Citizens Ask Westhampton Library Board to Resign

The five-member, self-appointed board of the “Westhampton Free Library” was asked to resign yesterday by most of the 35 residents at a library board meeting. The board showed no signs of doing that.

The “Free” in the name of the library means that it is an “association” 501/c/3 non-profit corporation that does not publicly elect its directors. Only about 12% of libraries in the U.S. have that status.

Critics say the library has failed to live up to its promise of providing “lifelong education” to residents of Westhampton and several nearby towns.

Speakers at the meeting, which started at 9:30 a.m., called on the board, headed by Joan Levan as president, to resign immediately and seek conversion to a “public” library that would allow election of directors. The suggestion brought cheers and applause from most of those in the room. Attendees occupied all the available seats.

Other directors are June Sellin, Karen Andrews, Jennifer Mendelson and Marth-Ann Betjemann. There were no nameplates in front of the directors. The WHB trustees use such nameplates.

One speaker said requests for the board to hold its meetings at night so more citizens could attend have been ignored.

Among speakers were former staffer Sabina Trager, who says she was improperly fired by the board on June 23 after working part-time at the library for three-and-a-half years, and local resident Peter Zegler whose letter to the Southampton Press Sept. 10 condemned the SH Council for agreeing to allow an eruv Jewish religious boundary in SH in return for the East End Eruv Assn. promising not to seek damages against SH.

Trager and Zegler distributed 200 flyers in front of the library yesterday and today saying the board lacks “accountability, transparency, financial oversight and diversity.”

Westhampton Free Library board (L-R:) Danielle Waskiewicz, director, and board members June Sellin, president Joan Levan, Marth-Ann Betjemann, and Karen Andrews

Failure of the board to conduct public elections means there is “taxation without representation.” About 74% of the library’s funds come from municipal taxes.

Most Citizens Are “Sympathetic”

Zegler and Trager say most of the citizens they have given the flyers to are sympathetic to their cause. “They are knowledgeable, interested and want to help,” the pair said.

Trager attended a recent board meeting and asked the trustees to consider converting to an elected board. The trustees did not reply to her but had library director Danielle Waskiewicz tell Trager that the suggestion would be studied.

Under the “Open Meetings” law of New York State, the public may attend and speak at meetings of civic boards but the board members are not required to respond.

Library Groups Urge Public Discussion

The Public Library Assn. division of the American Library Assn. conducts the annual Gordon M. Conable Award that honors libraries that host public meetings on controversial topics.

This reporter was one of the speakers, noting that the American Library Assn. has a program that encourages libraries to hold public discussions of controversial topics.

ALA, we noted, quotes President John F. Kennedy as saying, “Libraries should be open to all—except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives…let us welcome controversial books and authors.

We told the board that Westhampton Beach is facing costs and penalties of more than $1 million because it has not agreed to allow an eruv Jewish religious boundary in town.

However, attempts to get the library to hold a meeting on this or even provide an exhibit of related materials have gone nowhere, we said. Also rebuffed are attempts to have an interview with Levan or any other board members.