Thursday, October 1, 2026
Residents and members of the staff of the Peninsula Public Library, in Lawrence, spoke out about unsafe working conditions and the lack of needed maintenance at the library’s monthly board of trustees meeting on Feb. 19.
The meeting room was packed as 30 people gathered to share their thoughts and opinions.
The library has been operating without a director since Carolynn Matulewicz retired on Jan. 31, after 10 years in the position, despite the fact that Matulewicz had given the board five months’ notice.
Peri Caponi, the library’s head of technical services and a 17-year employee, was the first of many attendees to voice their concerns about conditions in the building and the lack of communication about the search for a new director.
“Our director gave ample notice when she was getting ready to retire,” Caponi said. “Nothing was done, and she offered her services to be an interim to train a new director. We still don’t have one.”
She added that in her opinion, the board is offering too low a salary, $70,000.
“They are offering a salary that is lower than some of the people that work here and our assistant director,” Caponi said. “It’s very hard to find people that are competent enough to do a job for very little money. It’s virtually impossible. I wouldn’t be interested in that job for such little amount of money.”
Without a director, the library cannot order supplies or do any hiring. “We need a director,” Caponi said. “We needed it four months ago, and nothing has been done. The board claims they are looking for one.”
According to Caponi, the board sent an email to the community about the open position, but, she said, the library has a list of people who are qualified for the job and should have been notified. “Opening that job to anyone in the community is not how it goes,” she said.
Board President Akiva Lubin said the board is actively working on hiring a director. “We’ve only been working on it for three weeks,” Lubin said. “We’re imminently working on a director, between one and two people, and it will be done within a short time.”
According to Matulewicz, she started the director search with the board in November but they did not get serious until her last week.
One of two other major issues in the building is the elevator, which has been out of service since late October.
“We’ve known the elevator was on its last legs for at least six months prior,” Caponi said. “The public was notified Nov. 4. That day is when the board should have called an emergency meeting to figure it out and get it fixed.”
During the meeting, Matulewicz said she reccomended several times that the elevator situation be deemed an emergency. Lubin then said "I cannot defend that in court."
According to Caponi, the board did not treat the elevator as an emergency, and asked for bids for the repair work.
“This is a huge problem for anyone who needs to use the elevator to go to the bathroom, a program or the second floor,” she said. “Other accommodations have to be made, such as installing a chair lift and moving meetings like this to the first floor.”
An elevator that is out of order, Caponi said, is not only a health hazard, but also a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Trustee Joseph Lifschutz said he found the situation with the elevator unacceptable.
“We made a mistake listening to a lawyer, and this was an emergency,” he said. “The lawyer said no, so the board members lost the protection with the long wait. It was a big mistake, and it’s embarrassing to me more than you can imagine.”
The board said it is sending contractors to assess the elevator damage, and plans to have it fixed.
The other major issue in the building is the roof, which, Caponi said, has leaked and been repaired several times over the years. The roof has been properly maintained as needed and this recent leaking is a result of all the snow this winter.
“Not only is the rain coming in, it’s ruining our books,” she said. “When you ruin the books and ceiling, you get mold. The whole place will be unusable soon, as the books will have to go in the garbage.”
Damaged books worth thousands of dollars have already been thrown out, she said.
“We’ve never heard anybody address this issue,” Trustee Miriam Statman said. “I’ve been here since last summer, and never heard anything. I believe it, but we haven’t been made aware.”
The current board members, who have not been in their positions for more than a year, claim not to know about the issue.
According to Matulewicz, the roof has leaked every year, and this year it is worse as a result of the unusual volume of melting snow.
Raising another issue, Curtis Carson, a librarian, expressed his concern about a lack of security after he received a death threat while at work. “That, for me, is a problem,” Carson said. “We do have cameras and I’m grateful for that. I think it’s now time for security.”
A lot of people come into the library, he said, who are homeless and mentally ill. “They are coming right up to your face and arguing with you,” Carson said. “We shouldn’t have to deal with that.”
Davevante Young, who works in circulation, added that residents come up to the desk all the time, screaming, yelling and acting aggressively with him.
The board has requested many times that the glass be removed and the staff has stated they need it for health concerns and issues with patrons.
“We like our glass — it protects us,” Young said. “It keeps a broad protection from somebody being crazy. We have crazy people — they will spit on you.”
He urged the board to keep the glass in addition to hiring security to ensure employees’ safety.
According to Matulewicz, putting a security guard in the budget has not been discussed by this board at any meeting since they took office in July.
“In the new budget, we’re putting an armed security guard in place,” board Secretary Rochelle Genack said. “That should be starting very shortly. There’s a lot of work being done, and every single thing you said is very important.”
