Library director files termination suit ahead of evaluation

The East Baton Rouge Library Board of Control will address the future of library director David Farrar—as well as a lawsuit filed on his behalf against the board—at its Thursday meeting. The meeting agenda states Farrar has filed suit against the board for “alleged illegal termination of employment.” Assistant library director Mary Stein confirms the suit is pending, but says Farrar has not been terminated. The board will address the litigation in executive session. Farrar says he cannot comment regarding the lawsuit on advice of his attorney. “All I can say is, very soon now, the truth will come out as to why I’m being persecuted,” he says. “The truth will be clear and factual.” Also Thursday, the board will continue Farrar’s performance evaluation, which was deferred on Nov. 30 amid questions over his lack of state certification. But last week, reports surfaced that Farrar had been arrested in Alabama in 1996 on sexual abuse charges, and the board had addressed the issue in a closed meeting Nov. 29. In that case, a judge overturned the jury’s guilty verdict, but Farrar was convicted on a charge of impersonating a peace officer. He received a three-year suspended sentence and five years of probation. Last month, Aaron Fielder, a longtime friend hired by Farrar as a deputy director, resigned after pleading guilty in September in Alabama to one count of attempted receipt of child pornography. Fielder faces five to 20 years in prison. Stein says that the evaluation is intended to address Farrar’s certification issue, though his arrest in 1996 could warrant discussion as well, along with the circumstances prompting Fielder’s recent departure. “It’s strictly a board matter,” Stein says of what board members will address. “But they read the newspaper, too.” The library board meets at 4 p.m. Thursday in the board room of the BREC Administration Building, 6201 Florida Blvd. —Ian McGibboney