Library Director Resignation Signals Larger Leadership Issues

Goshen Public Library/ Goshen News staff photo
In a letter of resignation dated November 25th, Library Director Tabitha Guarnieri cited the “toxic environment I’ve had to deal with from Town Hall and a member of the library board”.
“This may seem sudden,” the letter continues, “but it in fact has been festering for nearly a year now after the way I was treated in public board meetings earlier this year and continue to be targeted by a board member. I was verbally harassed, cut down, and disrespected by this board member in a public meeting, yet those in leadership acted oblivious to this matter, and then I was told it was not bullying or harassment. Personal opinions or biases do not change facts and the fact that I am not protected from this kind of treatment as a town employee is unacceptable.”
In a December 2nd article in the Waterbury Republican American, Guarnieri identified the board member in question as Lynette Miller. Earlier this year, Miller collected several dozen ‘Request for Reconsideration’ forms challenging the book Gender Queer: A Memoir and presented them to the Board and to Guarnieri. Miller’s aggressive demeanor towards Guarnieri over the course of several Library Board meetings drew public criticism with some calling for Miller to resign. Zoom video recordings of the meetings are available on the town website.
Miller also attacked public disclosure of the Request forms, inaccurately claiming that doing so violated the law protecting the confidentiality of library records. In a March 4th email to The Goshen News, the Freedom of Information Commission’s Director of Education and Communications, Russell Blair, confirmed that the forms were public records and that The Goshen News had a right to obtain and publish them. This information was related to the library director, who was legally obligated to comply, and did so.
Miller continued to assert that the law on Confidentiality of Library Records, CGS 11-25 (b)(1), was violated even after Town Attorney Chip Roraback rejected that argument. In an opinion letter dated July 31st, Roraback stated that the Request forms “do not constitute a record as contemplated by Connecticut General Statutes 11-25(b)(1)” and that the individuals who submit reconsideration forms “do so voluntarily on their own initiative; there can be no reasonable expectation of privacy, particularly where they are presented at a meeting of a public agency in public session.”
Miller also attempted to squelch public discussion of the issue by other library board members, claiming it was a violation of their fiduciary responsibilities to discuss matters that were before the board with the press or members of the public. That claim was not supported by the attorney hired by the Library Board to review it, however. In a May 3rd opinion letter from Attorney John Letizia of the New Haven law firm Letizia, Ambrose & Falls, PC, he specified that the rules on confidentiality apply to “the topics and issues discussed in Executive Sessions”. All discussions of the Requests for Reconsideration of Gender Queer occurred in public session, and according to the Roraback opinion letter, there would be “no legal justification for the Library Board to address the Requests in executive session since they do not fall within the ambit of the permissible purposes for an executive session set forth in Connecticut General Statutes 1-200(b)”.
According to the Republican-American article, Miller submitted a written statement to the paper claiming she was only doing her job as an elected public official. “My job as an elected official is to protect the town from liability, which includes interference or acceptance of financial reports from parties outside of the town, to assure that we maintain operation of the library by being fiscally responsible, and assure adherence to library policies, practices and procedures, including confidentiality to all users.”
The library board controversy is just one of several issues over the past year that have racked up legal fees amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. Five months into the current fiscal year, the town had already exhausted the year’s budget for legal fees, necessitating multiple requests by the Selectmen to the Board of Finance to pay for over-budget expenses.
Guarnieri’s is the fifth library staff resignation in the past year. Previously, resignations were tendered by former Children’s Coordinator Renee DeSimone, library aide Cindy Lavin, replacement Children’s Coordinator Emily Cole, and Lisa Bequillard. Some cited personal reasons for resigning.
“In a way I don't feel singled out entirely,” Guarnieri told The Goshen News, “because I know similar stuff is happening in libraries all across the nation…just, honestly, they're just wearing librarians down.”
According to the American Library Association (ALA), “Between January 1 and August 31, 2024, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 414 attempts to censor library materials and services… Additionally, instances of soft censorship, where books are purchased but placed in restricted areas, not used in library displays, or otherwise hidden or kept off limits due to fear of challenges illustrate the impact of organized censorship campaigns on students’ and readers’ freedom to read. In some circumstances, books have been preemptively excluded from library collections, taken off the shelves before they are banned, or not purchased for library collections in the first place.”