New College of Florida has fired its top librarian after pictures went viral of a dumpster full of books at the state-funded school that was taken over last year by allies of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Personnel records show library dean Shannon Hausinger asked a New College lawyer about the policy for weeding out books in early August.
Documents from Hausinger's lawyer, obtained from New College in a public records request, say that Hausinger was continuing a process that had been started by her predecessor of removing books that no longer aligned with the college's mission or hadn't been checked out in years.
Bennett Miller, a New College lawyer, said he thought it was OK to discard them but also said in the email that she should develop a policy with a university official to make sure each book is discarded appropriately.
On Aug. 13, pictures of a dumpster full of books began circulating on social media, grabbing national headlines. Days later, New College placed Hausinger on administrative leave. They fired her on Aug. 30.
Their reason for terminating her employment, according to an email dated Aug. 30, was that she "chose to proceed unilaterally with the disposal of public property" and did not keep a record of why each book was thrown out.
The disposal of books from the library came alongside the removal of books from the Gender and Diversity Center, which New College Board of Trustees member Christopher Rufo described as "taking out the trash."
Rufo is one of the appointees named by DeSantis last year as the college sought to remake itself from a small, left-leaning school into a "Hillsdale College of the South," emulating the conservative Christian school in Michigan.
New College has since abolished its Gender Studies department.
Hausinger's lawyers at the Sass legal firm in Tampa argued that she was given the green light to dispose of books that were "outdated, damaged and moldy from Hurricane Debby and other leaks."
"Based on the plain meaning of Attorney Miller's words, a reasonable person, like Dean Hausinger, would have understood Attorney Miller's directive to mean she had permission to discard the weeded books," wrote her lawyer, Adria Lynn Silva.
Silva also pointed out that Hausinger was not the custodian of the gender-themed books and had no authority over their disposal and said Hausinger should not be made into a "scapegoat."
In a memo on Aug, 19, New College president Richard Corcoran said much of the media's reporting "has been sensationalized, catering to the narratives of our critics."
"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," he wrote.
Hausinger and her lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.
