Following a study that called for a complete overhaul of the library system, the board of the Paterson (N.J.) Free Public Library voted February 28 to fire Director Kwaku Amoabeng. The board is also considering hiring Library Systems and Services, Inc., to run its troubled operations.
The study, released last year, criticized nearly every aspect of the library, calling overall library service “pathetic,” with circulation and attendance declining for years, the Bergen Record reported February 29. It complained that Amoabeng, who was hired by the library in 1986 and became director in 1993, had no plans to improve the system and showed no leadership skills.
The Record said Amoabeng’s supporters, who credited him with automating the system, noted that his removal was backed by Mayor Marty Barnes, whom they accused of injecting politics into the debate over the library’s future.
Library trustees in nearby Jersey City, which hired LSSI to run its library in 1998, recommended the firm to Paterson, praising the company for bringing long-overdue automation to the 11-branch system.
Posted March 6, 2000.