Minneapolis Public Library trustees voted 6–0 December 19 not to renew Director Mary Lawson’s contract after it expires January 4. The board reached its decision after less than three minutes of discussion, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported December 20. Lawson will serve another two months because the contract requires 60 days’ notice of termination. The board deferred planning for an interim director.
“I am puzzled by the board’s lack of communication to me and the timing of this action,” Lawson said in a prepared statement in anticipation of the action, adding that the board had given her no specific reason her contract was not renewed. Some board members said their decision was based on Lawson’s applying for a position in Florida earlier in the year; others expressed a need for a director who could better communicate with the board, the public, and the city.
At least one trustee who supported Lawson voted against renewing her contract for the sake of unity. “This is a very sad time for me,” Board President Laurie Savran told reporters after the vote.
Lawson was instrumental in persuading voters to finance the construction of a new central public library, a project that is now underway with the search for an appropriate site. However, Lawson’s five-year term as director was marred by controversy surrounding discrimination charges filed May 2000 by employees who claimed that a sexually hostile work environment existed at the library prior to the establishment of its current policy on public Internet use.
Posted December 24, 2001.