Search for new Westmount Public Library Director still on

A city committee will now begin the process of considering the applicants. Said Duncan: “The committee will be the Mayor; myself; Alan Kulaga, the Director of Human Resources; and Duncan Campbell, the Director General. I don’t know how long it’s going to take. I would like to have something in place by fall.”

The committee will be interviewing the applicants, with a particular focus on trying to determine how each candidate will handle the community’s needs. “That’s what the interview process is going to give you,” said Duncan. “It’s a sixth sense that you have, and that will come out in interviews.”

Duncan noted that preparing an accurate, up-to-date job description for the post was crucial. “In this community we don’t have directors leave very often,” she observed. “The logical first thing was to look at the job description and make sure it still fits. There are so many different elements to libraries these days — the A/V, the shut-ins — there are such a broad range of needs in the community. [The community itself] would be a final element; the Library almost serves as a community centre.” The character of the Library and its membership help to define the requirements for the Director, said Duncan: “We’re in a community that’s very well-educated, and the demands of the Library are such that you have to satisfy that element.”

No further staff changes at the library are planned. Until a new Director is chosen, three of the current librarians will handle the post. Children’s Librarian Wendy Wayling will serve as Interim Director between July 1 and July 19; Jocelyne Andrews, Head of Systems and Technical Services, will be Interim Director from July 20 to July 31; and Information Services Librarian Mai Jay will be Interim Director from August 1 through 31.

Duncan is entirely comfortable with the library in their hands for the moment. As she observed: “One of the reasons [outgoing Director] Ann Moffat did so well — she said this at her retirement dinner — is because she had a great support staff. That’s why it works.”