When the media got wind that the Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL) Board of Trustees, having just raised the CEO pay cap, was likely in increase CEO Gregory Hill’s salary by $60,000—more than the average librarian makes in a year—was set to provide Hill that extra compensation, community members, library patrons, and library workers and their supporters started once again mobilizing.
One might think they would be burned out after the summer campaign in 2021 to remove racist CEO Jackie Nytes, or the years-long struggle to appoint the wildly popular Nichelle M. Hayes to the position. Despite the absence of any violence or threats of violence, the public’s presence at the meetings prompted then-Board President Hope Tribble to pay for armed police officers to “protect” the Board from the public. The struggle ended when the Board anointed Greg Hill as CEO behind closed doors during a public meeting, despite the fact that Hill did not apply during the nation-wide search or after, did not interview for the job, or even express any interest in taking on the position.
The June 22 IndyPL BOT meeting held at the Fort Ben Branch demonstrated the community is still willing to stand up and sacrifice their time and energy to defend our library and those who make it run.
The public comments
The public comment period for the salary increase started shortly into the meeting, with Board President Ray Biederman reminding the packed room that everyone was allotted five minutes.
One opening speaker referenced a Mirror Indy article in which Biederman defended Hill’s salary increase, stating it was “competitive” with several Ohio library CEOs. “In case you didn’t know,” Daissy Cook informed the crowd:
“Ohio has one of the most heavily used and best-funded public library systems in the U.S. They rank #1 in the nation for library circulation, #2 for in-person visits per capita, and roughly two-thirds of all Ohioans hold a library card ranking them 2nd among the nation.”
Further, Cook noted that Ohio libraries receive state funding while in Indiana they are solely locally funded.
Even in places like Cleveland, Ohio, however, the Executive Director and CEO of the library system made just about $30,000 more after serving for five years than Greg Hill will now earn after serving barely three years. In December 2023, the Board voted to renew Felton Thomas Jr.’s contract for another five-year term and approved a $297,000 salary. And, of course, the Board hired Thomas through a nationwide search to which Thomas applied and successfully completed each phase of the hiring process.
A library “CEO?”
Another speaker, Johnny Hall, who identified himself as a patron of the West Perry Branch, identified two competing philosophies at play. The library presents itself as a corporation, with a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), he said, but “leadership in a library should look different from leadership in a corporation.” Ultimately, those who work for the public are stewards of the public’s trust and should be accountable to the public, whereas corporate officers are in it for themselves.
“What concerns me tonight,” Hall said,” is not simply the amount of money involved.” Instead, his concern was “The assumption that when resources become available, executive compensation should rise before benefits are shared more broadly… the assumption that leadership is best rewarded by concentrating resources at the top rather than investing them throughout the organization; and the assumption that the public should simply trust that this is the best use of its money.”
Should we remove “Public” from “Indianapolis Public Library?”
After dozens of patrons, community members, and library workers spoke against the pay raise, Biederman took a moment to thank them for their comments. He noted their bravery and said that their words were not taken lightly and would be taken into account.
Immediately after closing public comment, however, the Board introduced and voted on a measure that would do precisely the opposite of what every single member of the public advocated.
As the crowd emptied the room, one person confirmed that no one had spoken in favor of the raise.
As members of the public talked through what just happened, none of it seemed like a shock to anyone.
Outside of the Fort Ben Branch, Joseph Warner, a community member born and raised in Indianapolis who works as a software engineer and delivered public comments against the raise, spoke with the Indianapolis Liberator. “If Greg Hill needs $60,000 more dollars to stay here, and he feels he could get a better job elsewhere, I’d invite him to. We don’t need that coming out of other folks’ pockets. I’m disappointed,” Warner said. Still, there’s reason for optimism.
As a lifelong library patron, “we’ve had innumerable differences in CEOs over my time. The people making the sweeping changes are the actual librarians who are making differences in people’s lives.”
“It’s great seeing folks show up,” Warner continued. “It is emboldening to see other people in the community care.”
“At the end of the day, the people the library serves are the people who own the library.”
So, no, we shouldn’t remove “public” from IndyPL. We need to reorganize the library so those who actually own it–the public–and those who make it run–the workers–truly control our public library system.
Featured image: One of several speakers, all of whom spoke against awarding CEO Greg Hill the $60,000 raise. Credit: Indianapolis Liberation Center.