After the sudden lay-offs of two library employees, the union that represents Brandeis' library workers filed grievances against the University and requested that the two employees be reinstated.Nancy Mazur and Patty Shesgreen, part-time interlibrary-loan staffers, were both dismissed Nov. 6, library employees said.

Nearly 25 of their colleagues signed a letter protesting their "unfair and unethical dismissal." They sent the letter, which alleged that the University violated its contract with Service Employees International Union Local 888, to Provost Marty Krauss on Friday.

Chief University Librarian Susan Wawrzaszek and Perry Hanson, the vice provost who heads LTS, both declined to comment on the firings, saying they could not speak about personnel issues. But Krauss said the administration did not violate its contract with the library workers' union.

"The University complied with the terms of the contract between the relevant union and the University in its handling of these layoffs," Krauss wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

The library has temporally suspended most loans to other institutions as a result of the dismissals, one employee said, adding that students should now expect delays in obtaining materials through interlibrary loan.

Mazur, 61, said she was let go "on-the-spot" by Wawrzaszek after working here for 10 years. Shesgreen, 51, who worked in the library for six-and-a-half years, said she was "absolutely stunned" by her termination. Neither were dismissed for their performances, they said. Mazur said she is considering filing an age-discrimination claim against the University.

The terminations come in the wake of two other firings that have incensed some alumni. Cliff Hauptman '69, M.F.A. '73, who worked in the Admissions Office and the Office of Communications for 14 years, and Mary Sullivan, who coached the varsity softball team for 32 years, have both said their dismissals were unjust, and both have age-discrimination claims pending against the University.

Their supporters have pointed to the firings as part of a trend of the "corporatization of the University," referring to an increased focus on money and callous staff management.

"I felt pretty much like a criminal" Shesgreen said of the way her termination was handled. "We're not a corporation. They should have dignity and respect for their employees."

Mazur said Wawrzaszek dismissed her and Shesgreen so she could hire a full-time staff member in their place. The union's letter questions that motivation.

"Ostensibly, these employees were laid off because the department now requires a single full-time employee with substantially different duties," it reads. "In reality, the new full-time position is strikingly similar to their [Mazur's and Shesgreen's] old duties."

Mazur said she would have been willing to work more.

"We were not given the choice to increase our hours, which is what both of us would have done," Mazur said. "Between the two of us, we were more than a whole person."

Another library staff member said the library typically promotes from within and while Mazur and Sheesgreen were told they could apply for the full-time position, under the union's contract they should have been given the option of taking the job of a less senior employee, who would then be demoted.

"We never want anyone to carry it out-it's a protection," the staff member said, referring to that provision of the contract. He added that it was unusual for the University not to inform the staffers or the union that they were interested in creating a full-time position before they were dismissed.

Library staffers were granted anonymity because they feared administrative retaliation.

Rachel Marder contributed to the reporting of this article.