At its April 29 meeting, the Great Neck Library Board of Trustees unanimously voted in favor of hiring a national search firm, Gossage Sager Associates, to provide professional help in recruiting a library director. The board agreed upon a fee not to exceed $30,000. It is estimated that $6,000 would be needed additionally to cover travel expenses for applicants and advertising costs.

According to the firm's website, first they would meet with the search committee to hear its views of the library system's needs and might meet with staff as well. Gossage Sager would not only utilize traditional advertising approaches, but would "carry out a nationwide telephone networking effort to unearth outstanding candidates who do not normally respond to ads or announcements...the best people usually must be asked."

The firm would also assist the board in going through applications, and conducting thorough, fair and revealing interviews. The target would be to draw from a pool of 10-15 qualified semi-finalists and to then narrow it down to 3-4 finalists.

If a person is hired and during the first year the new director leaves the position, either voluntarily or non-voluntarily, the firm will reactivate the search and recommend at least three well-qualified final candidates. The library would not pay another fee to the firm, but would have to cover transportation costs for applicants.

A RFP (Request for Proposals) document that had been prepared by the interim director and the business manager was discussed. A number of concerns regarding the document were raised by board members and by members of the audience. The document has been forwarded to the building committee for a review and potential revision at its May 15 meeting.

The firm of Baldessari & Coster LLP submitted an audit of the library's finances and Al Coster was present at the meeting to discuss their findings and recommendations. He said, "Your list of recommended improvements is small...there was no indication of a problem, but there is a need for separation of duties between the staff member who reconciles the bank accounts and the staff person who prepares the checks to prevent theft or errors." He also noted, "It has become standard practice in many organizations to establish a conflict of interest/ethics policy. Since we did not identify such a policy at the library, we recommend that one be established." There was one account that the auditors discovered had been under collateralized and they recommended that the matter be addressed.

Mr. Coster also informed the board that an increased liability stems from the fact that retired staff and their spouses are living longer, requiring longer running benefits and that actuarial studies will be required more frequently.

A member of the public wrote a letter to the board asking why the library was open on Yom Kippur and yet closed on Easter Sunday. Her letter commented that the situation was "disrespectful to the community." Linda Cohen, who chairs the policy committee, stated that the library closes on legal holidays set by Congress. Further she noted that staffing the library has never been a problem on Yom Kippur as there is enough staff, not affected by the holiday, to keep the doors open. Closing the library on Easter was a function of staffing limitations. President Martin Sokol, however, stated that he would be sure to refer the matter back to the policy committee for further review and thanked Barbara Mandell for her letter.

Barbara Zeller commented that everyone should keep in mind that the library is a publicly supported institution and that the separation of church and state constitutional provision shows respect to people of all faiths including those who are non-believers.