Library patrons remain upset with director’s decisions despite creation of special committee

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Bianca Cseke, Freelance Reporter 6:18 am CDT October 23, 2019

The Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District Board of Trustees created a special committee to review human resources practices and procedures during its Monday night meeting, Oct. 21.

Yet, many members of the community remain upset with the board’s handling of the turnover situation at Northfield Library.

The committee will provide support to library staff and gather data. It will be comprised of two newer trustees in an effort to be more objective about the libraries’ issues.

About a dozen individuals spoke during the public comment periods of Monday’s board meeting to show their disapproval with how the situation has been handled and with what they regard as apathy from board members.

Reasons that were brought up for people leaving the library included: wanting hours reduced, being asked to switch hours to the Winnetka library, being passed over for a position for someone less qualified and wanting to take vacation time like in past years.

In August, members of the community attended sessions to discuss staffing issues and renovation plans for the Northfield branch, and they were concerned about the high turnover rate at Northfield and opposed to the renovations. Winnetka’s library recently underwent $2.1 million in remodeling, and Northfield residents said they did not want the same.

Last month, the trustees approved a plan to address the turnover issue, which included fireside chats, an outside HR consultant and increased presence of the library director and other top-level managers in the library.

Library Director Rebecca Wolf said she spoke with six “sister libraries” to compare data on retention and turnover rates and found that the libraries had an average turnover rate of 38 percent. Meanwhile, the Northfield library had a turnover rate of just 25 percent, she said.

Wolf also mentioned that most of the turnover was occurring due to what she called “positive things,” like receiving better job offers or only being temporary employees. Five employees left involuntarily.

But many community members weren’t satisfied with Wolf’s analysis of the turnover rate.

“Happy employees don’t leave,” Sue Erickson-Kelly told the board.

She told board members that she wondered if they actually read the exit surveys completed by departing library employees.

Trustees insisted that they did take community input seriously.

“I take extreme offense at the idea that we do not care,” Vice President Travis Gosselin said.

Gosselin added the board doesn’t get involved in day-to-day operations, but does rely on input from both the library director and the public.

Board President Jean Paul Ruiz-Funes said the board has done a lot of work to address issues that have been brought up. He mentioned the new HR director at Northfield, the board’s reviews of employee surveys and the creation of the special committee, which is expected to reach a conclusion on the issues by December.

“These are serious matters, serious allegations,” he said. “We are giving them all the time that they need.”

The board will also be meeting Nov. 4 for a study session on what can be done better in terms of processes.

Still, some meeting attendees were not satisfied with the board or the library director’s handling of issues.

“You talk about our goals and values,” Margaret Sullivan said. “We had that already. Why reinvent the wheel when we already had it?”

Ruiz-Funes said the board does not run the libraries, meaning that questions have to be answered by the individuals who run the library, not the board.

“We’re on the right track,” Pat Doherty said. “Now it’s time for some decision-making. It’s clear that one thing needs to be done — and that is to fire Rebecca (Wolf).”