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Report Finds Mismanagement in Atlanta PL OperationsA consultant hired by Atlanta–Fulton Public Library trustees has issued a 37-page report critical of both Library Director Mary Kaye Hooker and the board’s micromanagement of the library system. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported February 3 that the document, commissioned to investigate allegations of equal-employment-opportunity law violations in the wake of an $18-million reverse-discrimination lawsuit brought against the library, surveyed library employees to learn their assessment of hiring and disciplinary practices. Around half of the staff responded to the questions. The newspaper quoted the report as saying that “mistrust remains rampant on all levels”; that Hooker leads “through fear, threats, and intimidation”; and that her management methods “created the impression among many that she either lacks the ability to lead effectively or lacks the knowledge and/or skills to manage a library.” County commissioners are dismayed over the report, which according to the library-staff-produced website Atlantans for Progressive Libraries cost Fulton County taxpayers $112,000. “In order to get things done, you must have the confidence of the majority of the fair-minded individuals in your organization,” Commissioner Emma Darnell, who also serves as a library trustee, told the Journal-Constitution. “We’ve got problems here. . . . I’m disturbed by the report.” Staff also were critical of the board’s management of AFPL, a system that may change if a bill to reform the library’s governance passes the state legislature. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tom Price (R-Roswell), would trim the board from a cumbersome 17 voting members to nine and put the director under the county manager’s control. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Fox affiliate WAGA-TV reported February 2 that a second lawsuit, filed against the library by employees Mary Starck and Maureen Kelly, has been settled for $250,000. The plaintiffs had claimed that the library administration and board had retaliated against them for filing the previous suit. Posted February 6, 2004; revised March 12, 2004. |
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