Morris City places library director on paid administrative leave after investigators identify nearly $5,000 in purchases shipped to her home

MORRIS CITY — The Morris City hearing on March 27 focused on library purchases and internal controls after investigators identified nearly $5,000 in library materials shipped to the director’s residence over a five-year period.

City attorneys introduced exhibits showing purchases from Dec. 18, 2019, through Dec. 13, 2024, that the investigator tied to the library’s Amazon account and said had been shipped to the director’s home. Counsel told the panel the investigator’s ledger lists $4,997 in items shipped to the residence; separate pages identify $1,376.88 worth of items the investigator said were not found in the library catalog.

The director, identified in the record as Ann Barber, testified she found most of the questioned items in her office, in storage and on library shelves after returning to the building and that she retrieved and cataloged items to “clear my name.” She told the panel she had eight items shipped to her home during the covered period and that she located seven of the 67 items the investigator had flagged as missing from the catalog.

“I was so happy to be back in the library and get those items and get them cataloged to clear my name,” Barber said in testimony.

City witnesses described the steps that led to Barber’s placement on paid administrative leave. City staff testified that on Feb. 27 they called for the Amazon and computer account credentials tied to the library account, and that Barber said she would consult an attorney before handing them over. City staff returned later, presented a written notice placing her on paid administrative leave and requested keys and account access; the document in evidence lists that action as occurring on or about Feb. 27, 2025. The city’s HR accounting specialist, Maggie Busy, and finance director, Whitney Malar, both confirmed parts of that timeline.

Busy also testified about a 2023 email thread in which she instructed staff that items purchased with the library card should “definitely have all items shipped to the library.” Busy said she intended that language as a directive, not a suggestion, though she added the message included an “if possible” caveat to allow exceptions for catastrophic circumstances such as fire or flood.

On the handling of passwords and credentials, witnesses described a handwritten note (admitted as an exhibit) created at the library on Feb. 27 that listed account usernames, the library card’s ending digits and a password that staff recorded and later changed. City witnesses said the Amazon account was established in 2016 and that purchases on the account were charged to the library credit card.

Barber denied using her position for personal benefit. When asked directly whether she had used her office as librarian for personal gain, she replied, “No.” She also told the panel that AirPods provided for library Zoom calls were kept at the library desk and that any use with patrons was limited.

Counsel for the parties agreed on a procedural schedule at the hearing’s close. The record was set to remain open for written arguments and proposed findings due Sept. 19; the council will deliberate at its second meeting in September and issue a decision within 30 days thereafter.

The hearing transcript shows disputed factual points remain: the city’s inventory lists and the investigator’s catalog checks differ over whether certain items were ever cataloged and available to patrons. Barber said only one of the items the investigator flagged remains missing from the catalog; the investigator’s summary attributed $1,376.88 to items not found in the catalog, and Barber said she had located seven of those items. The panel did not make a final factual finding at the hearing; it set a schedule for written submissions and council deliberation.

The panel adjourned after setting deadlines for briefs and deliberation.