The Baltimore County Public Library laid off 14 part-time librarians Wednesday, giving them an hour to collect their personal items and then escorting them out of their branch buildings.

The positions were long due to be phased out after the library decided to no longer hire part-time librarians. The employees were given an opportunity to apply for other jobs, though those positions may not fit their needs.

Library officials gave no reason for the abrupt dismissal right before the holidays.

The library’s union, IAM Local 4538, received an hour’s notice before the 14 librarians from 11 branches were called into a Zoom meeting with library director Sonia Alcántara-Antoine. The director told them, effective immediately, their jobs were being eliminated, according to union President Anita Bass.

“While this process involves difficult decisions that we do not take lightly, such actions are sometimes necessary to better serve our communities with our offerings and to be responsible stewards of taxpayer resources,” Alcántara-Antoine wrote in a librarywide email.

Emily Williamson, a spokesperson for the library, said prior leadership decided to phase out part-time librarian positions more than a decade ago. Since then, part-time librarian roles have declined from 79 in 2020 to just 14 today.

“Current leadership is now finalizing this long-planned transition as part of ongoing efforts to align our workforce with the evolving needs and changing demands of 21st century libraries and the communities we serve,” she said.

She added employees were being “supported through this process” and that the library’s focus “remains on strengthening service delivery and ensuring that our libraries continue to meet the needs of Baltimore County residents today and into the future.”

But the timing doesn’t make sense to County Council Chair Mike Ertel, who is one of seven lawmakers who approves the library’s budget. The fiscal year does not end until June 30, so funds for these 14 employees’ salaries are in the budget.

Ertel is also concerned that the library system has hired more central office workers, who earn a lot more than part-time librarians and who do not interface with the public at a time when the county’s 850,000 residents are increasingly relying on libraries for résumé-building help and computer skills.

“This is really disturbing,” Ertel said. “We have heard from people who have worked for the library system for decades. One woman who reached out is 61 years old and has worked for the library since she was a teenager. I am just flabbergasted that the library director did this.”

Lauri Shaw, one of the laid-off librarians who had worked there for more than a decade, took issue with Alcántara-Antoine’s assertions that the dismissals were made “with great care and respect,” as the director said in one of her emails.

“I suppose I should take comfort in the fact that the decision was made ‘with great care and with deep respect.’ Was it a smooth transition for you? Not so much for me, because then, under your orders, I had to turn in my badge, clean out my locker, and be escorted out of the building like a criminal,” she wrote.

Shaw said that, as part of her job, she witnessed overdoses, cleaned up bodily fluids and broke up teens having sex. She did all that, she said, because she loved her job at the library.

County officials said they were not informed of the decision. The library’s board was also not told before the layoffs.

In a statement Friday, Councilman Izzy Patoka called on Alcántara-Antoine to immediately reverse her decision and encouraged the library to engage both its board and the council in further discussion.

“The timing of these firings lack compassion and are tone deaf, not only to the time of year, but also the state of our current economy,” he wrote.

Erica Palmisano, a Baltimore County spokesperson, wrote in a statement Friday that County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s administration is deeply concerned with the layoffs, but emphasized the library system is governed by its board — not Klausmeier.

“We empathize with those coming to terms with the loss of their jobs this holiday season, and encourage all who are affected to explore the openings and resources available with Baltimore County Government,” she wrote.

Bass, the union president and a recently retired staffer at the Baltimore County Public Library, said the laid-off employees were shocked. Some were crying.

“This was straight up, come into a meeting and, basically, you’re fired,” she said. “These are people who have vested time in the library, in their position. They take it not as a job but as a passion. So to treat them like criminals and have them pack up their stuff, and tell them to decide which job you will apply for, ASAP, that is just terrible.”

Managers told laid-off employees they needed to decide right away which jobs they might apply for, Bass said, but most of the choices were full-time positions that many did not want or other part-time positions that would involve a pay cut.

“I suppose I should take comfort in the fact that the decision was made with great care and with deep respect. Was it a smooth transition for you? Not so much for me, because then, under your orders, I had to turn in my badge, clean out my locker, and be escorted out of the building like a criminal,"

Lauri Shaw, one of the 14 laid-off librarians, in an email to the library director

The library system lists 14 positions on its website.

Williamson, the library spokesperson, did not answer why the layoffs needed to happen now when the phase-out has been in the works for more than a decade.

Ertel said he is uncertain what can be done. He and Councilman David Marks, an Upper Falls Republican, plan to make it clear that this sort of action does not promote faith in library leadership.

“It seemed very abrupt, particularly two weeks before Thanksgiving,” Marks said. “There are gentler ways of doing things.”

The Baltimore County Public Library includes 530 employees across 19 branches. Its 2025 operating budget was $51 million, which includes $41 million in county funding.

Thursday evening, Chris Curreri was still processing the end of a 45-year career at the library. Curreri started working there in high school, became a full-time librarian, then switched to part time while raising her children. As a librarian at the Essex branch, she dealt with a lot of the same issues Shaw did — mental health challenges, public urination and occasionally belligerent customers.

“I’ve given pretty much my whole life to that place,” she said. “I was not allowed to say goodbye.”

Like her co-workers, she had an hour to collect her belongings in a garbage bag. Then her manager escorted her out.

Banner reporter Céilí Doyle contributed to this story.