Trustees name two finalists for Forbush director's job
By Sean Sweeney Journal Correspondent

A list of 17 applicants for the open director's position at Forbush Memorial Library has been whittled down to two, the chairman of the library's Board of Trustees Walter Haney said Monday.

Haney said a search committee formed in October 2006 narrowed the applicants to five semifinalists before forwarding the finalists' names to the Board of Trustees last Tuesday, March 6.

The finalists are Margaret Howe-Soper, Forbush's current interim director, and Paula Korstvedt, the director of the Petersham Memorial Library.

Howe-Soper, a Groton resident, has a lengthy resume in the library field, including directorship positions at the South Hadley Public Library, as well as the Digital Equipment Corp.'s library system. In addition, she started her career as a reference assistant at the Boston Public Library before taking positions at numerous institutions of higher learning's libraries, including the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, the University of Michigan, and Boston University.

Korstvedt, a Rutland resident, has been the director in Petersham for the past three years, and worked in the Archives and Special Collections Department at Clark University in Worcester for a year before that. Prior to coming to Massachusetts, she was a reference librarian at the Hennepin County Library System in suburban Minneapolis, Minn.

Anne Wirtaanen, the director of the Fitchburg Public Library, headed up the seven-member search committee. Reached at the library on Monday, Wirtaanen said Howe-Soper and Korstvedt both have the necessary qualifications to run Forbush.

"Some of the applicants lacked the professional degrees or lacked supervisory experience that we were looking for," Wirtaanen said. "One took another job, and the other three (semifinalists) were removed from consideration upon further discussion. Margaret has extensive experience in a wide variety of supervisory capacities, including town government. Paula also has an extensive resume and has shown enthusiasm for the library field.

"It will be interesting to see what decision the board makes. (The decision) will turn a corner in Westminster, and this is a step toward a bright and solid future for the library."

The directorship at Forbush has been in flux for several years. Charlene Churchill, the former director, resigned last year before moving to Maine. She was the third director in three years before stepping down.

Wirtaanen noted that with the recent history at Forbush, the search committee was "hesitant" on candidates from outside the commonwealth.

Howe-Soper said she was "delighted" to be one of the finalists.

"I'm having a wonderful time here," Howe-Soper said Monday. "I think this library, because of all the turmoil the last three or four years, needs some consistency. I would be delighted to be the candidate to provide it."

Korstvedt was cautious in commenting on her candidacy, as she said she had only received a phone call from the Board of Trustees telling her she was a finalist for the position.

Haney added that the number of applicants was the largest the library has had in some time.

"We hope to interview the finalists within the next two weeks," he said. "We'll be checking references and making site visits to see them in action at their current jobs."

The interviews, which will be open to the public, have yet to be scheduled. Haney added that the Board of Trustees hopes to make a decision before its April meeting.