Editorial
History repeats itself
Almost two years ago, The Community Journal ran an editorial regarding

the status of leadership at Forbush Memorial Library, in Westminster. With a few name changes, lets hope the trustees can again step up to the plate.

"It takes courage to admit when you've made a mistake and character to ask for assistance when you need it.

The board of trustees of Westminster's Forbush Memorial Library is made up of people of courage and character.

At the outset of 2004, in the wake of longtime Director Barbara Friedman leaving, a rift existed within the library community. With a goal of trying to help the library move forward, a small committee made up of trustees and town officials conducted a search that resulted in the hiring of Marylin Barnes, as the new director.

While Barnes' credentials were never in doubt, it ultimately became clear to the trustees, library employees and patrons, and even to Barnes herself, that she and Forbush were not well matched. She submitted her letter of resignation after less than five months on the job.

At this point the chairman of the trustees, could have assigned blame or thrown his hands up in frustration at the prospect of beginning a new director search. Instead, he and the other trustees showed character when they accepted a recommendation by John Fairbanks, the advisory board liaison, that the trustees use the same multi-faceted search process that had been used two years earlier to hire Westminster's Police Chief, Sam Albert.

In doing so, the trustees acknowledged that the original process was flawed and lacked the process needed to make sure the new director was a good fit for both the library and the town.

The trustees then showed character by voting unanimously to remove themselves from the screening process and asking Stephen Hemman, a member of the personnel board, to chair the search committee. Hemman is the same man that led the police chief search. By doing this, the trustees acted to remove any hint of politics from the search process.

They will reenter the process to interview finalists and select the new director.

Their willingness to put the best interests of the library above personal feelings and political alignments should be applauded.

Inviting the public to actively participate in the search process from the outset greatly increases the likelihood that the new director will be accepted readily by the community.

Including reciprocal site visits in the search procedure will help the search committee learn more about each candidate and will help the candidates decide if Westminster is a desirable place to set down professional roots.

The process may take some time but finding the right candidate for the job is worth the effort."

- First ran Jan. 7, 2005