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Berkeley PL Director Resigns Amid ControversyJackie Griffin, director of Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library for five years, has resigned, following a controversial decision to install RFID devices and ongoing staff complaints about her management style, according to the June 9 Oakland Tribune. The library agreed to pay her $34,451, approximately three months’ salary, and six months of health benefits in exchange for her resignation. Griffin retained an attorney after having two performance reviews this year and threatened to sue the city if terminated.“The employees were complaining about being unfairly penalized for expressing their opinions at the library board meeting, and then they claim their schedules were changed so they could not attend the [meetings],” Council Member Kriss Worthington told the paper. In addition, staff and patrons protested the installation of RFID tags in the library’s holdings, a program that Griffin backed and that has cost at least $1.1 million, according to the Tribune. “I am so pleased and honored to have worked at Berkeley, and that’s all I really want to say about it,” Griffin told the paper. “I’m pleased with the settlement we came to.” Former Sonoma County (Calif.) Library Director Roger Pearson will serve as interim director while the library conducts a national search for a new director. American Libraries was unable to reach Griffin for comment. Posted June 9, 2006. |
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