The posting for a much-needed children's library assistant will hopefully be advertised Friday, Library Director Patricia Lambert said at a library trustees meeting last night, and this would help crucial staffing problems.
If so, the position would be filled by the second week of July, Lambert said.
Lambert had hoped to post the 20-hour-a-week position two weeks ago, but needed to sit down with Children's Librarian Patricia Reilly to hash out the criteria applicants are required to meet. Both Reilly and Lambert have been on vacation during that time, delaying the process, Lambert said.
Trustee Joe D'Amico wondered why Lambert had not saved time by posting a generic description to get the process rolling, then determined candidates who met the criteria.
The description had to be narrow enough to prevent an influx of unqualified applicants, said Lambert.
Candidates for the $17.20 an hour position would need a college degree and a background in dealing with children, Lambert said.
The library has hired two students to help out since mid-April when Town Administrator William Keegan lifted a hiring freeze instituted in February.
Staffing has become a problem at both the main library on Church Street and the Endicott branch on Mt. Vernon Street. Lambert attributes the trouble to the 55.5 weeks of vacation time due about a dozen staff members as well as the unfilled children's library assistant position. The shortage has led to discussions about cutting back as much as 10 hours per week for the two libraries combined.
Another long-standing problem surfaced last night when Trustees Chairman Joseph Craven read a May 12 letter from former selectman Stephen Rahavy requesting discussions about the cramped parking lot at the main library be resumed.
Rahavy discovered more than three years ago that his property, which abuts the library, includes a right of way on a portion of the lot. The town has since installed barriers to separate the library from the right of way, and the parking lot has become dangerously tight.
"I frankly don't know what's changed since" the last time the topic was discussed, said Craven, but he recommended that the board take the issue up during executive session.
The letter was one of two important items the board chose to take up during executive session. The other was review of Lambert's contract, which will expire in June.
The board is entitled to discuss contract negotiations in private, said Craven during a break between public and private sessions.
The trustees heard public comments at the beginning of the meeting, at which time Stormy Hill resident Gary Roberts asked about what happened to a five-year plan he said has expired without any results.
"There's been a lot of crisis mediation," said Roberts, who made an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the board of trustees this spring. "I would like to see a schedule of what's getting done."
Trustee Robert Desmond acknowledged that an outside consultant had at one point drafted a five-year plan for the libraries. "But you're right. It's kind of sat on the shelves," he said.
"The five-year plan has sort of expired," said Roberts, a library assistant at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. "It's more than just the buildings." The plan would address the capital infrastructure, collections and operation of the libraries.
"That's a good point," Craven said.
Daily News staff writer Anna Kivlan can be reached at 781-433-8336 or akivlan@cnc.com.
