LIVINGSTON - The Livingston Parish Library Board of Control tabled the decision to change the qualifications for the system's library director role in a special meeting on Friday. This comes after the removal of former Library Director Michelle Parrish on Tuesday and the subsequent resignation of four different board members.

The proposed policy change would have changed the current requirement for administrative librarians such as library directors to have a Master of Library Science degree to instead allow any type of Master's degree to be qualified for the position.

Library officials said the decision is to widen the applicant pool. Some residents say they worry it will weaken the library system by giving library leadership to someone who may be underqualified.

New Board President Jonathan Davis said a degree is a degree.

"I don't want to punish those people, especially former principals that have managed schools and know exactly how to do a job very, very similar to this. I don't want to punish them for getting a degree 20, 30, 40 years ago," Davis said.

Lolita Chatelain was a concerned resident at the meeting. She said she has a Master of Library Science degree and said a library director's job is one where the degree matters. She said the role is specialized and requires an understanding of how a library should be run, knowledge of interests from a wide range of ages and the ability to bridge the digital divide.

"It's very zeroed in, and I think it's ridiculous that we would have, like Vicki said, that we would have someone not qualified to run our library system," Chatelain said.

Resident Vicki Turner is concerned that there could be serious repercussions from hiring someone without the skills needed to run the library.

"A Master's of Library Science degree requires a special course in library law, and someone without that course, without that knowledge, would not be able to... I'm afraid it would put the library in a perilous situation potentially," Turner said.

The vote to make the policy change did not happen, the board tabling the decision to a future date yet to be set.

"It's very difficult for everybody in the public, especially on a controversial, or a seemingly controversial line item... agenda item to get here in 26 or 28 hours, whatever the time was, whenever the meeting was posted. We decided to table that so everybody who wanted to show up next time has the opportunity to," Davis said.

During the public comment session of the meeting, District Nine Board Member Trey Cowell made the motion to end public comment, which residents called "premature."

In the middle of the public comment session, District Eight Board Member DeWanna Christian left the meeting. Because the board no longer had quorum, the public comment session ended, and the meeting was adjourned.

"The way they wanted to shut down the meeting, adjourn the meeting because another person was going up, the conversation was not going in their direction. So, one person got sick, then we couldn't have the meeting anymore because there were not enough people," Chatelain said.

The special meeting Friday comes after Tuesday's meeting where Parish President Randy Delatte called for Parrish's contract to not be renewed.

"I feel like we need a new director in place of Michelle," Delatte said at Tuesday's meeting.

Some residents said they want to see Parrish's performance evaluation.

"There's no real reason given to anybody other than she lacks leadership or that she hasn't handled controversy well, but I haven't seen that. All I've seen is transparency. Again, there was not performance information given out. To my knowledge, all the metrics of the library are good," Jordan Gonzales, a resident, said.

The four board members who voted against the removal including the then-board president and vice president resigned at the end of Tuesday's meeting. Davis says a policy change would have likely gone through had the vote taken place Friday.

"I believe so and that's why I wanted to table it because if it would have passed, I believe the public would have been more upset, thinking there was some nefarious reason behind it. I'm trying to be as transparent as possible. I want to delay this vote so everybody has a chance to speak about it," Davis said.

Davis said he did not know whether the four empty seats will be filled by the time the control board meets again to vote on the policy change.

He also said the board does not have anyone specific in mind to fill the role of library director, but has an idea of the type of person who would do well in the role.

"I know I'm saying principals a lot, we can talk about someone from the school board's administration, or someone who has retired from there. I think any of these people would be acceptable to be put in the pool. I'm not saying we won't choose somebody with a Master's in Library Science. I'm just saying I want to find the best person for the job, and I think this is the way to do it," Davis said.

Davis declined to comment on the cause for Parrish's removal, issuing the following statement:

"At the most recent Library Board meeting, the Board voted to make a leadership change and remove the Director of the Livingston Parish Library System. This decision came after thoughtful discussion and careful consideration by the Board. It was not made in haste, but with a sincere desire to move the system forward and ensure long-term strength and unity within the Library.

Since being elected President, my focus has been on helping the Library turn the page and begin a new chapter rooted in collaboration, transparency, and public service. Our libraries should always reflect the values, trust, and needs of the communities they serve.

To help guide this next chapter, I have appointed a Review Committee to assist with evaluating new director candidates and supporting strong, future-focused leadership. I have also worked with the two acting directors to ensure that daily library services continue without interruption.

I believe this is an opportunity to move forward together, with a renewed commitment to our shared mission and a spirit of respect for all who use and support our library system."