In some curious way, libraries have become a central battleground in several Upper Valley communities in recent years. The latest example is in Thetford, where trustees of Latham Memorial Library have moved to oust their respected and popular librarian, Peter Blodgett.
Predictably, this news has been greeted with a combination of puzzlement and outrage, the former because the trustees have provided little explanation of their decision to fire Blodgett and the latter because it appears that he has been treated shabbily after nearly 33 years of public service.
About 20 library patrons, volunteers and former trustees spoke in support of Blodgett at a trustees’ meeting last week that was attended by about 75 residents, but they received no amplification on the brief notice that the trustees’ chairwoman, Marla Ianello, posted on the town’s listserv late last month.
In that post, she said that as part of the process of developing a new strategic plan, the board is “rethinking current operations and the relevancy of these for a 21st century library in a small rural town,” and that as a result “our current library director, Peter Blodgett, will no longer be a part of Latham Library.”
Because they deem it a personnel matter, the trustees have not shed much further light on whatever led to his impending departure, although in a document posted on the library’s website in preparation for last week’s meeting, the board says that while the announcement was abrupt, the “process was a long and deliberate one, with careful consideration, and included some decisions made with Peter’s input and preferences considered.”
That document also says that the current strategic plan runs through 2020 and work will begin on a new one next year. It further assures residents that there will be significant public input through surveys and focus groups.
However, it appears from the initial announcement of Blodgett’s departure that major decisions have already been made regarding future library operations (which is interesting in itself given that there is little agreement in the field about what future library services are going to look like in a rapidly changing digital world). In any case, an explanation of that new vision could provide a valuable tool by which to assess the ouster of Blodgett.
We urge the trustees to avail themselves of that opportunity, because decisions such as the one they have made can divide communities and engender long-lasting hard feelings in a small town like Thetford, especially when taxpayers provide more than half of the funding for the private, nonprofit library.
As recent controversies in other towns have demonstrated, people who use libraries tend to feel strongly, sometimes passionately, about them, and to develop almost a sense of ownership. This deep connection between people and the institutions that serve them is becoming increasingly rare in American life, and anything that threatens to sever that connection also threatens to further alienate people at a time when so many feel that their voice is not heard on matters that affect them, both large and small.