Editor’s note: The county pulled the item from the agenda and noted it may bring it back at a later date. Lea este articulo en español aquí.
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors is considering hiring Elizabeth Martinez as the new county librarian. If hired, she would have an annual salary of $156,942 and would begin in May.
The San Benito County Free Library is in the middle of its expansion project and an FBI investigation of alleged embezzlement.
According to the staff report in the agenda for the March 26 meeting, Martinez has a master’s degree in library science from the University of Southern California and over 20 years of experience including in Salinas. It adds she has also taught at UCLA, San Jose State and the University of Arizona.
“In total, she has been the library director on city and county teams to build 11 public libraries in California, including the international award-winning San Juan Capistrano Regional Public Library and the 500,000-square-foot expansion of the Central Library of Los Angeles,” the staff report states.
The report also highlights her experience applying for grants, noting that while at the American Library Association, she assisted in a grant proposal to Bill Gates which resulted in $200 million for public libraries in low-income zip codes around the country.
“Given her profound expertise and extensive experience, she would make an excellent addition to the San Benito County Library,” the staff report states.
The Salinas Californian reported in 2014 that Martinez received $400,000 from the city of Salinas in a settlement which included her resignation as library and community services director.
According to the Californian, Martinez was allegedly bullied and harassed during a “heated” meeting with city officials.
The March 26 county staff report noted the librarian position has been vacant since Nora Conte retired in April 2023 and that it has been a challenge to recruit an experienced librarian.
The report stated the county completed two rounds of recruitments because the position requires a master’s degree in library science and that there are no substitution degrees in the library field, thus “making the requirement narrow and specialized.”
Martinez received the Equality Award from the American Library Association in 2012 and was inducted into the California Library Hall of Fame in 2020.
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