available and accessible to everyone,” she said.
OPPL’s director of facilities, Matthew Bartodziej, read a letter signed by several other library leaders, including Wulf and Director of Communications and Development Jodi Kolo. He read their joint statement of support for Dixon that expressed their desire to continue working with her.
A letter, now co-signed by roughly 120 community members, calls for Wulf and Kolo’s resignations, along with Dixon’s.
Other commenters urged the board to support their original decision to hire Dixon.
The library’s board has been working to implement an anonymous staff survey for employees to share their concerns freely. At the March 14 special meeting, the board said they are still working to set up an agreement with a third-party vendor within price range to implement that survey.
Once a vendor is chosen, the process could take up to seven weeks, or longer, Fruth said, depending on how long it takes to develop questions and the response rate.
Some commenters also urged the board not to take any drastic action until reviewing the results of the anonymous staff survey.
The board will have its next special meeting at 3 p.m., Saturday, March 16.
