Interim Library Director Selected, Plans Laid for Search of Permanent Position

The Board of Trustees selected an interim library director from within Tuesday night at a special board meeting.

Ed Burns, head of reference and adult services at the Ferndale library, will take over for the current Director Douglas Raber when he , Feb. 25. The interim position is not expected to exceed six months.

Burns, a Ferndale resident, has worked at the library since 2007. He received his master's degree in library science information from Wayne State University in 2008.

"When I found out Doug was leaving (the interim library director position) was proposed to me," he said. "I'm apprehensive about it. I'll have to get up to speed. But I think I'm up for it.

"Now they'll have to listen to me," he added, jokingly.

The board passed Burns' appointment unanimously. "I'm very much in support of Ed being the interim director," Board President Ann Warner said. "This was a relatively easy decision for me personally. Ed is a well qualified, skilled librarian."

Through Raber isn't on the board and doesn't get a vote, he had also recommended Burns to take over library director on a short-term basis.

"He could step in with my help," Raber said.

The board wants to have a permanent director in place by July 1. "It should take us six months at the very most (to find a permanent library director)," Warner said.

A new part-time hire or paid intern will fill Burns' position at the reference desk. The board has not discussed these changes in detail yet. As interim library director, Burns will get a pay raise, but that, too, has not been discussed as of yet.

Finding the permanent director

The board used a search firm in 2007 to find Raber. That search was nationwide and cost $40,000. This time, the board has decided to save that cost and create a search committee composed of two board members, two staff members, two members of the Friends of the Ferndale Library and a current director of a library of a similar size.

"For a library this size it's common to do a do-it-yourself search," Raber said. "It's not atypical with small libraries."

According to Raber, Ferndale's collection is about 70,000.

The board has also decided to keep the search in Michigan. But, as many board members pointed out, because of the job market it expects to receive applications from outside of Michigan.

"We'll get applications from local people and people from Anchorage," board member Darlene Johnson-Bignotti said.

Warner said though the board wants to fill the permanent position as soon as possible, it doesn't want to rush.

"We'll do our due diligence for the staff, the board, the patrons and the community," she said.

The search committee has not been selected as of yet. Its meetings will be open and held weekly unless otherwise noted. The board expects to have the search committee members finalized by the board's next regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 27.

Warner said the board has not discussed the salary of the new permanent director's position yet.

Raber moves on

Raber was hired as library director for the Marion Public Library in Iowa on Friday. His resignation in Ferndale is effective Feb. 25. He was hired in 2008 at $80,000 a year and received a $4,000 raise in 2009. He helped guide the a $4.5 million renovation that nearly doubled the library in size and incorporated various green aspect such as geothermal heating, a water recycling system and a partial green roof.

Yet, more recently, when a rainwater system malfunctioned, leaking 15,000 gallons of water from the mezzanine level of the library into the ground floor, shutting it down until mid-February to repair damages. None of the collection was damaged.

"Doug is going to be missed," Warner said. "He steered the building project when the library expanded. He did an excellent job seeing that project through. He made very good hiring decision."

Warner also praised Raber's level of interaction with the Ferndale community. "He took the library out of the building and worked beyond his job description," she said.

Raber said he had been thinking about a move well before the library flooded Thanksgiving weekend.

"I felt I've guided the library into this new building. It's at a good transition point," he said. "I've been thinking about this before the flood occurred. And I wasn't just looking for any job. I was looking for the job."

Raber said he's proud to have been a part of the renovation. "This library is Ferndale," he said. "I'm proud to have been a part of this."