March 2026

The March 2026 Board of Control meeting was once again quiet, the only agenda item being the approval of discards. 

Important to note, however, was Director Danny Gillane’s Director’s Report, in which he made the case that the library’s finances are in much better shape than they were during the financial crisis in 2018-2020, presumably in the hope that the current administration’s fiscal responsibility will drive a yes vote for the library millage renewal on the ballot May 16th.

Lest we forget, however: the financial crisis alluded to by Gillane was driven in part by a lack of support—and, in several cases, active opposition—from individuals who were later appointed to serve on the library board. In particular, Stephanie Armbruster and Robert Judge were appointed specifically because of their work with Citizens for a New Louisiana (formed for the purpose of defeating the 2018 library millage in Lafayette Parish); in particular protesting against library programs like Drag Queen Storytime. Current board members have done nothing to reverse the changes implemented by Judge and Armbruster’s disastrous terms, and several (Alan Moore & Ella Arsement specifically) have gone out of their way to support anti-library bills at the Louisiana Legislature as well as asking the parish council not to roll-up current millage rates on multiple occasions.