Trustees hire interim director for permanent role
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

Margaret Howe-Soper

Members of the Forbush Memorial Library Board of Trustees voted 4-1 to hire Margaret Howe-Soper as the new director after more than an hour of discussion on Monday night.

Trustees Dana Altobelli, Cindy Hasting-Brutvan, Julia Bedard and Beth D'Onfro voted in favor of Howe-Soper. Howe-Soper has been serving as the interim director of the library since last summer.

"I think Margaret is eminently qualified," Altobelli said.

Hasting-Brutvan agreed.

"I reeled you in (as interim director) and you jumped in two feet first you have done nothing less than a wonderful job," she said.

Lola Leger voted against hiring Howe-Soper but after the meeting gave her support to the new director.

"I see her struggling with too many other issues," Leger said.

Leger listed items like difficulty organizing the upcoming budget without assistance and a lack of use of volunteers. But Leger agreed that Howe- Soper "was wonderful with the staff."

Trustees Chairman Walter Haney did not vote.

The trustees meet in a special meeting on Monday, April 23, after they voted not to hire the other finalist, Paula Korstvedt, for the director's position on Tuesday, April 3.

Several members of the public came to the trustees meeting to speak on Howe-Soper's behalf including George Lane, who helped to facilitate the Great Discussion Series at the library in the fall.

Lane spoke about how Howe-Soper organized the administrative aspects of the series including set-up, ordering books and materials and publicity.

"I thought you ought to hear that as part of your deliberations," he said.

During the April 3 meeting Haney expressed some concern about a reference he received about Howe-Soper, but trustees did not want to discuss the matter unless it was in writing. So they voted by a slim majority to postpone making a decision.

Each trustee received a packet of the minutes from the South Hadley Library from the short time Howe-Soper worked there.

"She says she left on her own but after a 7-2 vote not to renew her contract, she resigned," Haney said of his concerns.

Altobelli said the South Hadley trustees and Howe-Soper agree that the pairing was not a good fit.

"That is not being fired for cause," he said.

Howe-Soper responded to the trustees' concerns, saying that the fit was not good for a number of reasons including personnel issues, a lack of clear expectations from the trustees, and personal reasons.

She told the Forbush trustees they need to set clear expectation if she is hired, which they agreed to do.

The trustees and Howe-Soper still need to sign a contract.