Union City, NJ Board of Ed Seizes Control of Public Library

Staff -- School Library Journal, 7/1/1999

On June 30, the Union City (NJ) Public Library will lay off all of its employees_including the director. The layoff is the result of a May 17 decision by Union City Mayor Rudy Gar-cia to turn over control of the cityOs ailing public libraries to the Board of Education.

How did the Union City Public Library (UCPL) wind up in such an unusual predicament? The city maintains that the library never responded to a series of troubling audit reports. UCPL's director, Sharon Iacone, disagrees. Although the library has been audited four times in the past five years, she says she had never seen an audit until this year, because they were sent directly to the city.

As for the future, itOs anybody's guess. Children's Librarian Sharon Castanteen says there is no guarantee that any of the employees will be rehired by the Board of Education. And even if some are invited to return, Castanteen has heard that they are likely to be offered substantially lower salaries.