The Baltimore County Public Library’s board has parted ways with Sonia Alcántara-Antoine, the first Black woman to lead the 19-branch system.

“The Board of Library Trustees and our CEO Sonia Alcántara-Antoine have separated as of Tuesday, December 9,” Yara Cheikh, the president of the Board of Library Trustees, wrote in a letter to library employees. “We thank Sonia for her contributions over the years and wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”

The announcement, released at about 5 p.m. Tuesday, caps nearly a week of speculation about the library CEO. Cheikh and other board members have declined to comment; library staff have told The Banner they were not certain who was leading the library and were frustrated at the lack of information.

The uncertainty began last Thursday, when the board met in a closed session with Alcántara-Antoine and the board’s attorney. The board was supposed to reconvene in open session after an hour or so, but the private meeting lasted four hours. When the board returned to open session, it voted to confirm what it had decided without saying what it was and adjourned.

Within an hour, librarians and union representatives were texting among themselves that Alcántara-Antoine was no longer in the job. She has not been seen since in the building. For days, though, library officials repeatedly told The Banner they had no information about the CEO’s status. Alcántara-Antoine has not responded to calls for comment.

Alcántara-Antoine was a high-profile hire for the system, which includes 530 employees across 19 branches and has a $51 million operating budget for 2025.

The county featured her on social media posts for Women’s History Month to inspire other young girls, and the system touted her many accolades, including her 2023 Baltimore Business Journal award as a leader in diversity. In April, she interviewed the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Colson Whitehead on stage at Goucher College in front of a packed house. And she was a force behind the library’s push for a marquee speaker series, similar to one the Enoch Pratt Free Library runs, that sold out events for Whitehead and author Erik Larson in minutes.

But her support nosedived last month after she abruptly laid off 14 part-time librarians shortly before Thanksgiving, only to rehire them two days later amid a public backlash.

The next week at a library board meeting, library workers and their union representatives questioned her leadership.

‘Making it right’

Alcántara-Antoine took steps to mitigate the fallout from the firings. She quickly dismissed her human resources director, Robin Linton, stressing her “commitment to making it right” after the firings.

“I recognize that the recent decision created a lot of harm and, as a result, that undermined trust in our library system. And for this I take full responsibility,” Alcántara-Antoine said in a message to staff.

Some staff and union leadership, though, continued to believe that Linton’s departure wasn’t enough. At a Nov. 19 library board meeting, Anita Bass, president of IAM Local 4538, which organized the library workers in 2020, called the layoffs “embarrassing, humiliating and dehumanizing.”

Bass said the library CEO had created a top-down structure that demoralized lower-level staff. Alcántara-Antoine beefed up staff at the headquarters, hiring several people to high-salaried positions. Meanwhile, Bass said, library branches were often short-staffed.

She also resisted the union, tried to reclassify some jobs, quashed flexibility in the branches, communicated poorly with employees and even opposed the union’s existence, Bass said.

“Sonia needs to go,” Bass said in an interview before the firing. “Since 2021, she has been against the union — fighting us, fighting us.”

High expectations, and a mixed tenure

A native of Long Island, Alcántara-Antoine’s love of libraries began with her first job as a teenager shelving books at a local branch, according to a December 2020 interview in The Baltimore Sun. She came to Baltimore County from the Newport News Public Library in Virginia, and was also a national leader on the Urban Libraries Council.

Earlier in her career, she trained at the Pratt under Carla Hayden, the legendary longtime Pratt head librarian who went on to lead the Library of Congress until President Donald Trump dismissed her recently.

During her five years with Baltimore County, Alcántara-Antoine lobbied for the Freedom to Read Act, which allowed libraries to freely offer materials without censorship regardless of the author’s political or religious views. The law passed in Maryland, thanks to the support of librarians all over the state.

She led the renovation of several libraries, including Catonsville and Woodlawn. Under her tenure, the county library system became the nation’s first to own and operate a mobile library law center to assist those who might need legal services but could not afford them or didn’t know where to go.

Her salary started at $190,000, but by the time she left, she was earning $243,000 and had her title changed from director to CEO.

Librarians said problems were brewing before her departure.

At Essex, staff felt their safety was not a priority, said Chris Curreri, one of the 14 fired librarians. She said she occasionally deals with patrons who have mental health challenges, urinate in public and are belligerent.

A 45-year employee, she said she was relieved that the library board let the CEO go.

“Thank you to the board for standing firm and doing the right thing,” Curreri said. “I hope that BCPL can return to a library system we can be proud of.”

No explanation

Shortly before Thanksgiving, Alcántara-Antoine convened the 14 part-time librarians in a Zoom meeting and told them that their jobs were being immediately eliminated.

However, the library system’s fiscal year does not end until June 30, so funds for those salaries are in the current budget.

Though the Baltimore County Council approves the library’s budget, members were not notified of the layoffs. Neither was Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier, who expressed dismay. Library board officials also didn’t know.

Irate elected officials and board members demanded their reinstatement. Union leaders nearby protested.

Library officials had said there were plans since before Alcántara-Antoine’s hiring to eliminate the part-time positions. The number of part-time librarian roles shrank from 79 in 2020 to just 14 today.

In her letter to staff, Cheikh reiterated the board’s commitment to its staff.

“The Board of Library Trustees extends its gratitude to staff for continuing to serve our communities throughout challenges. Your commitment to reflecting the mission, vision and values of the organization inspires the Board,” she wrote.

Librarian services assistant Amber Howard said she’s grateful the board heard the concerns, but she added that the library’s problems can’t be laid at the feet of just one person.

“I’m not naive enough to think that everything is going to be better,” Howard said. “But the board heard our concerns and acted in a way that feels they are making sure that the staff and the public will be served in the best way possible.”