Children's Librarian Retires After Reassignment

Community Members Voice Support for Ray Messing

by Joan Simon with reporting by Jean Young and Judy Silberstein

(July 3. 2008) Approximately 10 residents came to a meeting of the Larchmont Library Board on June 18th to voice their support for Ray Messing, former head of the Children's Library, who during the meeting announced her intention to retire. On April 1, Ms. Messing was reassigned from the Children's Room to a project indexing historical obituaries in the library basement.

The Children's Room was closing to the public this week to make way for a major renovation to begin in September. (See: Children's Library to Close July 7 for Renovations.) Diane Courtney, the library director, has characterized the reassignment as part of ongoing preparations for the construction. Ms. Messing and her supporters believe it is the outcome of longstanding disagreements over operations of the library. "We disagreed over what was appropriate behavior for children and caregivers in this tax supported public space," said Ms. Messing after the meeting.

Following some initial business, which included how the library's director would dispose of books and other furnishings being discarded from the Children's Room in anticipation of the renovation, the library board chair, Miriam Curnin, opened the meeting to comments from the audience.

Ray Messing spoke first, noting her nearly 25 years of service as children's librarian and announcing her plans to retire. She expressed concern about the future of the library and was critical of the current situation in which the library director is the only conduit of information between the staff and the library board. She reflected on the many years it has taken to build the children's collection and the fact that it is being "decimated under the present director." She concluded that culling the children's book collection, along with her current assignment "indexing obituaries in the basement," makes it necessary for her to leave the library, "an institution that does not value or respect its employees."

On Friday, June 28, Ms. Messing did actually retire from the library.

Community Support

Community member Jean Young presented a letter, recalling her own experience with Ms. Messing's helpfulness to children and parents and asking the board to reconsider the indexing reassignment. She also suggested naming a room in the new children's library "in Ray's honor." She said the director's current mandate, to "forbid Ray to enter other sections of the library or to speak to other staff members or the public sounds like a Dickens' novel" and invites "division within our community when we need to come together. Basing a fund-raising effort on the destruction of a career would be laying a poor foundation on which to build a new children's library."

Amy Ralston Seife read a letter, previously published in the Larchmont Gazette, in which she drew the connection between her daughter's pursuit of a career in editing and designing children's books and Ms. Messing's influence. She concluded, "Unbelievably, the demeaning reassignment of Ray comes at a time when our community is being asked for money to expand the Children's Library." She described her longtime support of the library and said, "I refuse to contribute further funds to an organization that so devalues a human being and resource such as Ray."

Amy Nathan similarly discussed her sons' positive formative experiences with Ms. Messing. She also told of a phone conversation with Ms. Courtney in which she expressed dismay that her family's contributions to the renovation fund were not being used to honor Ms. Messing and said if the situation did not improve she would want her contribution returned. Ms. Nathan said a check from the library marked "refund" arrived in the mail two weeks later, with no explanation or attempt at reconciliation.

Jeri Waldman, a former teacher and coordinator of the Teacher Institute at the Mamaroneck schools, said she had long valued Ms. Messing's help to teachers. She spoke of the need for the library board to have more transparency, to publicize more effectively their meeting times and minutes and to offer private meetings with community members who are concerned about issues coming before the board.

Ms. Curnin, in responding to the comments, said she didn't feel that everyone had all of the correct facts. She declined to explain further, citing an employee's right to confidentiality.

Kudos from Library Colleagues

Nancy Manion and Bernadette McGuire, longtime colleagues of Ms. Messing in the Children's Room, each spoke with great emotion of their immense respect for her as a dedicated and hard working children's librarian. Ms. McGuire summed up Ms. Messing's reassignment to the basement as "mean-spirited and nasty."

Among the other speakers was Jill Parry, a teaching artist, who said that she and other local artists had done free programs for the library in the past because of the support Ms. Messing had given to their personal and professional projects. She inquired whether she would still be allowed to seek out Ray for advice.

Now that Ms. Messing has resigned, Ms. Parry's question has become moot.

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