Library director to undergo annual evaluation

Library Director David Farrar will receive his annual evaluation from the East Baton Rouge Library Board of Control at a special meeting Wednesday, Nov. 30. Board President Kizzy Payton and Vice President Tanya Freeman will lead the seven-member panel. As an at-will employee, Farrar is not under contract. He has been library director since November 2008; and his base annual salary, as outlined in the fiscal year 2011 state budget, is $89,030. His salary is capped at $100,000. Pending a favorable review, Farrar will be eligible for a 3% merit increase, effective in January. Farrar says he is confident that he will have a strong evaluation. “I think the board is satisfied with my work over the past year,” he says. “We have a visionary team.” The meeting is open to the public, but the board reserves the right to go into executive session to privately discuss Farrar’s “character, professional competency or physical or mental health,” according to the meeting agenda. Assistant library director Mary Stein warns not to read too much into the agenda language, saying it’s simply a formal codification of what has always been the law. “It’s worded to be proper, which is why it sounds so horrible,” she says. Stein credits public concerns over transparency for the agenda’s wording. The board meets at 4 p.m. Nov. 30 in the boardroom of the Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd. —Ian McGibboney