Director urged to return ‘neighborhood feel’ to Northfield Library
“We’re not Winnetka wannabees!”
That was the recurring loud and clear message sent by the Northfield residents who came to the Northfield branch of the Winnetka-Northfield Library District on the afternoon of Tuesday, Aug. 13, and the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 14, to discuss staffing and revised renovation plans.
At the Aug. 14 session, Library Director Rebecca Wolf sought feedback on seven areas of concern that she posted on the wall — staff issues; staff room/quiet space; staffing; the link between the community room and the library; shelving; self-check; and collection.
But staff issues and staffing were the only two of these topics that the approximately 25 residents at the meeting wanted to talk about, and they perished the thought of a renovation modeled after the $2.1 million undertaking at the library in Winnetka.
They told Wolf that the status quo was fine and dandy.
“The overwhelming interest has nothing to do with books and shelving and carpeting,” Pat Doherty said. “It’s about people. The people want the library the way it has always been.”
“We are not Winnetka,” added Trish Andrew, who came to the meeting with her four children. “We don’t want the changes. We don’t need the bells and whistles.
“This is a small community. It’s a completely different feel when you walk into our local library. I feel personal interactions with the staff are essential for our children. The children were very comfortable with the staff. They knew your kids; they could talk to them about their dog. We were so blessed. This has been part of their lives.
“I feel that is changing. We are asking to get our neighborhood feel back.”
“We want a more regular staff here,” Sue Klock agreed. “People are missing that a lot.”
The residents’ concerns about staffing was a consequence of the rotation of employees between the Northfield branch and Winnetka following the reopening of the Winnetka Library on June 23. A handful of staff members didn’t want to work in Winnetka. Some resigned and others reportedly were terminated.
“Our staff (at the two libraries) is 43 people, 19 of whom are full-time,” Wolf said. “We do rotate staff more often, which we did not do in the past. We’ve had to switch people around because of necessity. As people leave, we need to have new faces. We currently are hiring. There is no legal reason why former staff members can’t apply for positions posted on our website.”
Wolf said the major remodeling project in Winnetka prompted the Library Board of Trustees to contemplate a smaller-scale project in Northfield.
“It feels really weird to focus on one library when we have two that need updates,” she said. “We need to make sure we are treating our patrons fairly and equally. The board discussed it and came back with a $200,000 renovation. We didn’t want to come back to the board until we had affirmation from the community.
“I know we need to do carpeting, do lighting, do painting. Should we look at more than just the basics? Do people want us to look at full library renovation?”
Wolf said she was going to convey the sentiments expressed at the Aug. 13 and 14 community meetings in her report to the library board at its Aug. 19 meeting and “the feedback we’re getting is not going to be sugar-coated to the board.”
Her conclusions were: “There is no appetite for renovation; there is an appetite for maintaining; what we are concerned about is staffing.”
None of the six library board members were present at the Aug. 13 and 14 meetings and their absence upset several members of the audience.
“I think it’s reprehensible that none of the directors saw fit to come,” Doherty said.
Library’s staff retention addressed with The Current
Amy Richmond worked at the Northfield Library for seven-and-a-half years.
“The library has been really important to me. It’s my little local library,” she told The Current.
The Northfield resident, however, left her position last February for a combination of things.
“There were some artistic things I wanted to pursue and a ridiculous scheduling policy,” she said. “I would’ve pushed through and stayed (if it wasn’t for the policy). But, I left on very good terms.”
Hard feelings have recently surfaced for Richmond after seeing more turnover and learning about the recent renovation proposal. She estimated a total of 70 people leaving in the last six years, and said the library does not need any major renovation.
“Almost all of us had been there for many years — [the schedule] was working, no need to change it,” Richmond said regarding the policy that has employees working across both libraries now.
“[Library Director Rebecca Wolf] has her vision, but it’s a public library, you have listen to the public,” she added about the renovation.
Richmond’s feelings, however, are not unique. Many voiced their opinions about the staffing changes made by Wolf at the recent open houses Aug. 13 and 14.
Former Head of Adult Services Shauna Porteus cited areas of concern revolving around Wolf, including “terrible communication, lacking fiscal/accounting accountability, poor judgement,” among others.
“I really care for the community and now having worked in multiple public libraries in multiple states it has reinforced my opinion that Rebecca cares less for the library and staff and more for her position of power,” she told The Current in an email. “It’s not groundbreaking but it sure does make a difference to everyone involved and, unfortunately, it has a ripple effect down to the community.”
When asked about the amount of employees who have left the district in the past six years during her tenure, Wolf couldn’t pinpoint a number. In regards to the estimated 70 people by Richmond, she said, “It could be right.”
“I’m looking into that number,” she said. “That number includes all those employees that are circulation staff that come and go or go back to school. They’ll have jobs here for like six months, that type of thing. So when I look at that number, I go, ‘Well, it could be right, if you consider that.’”
“We did have some turnover as a branch,” she added. “We’ve had three or four people leave this year; that concerns me. That’s something we’re looking into and addressing. That’s why the majority of folks were like, ‘These are the people we love and the people we care about.’ Absolutely. That’s something we take to heart. ... We very much care about retention and keeping employees with us.”
When any staff member leaves the library, people are going to notice, Wolf added, and even more than ever now because they work at both library locations.
The schedule crossover between Winnetka and Northfield libraries, however, is no reason for concern, Wolf said.
“Over the last few years and even more now, we have established that we are one district and one staff. The biggest thing has been that we are trying to cross-train our staff in both buildings across the district. ... It’s a compliment to the staff that people are noticing and they appreciate the services.
“We are trying to do that, and I’m even working more at Northfield, so that people can get to know me and the other staff. It’s the idea of familiarity.”
Reporting by Megan Bernard, Editor.