Following the unexpected departure of C.H. Booth Library Director Douglas Lord late last month, the library’s Board of Trustees voted at its December 12 meeting to set up a search committee to seek his replacement.

In the meantime, Assistant Director Jennifer Nash is filling in as acting director. Nash thanked the library board for all its hard work and she said she would work to “turn this around.”

Later in the meeting during a discussion on its proposed 2024-25 budget, Trustee Amy Dent expressed concern about the salary currently budgeted for the director and whether that would be “competitive” in the current job market.

Trustee Amy Dent noted the salary was “non-competitive” and was concerned the library was “shooting itself in the foot” if it didn’t budget a higher amount.

“We need to offer a market rate salary,” Dent also said.

Dent said that the library has lost staff to Ridgefield and Westport.

“We know what they’re offering, and we need to be in the ballpark,” said Dent.

The board named five of its members to be on the search committee for a new director: Chairman Elaine Corbo, Dent, Susan Kealy, Cara Reilly, and Alex Villamil.

Dent noted that during the search for Lord, they had four trustee members, two library staff members, and a member of the public. Additionally, they hired a facilitator, the retired library director of Redding, for a fee of $10,000.

Trustee David Schill said that fee was “cheap” and it may be difficult to get a similarly skilled facilitator now for that kind of money.

Dent also noted that hiring five years ago was more difficult because the position had “lots of turnover” in the few years prior, and that it shouldn’t be a problem this time as Lord stayed in the position five years. In a 2018 press release concerning Lord’s hiring, the release stated its committee was a “ten-person search committee, consisting of C.H. Booth Library board trustees, staff, Friends of the Library, and community members, plus an experienced library search consultant,” which “spent several months coordinating a national search for a new director, winnowing all of the applicants to one.”

Corbo asked whether it might be possible to work with the town for the hiring.

The committee’s first step will be to review the job description and vacant position listing to see if they need to be updated. Corbo said the subcommittee would be “meeting frequently in January.”

The committee has announced its first meeting, a special meeting this afternoon at the library, to begin discussing "personnel matters for the search for a new library director," according to the posted agenda. The discussion will be done in Executive Session.

In his letter of resignation, which was shared with The Newtown Bee, Lord said he was leaving to “pursue another employment opportunity available” to him.

Lord’s resignation is effective February 2024. He will remain on previously requested leave until then, according to the letter.

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Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.