Posted August 26, 2005.
City Commissioners Reinstate Florida Librarian
The Valparaiso, Florida, city commission voted 4–1 August 23 to allow Community Library Director Sue Martin to return to her job and stripped one of their own members of library oversight, the Associated Press reported August 24. Commissioner Robert Billingsley had suspended Martin August 11 and recommended her termination, contending she had not done enough to prevent a registered sex offender and three boys from allegedly using library computers to access pornographic websites.
About 100 visitors attended the public meeting and voiced support for Martin. Billingsley declined to testify against her, explaining that the memos he wrote previously should speak for themselves. “I’m glad it’s over,” Martin said after the hearing. “I want to go back to work.”
Mayor John Arnold relieved Billingsley, who had cast the lone dissenting vote, of responsibility for the library and replaced him with another commissioner who has been a strong library supporter.
Posted August 26, 2005.