State warns Peninsula Public Library in Lawrence of compliance issues

The state Education Department has warned the trustees of the Peninsula Public Library in Lawrence that they may be removed if they fail to comply with state laws governing libraries and government transparency.

The library board missed a deadline Friday to submit paperwork to amend its charter to bring it into compliance with state law concerning elections and appointments to the board of trustees, a spokeswoman for NYSED said this week.

Neither the board nor its attorney responded for requests for comment about the missed deadline.

The library has been without a director since January. Current and former staff members have complained about a shrinking workforce and a recent decision to close on Saturdays. The library’s website hasn’t updated its meetings information since March, and library staff members told Newsday they don't have access to meeting minutes.

The board did not respond to a written request from Newsday to access the minutes.

Scrutiny for appointees

The board's recent appointment of trustees has drawn scrutiny from the state.

Three of the board’s five trustees, including its president, Akiva Lubin, were appointed to fill the remainder of the terms of trustees who had resigned in the year prior to the May election, according to meeting minutes posted on the library website.

Those three didn't stand for election this year — their appointed terms are to expire in future years. But under state law, an appointment to fill a board vacancy is to last only until the next annual election — in this case, May 19.

Meeting minutes from July 24, 2025, show that trustee Joseph Lifschutz was appointed to the seat vacated by Samuel Francis, due to expire on June 30, 2028; and that Mariam Statman was appointed to the seat vacated by Sarah Yastrab, due to expire on June 30, 2027.

Lubin was elected in 2021 to a five-year term that was to end in June — but meeting minutes from March 12 show that he resigned and was immediately appointed to fill a different vacant trustee seat through June 30, 2029.

At the beginning of that March 12 meeting, the board revised its bylaws to allow appointed trustees to fulfill the remainder of a departing trustee's term — which NYSED said does not follow state law.

State's letter to the board

In a July 23 letter obtained by Newsday, the state Division of Library Development — part of the state Education Department — told the board it had 30 days to submit to the Nassau Library System a plan to hire a qualified library director and documentation demonstrating that it's complying with minimal standards for public libraries.

The letter also stated the board is required to submit paperwork to amend its charter and that “failure to comply” with the requirements outlined in the letter “may result in corrective action, including removal.”

The library was asked to amend its charter "to state that vacancies due to [a] cause other than the expiration of term shall be filled by the board of trustees until the next election,” state Education Department spokesman J.P. O'Hare said in an email last week.

Newsday unsuccessfully sought comment from all trustees. Asked on July 29 about the letter, Statman told Newsday, "I'm not going to be commenting on anything."

Last Thursday, an email sent to Newsday signed by “Peninsula Public Library Board of Trustees” said the board was unaware of the state's letter and suggested it was "fictitious."

NYSED confirmed last Thursday that its letter is authentic and has been sent to the board.

The letter listed five standards the library must comply with. Among them: employing a paid and qualified library director, complying with state Open Meetings Law and Freedom of Information Law and fulfilling fiscal oversight responsibilities.

'We're short-staffed'

The library has been without a director since Carolynn Matulewicz retired in January. Library staff members said more than half a dozen employees have left since then.

Children's librarian Henna Ross said the board's behavior has led her and others to quit. Her last day was Friday. "We're short-staffed," Ross said last week.

The assistant director quit in June, Ross said, and the reference librarian who used to update the website quit in March. "The website hasn't been able to be updated because we don't have somebody that knows how to do it," Ross said.

Ross and other current and former staff members said the board hasn't been posting notice of board meetings. She said she became aware of a meeting being held July 2, during which the board voted to close the library on Saturdays, but said the meeting wasn't properly noticed to the public.

Matulewicz, the former director, said residents reached out to her to complain about the Saturday closures.

"They are very upset about that ... because they use the library on Saturday," she said.

Matulewicz said she announced her retirement last year after deciding she didn't like the direction of the library board, but she has remained involved.

"I'm in touch with the staff every day because they have questions," Matulewicz said. They "don't know day to day what's going on."