New College is seeking to terminate the dean of its library, Shannon Hausinger, following a public outcry over thousands of books found discarded in a campus dumpster.
In an Aug. 16 letter, the university's general counsel stated that Hausinger was being held responsible for improperly disposing of 13,000 books, allegedly failing to maintain records justifying their removal, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Hausinger was given 10 days to respond, but it's unclear if a final decision has been made regarding her employment. She had been placed on leave since the Aug. 13 incident.
The move is a shift from the university's previous position on the issue - that the books chosen for disposal were "thoroughly evaluated" by the librarians - according to New College President Richard Corcoran.
In a letter to the school community, Corcoran had also attributed the purge of books to damage caused by a leaky roof. He noted that $300,000 had been allocated to purchase new books, eBooks, journal databases, and multimedia materials for the library.
"Unfortunately, much of the coverage has been sensationalized, catering to the narratives of our critics," he wrote. "While the optics of seeing thousands of books in a dumpster are far from ideal, it is important to understand that the disposition of materials is a necessary process in libraries, and ensures that our collection remains relevant, up-to-date, and in good condition for our community's use."
University spokesperson Nathan March told the Tampa Bay Times on Monday that the discarded books were not connected to those removed from the Gender and Diversity Center, which are not part of the library's collection. He added that those books were ultimately claimed and donated.
The college came under scrutiny after discarding the books from the now-defunct center. Many of the tossed books covered LGBTQ+ issues, women's topics, and religion.
The ACLU of Florida called the book dump a "brazen act of censorship" and demanded answers from the administration.
"The fact that these books - sources of wisdom, diverse perspectives, and the narratives of marginalized communities - were discarded in the dead of night, without transparency, and without giving students the opportunity to preserve them, should outrage every Floridian and every American who values democracy and free thought," said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.