Library board to review hiring guidelines Thursday

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library Board of Control will review its hiring protocol and elect officers for 2012 at its monthly meeting Thursday afternoon. A committee tasked with reviewing hiring guidelines for library director will present its findings to the board. The preparations are intended to help a search committee thoroughly vet the replacement for former library director David Farrar, who stepped down in December amid a growing controversy. Late last year, reports surfaced that Farrar had been arrested in Alabama in 1996 on sexual abuse charges. Though a judge overturned a jury’s guilty verdict in that case, Farrar was convicted on a charge of impersonating a peace officer and received a three-year suspended sentence and five years of probation. He has maintained his innocence in the matter. When hiring Farrar, the library board did not perform a criminal background check. Library spokeswoman Mary Stein says the committee’s review is critical to knowing exactly what needs to be examined. “We don’t do this very often,” she says of hiring directors. “We haven’t done it much in 75 years.” Stein says she has yet to hear the committee’s report, but expects it to suggest changes in protocol. Board President Kizzy Payton was unavailable for comment. The Library Board of Control will meet at 4 p.m. at the BREC Administration Building, 6201 Florida Blvd. —Ian McGibboney