Given it’s been more than 20 years since the Oxford Public Library has had to hire a new director, the institution’s board of trustees decided to enlist some outside help in the search.
‘We’ve never faced this before,? said Library Board President Duane Salswedel. ‘I confess that I need some help selecting a director. I wouldn’t even know the first place to go to look for one. I think we need professional help.?
Judy Doublestein, the library’s director since 1984, is planning to retire May 31, but noted since her contract runs through December, she’s willing to stay on for a little while if it takes longer to find a suitable replacement.
To get the search started and obtain a pool of qualified candidates, the library board Jan. 24 voted unanimously to hire the East Lansing-based Hartzell-Mika Consulting and purchase the first of three levels of service offered by the firm for $7,000 plus advertising costs.
‘I’m impressed with these people,? Salswedel said. ‘They’ve been in the library sciences for years.?
A search committee consisting of Salswedel and fellow board members Tom Offer and Jack Christopher was also formed.
Marianne Hartzell and Joseph Mika attended last week’s board meeting to pitch their services and answer questions.
‘We’ve done probably about 70 searches,? Hartzell said. ‘We have never not had a search result in a hire.?
Hartzell and Mika said the board has to be ‘really proactive? in its search and can’t afford to wait.
‘The majority of searches that don’t pan out (are) because people took too long,? Hartzell said.
‘If we hesitate at all, a really good candidate could be sucked up by another library,? Mika said.
‘You are the fourth board we’re talking to this month about director searches,? explained Hartzell, noting she looked online and saw three other libraries in Michigan have already posted ads for a director. ‘That’s seven searches I know of that will be going on.?
Right now, the library field is experiencing a shortage of qualified people.
‘There are less people graduating from library school than there are people retiring,? Hartzell said. ‘You can’t just post ads and wait for people to come. Those It’s days of getting 50 or 100 resumes for a job are gone.?
The services Hartzell and Mika offer for director searches are divided into three tiers. The first costs $7,000, the second $3,000 and the third $2,000.
‘You can sort of pick how much help you need and a lot of that is dependent on how much time and effort you all can put into it,? Hartzell said.
‘We have libraries that buy just the first tier. We have libraries that buy the first tier, then decide they need more help and hire us to do more.?
‘I would think we’ll probably need at least Tier I and Tier II, but we don’t have to decide that until the time comes,? Salswedel said.
‘Probably, 60 percent (of libraries the firm’s served) have chosen all three,? Mika noted.
The first tier, which Oxford has selected, includes deciding on what qualities and skills the board wants in a director, developing and placing advertisements, identifying and actively recruiting candidates, and reviewing and forwarding all qualified resumes to the board.
‘We’ll do most of the work,? Hartzell said. ‘Your time is spent making decisions.?
One of those decisions is how much the board wants to spend on advertising, which is not included in the $7,000 cost for the first tier of services.
‘You pay what we pay for the advertising after you decide what you want to spend on it,? said Hartzell, noting libraries ‘usually spend around $2,000,? not including the local newspaper.
Hartzell told officials she believes ‘it’s always wise to use the local newspaper? in addition to other print and online mediums.
‘Who knows if someone reading that paper has a daughter who’s a librarian or a son-in-law who’s a librarian (and) they want to bring that person back to Michigan,? she said.
It’s also important to use the local newspaper ‘from a public relations standpoint.?
‘The library director is an important part of the community,? Hartzell said. ‘You want to tell the community we’re looking.?
Salswedel told Hartzell and Mika he believes the board needs help determining the new director’s starting wages.
Doublestein currently earns $68,327 a year plus benefits.
Hartzell said their firm can help the board come up with an appropriate salary to attract candidates, but warned them against being ‘penny wise, pound foolish.?
‘I’d much rather see you be realistic about a salary than maybe try to cut it a little bit and end up having to search again,? she said. ‘There’s no advantage in that, you see the price of advertising.?
To avoid dealing with candidates fresh out of library school, Doublestein told the board they’re probably going to want someone with a master’s degree in library science who has at least 4-5 years experience and some sort of financial background because he or she is going to be managing and proposing budgets.