Library director search turns new page

Douglas County Library Board trustees approved seeking requests for proposal to find a search firm to help them locate a new director.

Chairwoman Bonnie Rogers said the board approved asking Douglas County Human Resources to advertise for proposals that might reignite the hunt for a new director.

Trustees are scheduled to meet Jan. 11 to discuss the results of that search.

A previous search failed to come to fruition when only one candidate turned up for an interview Oct. 26.

At that meeting, trustees said they were uncomfortable with just one applicant for the job.

Part of the issue is difficulty recruiting, Human Resources Director Wendy Lang said.

Only a half-dozen people even applied for the job. She told the trustees that recruiting is difficult in general.

“There is a definitely a labor shortage and a shortage of people interested in applying for positions,” she said, according to the minutes of the Oct. 26 meeting.

Lang suggested hiring a recruiter, saying that the best chance to find someone interested in the job is to find a candidate who doesn’t know they want it.

“The way to do that is to find a professional head-hunting firm to go out and solicit applicants who may be happy and performing well in their current position and who wouldn’t be considering something or actively looking,” she said.

Lang pointed out that doing the same thing over again and expecting different results might not be effective.

One of two candidates expected for the Oct. 26 interview dropped out at the last minute, requiring the library board to approve more money since the airline stiffed them on the fare.

Douglas County Public Library Minden Branch Supervisor Julia Brown has been serving as interim library director since July.

On Dec. 14, the library board of trustees are scheduled to do a personnel evaluation of Brown.