Oak Park Public Library’s Board of Trustees plans to start a request for proposal process to eventually hire a new executive director after firing Joslyn Bowling Dixon March 16.
Dixon was fired amid controversy regarding her handling of a Palestinian cultural event and the elimination of two community engagement team positions.
In the board’s statement after Dixon’s firing, they wrote they intend to have an investigation take place regarding the internal handling of the Palestinian cultural event, and the way the library handles public records requests.
During the March 26 library board meeting, several public commenters expressed their distaste for how and why Dixon was fired.
“We were shocked to find that the decision to sever ties with the library executive director has been made in such a sudden manner,” one commenter said. “The board’s actions have additionally exposed the library to potential liability and financial harm.”
Others cautioned that the board may now have a hard time finding a replacement.
“What director is going to want to come here to lead when it appears that this board just really wants a figurehead and is not really following through on the restorative practices?” another commenter asked.
Yet another, who brought her children as a reminder that youth are watching when adults “spew hate,” expressed support for the board’s decision to listen to harmed library staff.
“Injustice to anyone in our community is an injustice to everyone,” she said.
The board outlined a tentative process to hire Dixon’s replacement. Immediately after firing her, the library board stated it would seek to hire an external, interim director by April 23. At Tuesday’s meeting, the board appeared unsure if that was still the plan.
However, trustees are scheduling a special meeting in about two weeks to finalize a request for proposal for vendors to help with an executive director search. They then plan to give vendors about two more weeks to ask questions, followed by two additional weeks for submittals.
Then, a committee of about three board members will narrow the field of contenders. Trustee Theodore Foss, who voted against firing Dixon, quickly volunteered to be part of that committee. The committee roster and RFP language will be finalized in a few weeks, with the short list of vendor candidates hopefully complete in May.
That’s the board’s most ambitious timeline, board President Matthew Fruth said. A search can last for months before someone is hired.
For now, Deputy Director Suzy Wulf and Director of Collections Leigh Tarullo are filling in. Fruth said they asked for additional compensation to reflect those extra duties. Most board members appeared to support that.
Foss, however, questioned how the board plans to compensate for additional expenses. Those might include investigations of the Freedom of Information Act request responses and the Palestinian cultural event, the staff survey and the search process for a new executive director. Fruth responded that the board would need to examine the budget it passed and potentially make amendments. Some library initiatives planned for this year may need to be deferred to 2025, Fruth said, to account for those additional expenses. The library is running more than $1 million in deficit.
One public commenter suggested Jim Madigan, the former deputy director with deep community ties, fill in. The interim director should not come from the current library leadership, he said, because that would send the wrong message.
But Wulf said she and Tarullo were comfortable stepping in. Wulf said she knows the administrative side of the position and has worked closely with the library directors, while Tarullo knows the historical and cultural side well.
“I think I probably speak for most of the staff … we can’t really move forward until we [have] a new executive director,” Wulf said.
Wulf added that a lot of questions remain for her about the handling of the Palestinian cultural event because planning began before she was hired. An investigation might be helpful, she said.
Board Secretary Susanne Fairfax said whoever investigates it should be someone who has experienced marginalization or stereotypes, so they can understand that perspective when evaluating the culture event.
FOIA questions
Another incident that may be under investigation is the library’s distribution of FOIA request responses. Two residents submitted FOIA requests asking for the same information. One came back with little to no redactions, and the other had many.
Fruth said the FOIA that was not redacted was reviewed and provided by Wulf. The one that was redacted was one Wulf “had questions about,” he said, and an attorney provided redactions, not Wulf.
“She followed our procedures and was acting in best accordance with the first FOIA that came across her desk,” he said. “[She] did what she thought was responsible and forwarded to our attorney a second [FOIA].”
Wulf said the board should hire someone independent and neutral to investigate the FOIA responses if they choose to do so.
“[We] never want to cause pain to anyone,” she said.
Correction 4/4/24: A previous version of this story misstated which library board member discussed the FOIA requests. We regret the error.
