Library Board: New Library Director Benedict Welcomed

01/15/25

Chairperson Henrietta Horvay, Library Director Linda Senkus Benedict, and Board members Josephine Jones, Patricia Sanders, Anne Green, Lynette Miller, and Johanna Kimball attended.

This was Benedict’s first Library Board of Directors meeting since being instated as Library Director following the departure of the previous Library Director, Tabitha Guarnieri, in December. Benedict has 30 years of library experience including previously working as an Adult Information Services Librarian at Waterbury’s Silas Bronson Library from 2013-2023, and Director of Winsted’s Beardsley and Memorial Library from 2007-2012. First Selectman Todd Carusillo formally introduced Benedict at the meeting saying, “She’s a joy to work with.” According to Carusillo, Lynette Miller recommended Benedict to Carusillo during the Library Director hiring process. Benedict thanked Carusillo and the Library Board for hiring her and asserted that there’s a lot of work to be done at the library. “It’s gonna be a challenge because there’s been a lot that’s been done well here but there’s been a lot that’s been let go,” Benedict explained. “I’ve been discovering both and I look at my job as facilitating a lot of healing and strengthening what’s weak and working with what’s strong.”

Miller then motioned to accept Benedict’s Library Director’s report. This was unanimously approved. For the Treasurer's report, Miller detailed that the library’s Harmon Fund increased from a beginning balance of $5,176.61 to $5,191.64 due to interest. Meanwhile the Library Fund remains at $8,928.87 since December’s report. Lastly, the library received a total of $25.75 for copying, printing, and faxing in December. Kimball then motioned to receive the Treasurer's report. This was unanimously approved.

In Public Comment, Susan Wheeler spoke in support of Miller as she, “...ensure[s] that our library remains a space of fairness, inclusivity, safety, and free access to knowledge.” Wheeler went on to claim that Miller is repeatedly mischaracterized in the media, particularly The Goshen News.

Kathy Kelly then addressed toxicity and condescension seen in the Library Board and urged members to speak to each other, not at each other.

Miller claimed The Goshen News was making the continued controversy a “political football.” (Note: The Goshen News last reported on the Gender Queer controversy last May, when the Library Board rejected Miller’s attempt at its censorship. Miller has since kept the controversy in print by disputing FOIA’s directions that the book’s reconsideration forms were public records and open to public disclosure.)

Benedict addressed the events surrounding Gender Queer and claimed that everybody involved did what they thought was right in their own eyes and everybody got hurt. She urged people who do have concerns about the library to speak with her and that a good library should have a wide variety of books, “A library is a place of ideas. You are going to find an idea in a library, if it’s a good library, that offends you…But you should also find all sides of that.”

The Board then went into executive session to discuss computer security matters. Upon returning from executive session, Horvay stated the Board will table the approval of the Capital Budget for 2025-2026 to a future meeting.