UPDATE: Entire Round Lake Library board resigns

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

The future of the Round Lake Library will be discussed tonight, after the entire library board resigned at the end of a contentious public meeting Tuesday night.

There will be a special meeting of the Women’s Round Lake Improvement Society at 7 p.m. at the Village Hall to discuss appointment of a new library board, amid unconfirmed reports that library director Carol Sheffer may be resigning, as well.

The entire village has been in an uproar since the May 31 firing of popular library employee Theresa Marchione, and 125 people crowded a library board meeting Tuesday night to call for her re-instatement.

At the end of that meeting, the seven-member volunteer board, which is appointed by the Women’s Round Lake Improvement Society, resigned.

Library board Chairwoman Sandra Debus could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Her phone had a message saying it was not accepting incoming calls.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Debus said the controversy was leading to negative comments being made to library staff and their children, and she urged people to refrain. During the meeting, some people shouted angrily at the board, whose members said they needed time to investigate the situation surrounding Marchione’s termination.

Marchione’s firing by Sheffer was reportedly in response to closing the library 40 minutes early on the evening of May 29, when a tornado warning was issued by the National Weather Service. Many village residents feel Marchione did the appropriate thing under the circumstances.

Sheffer, who was appointed about five years ago, has been the focus of many residents’ anger.

The moves could lead to reinstatement of Marchione, said Danielle Rigney, the vice president of WRLIS.

“That’s what we wanted from the beginning, and it’s too bad it’s had to take two weeks and all of this,” Rigney said.