New library board has work cut out for it

The five members of the new Whitefish

Community Library board of trustees met for their second time Jan.

19 in the city council chambers as they prepared for the city’s

transition to an independent library.

Mayor Mike Jenson announced his

appointments to the board on Dec. 6, and the board elected officers

on Jan. 13. Board members are Mike Collins, chairman; Anne Shaw

Moran, vice chairman; Alison Pomerantz, secretary; Mary Vail,

treasurer; and Ray Boksich.

The board is unlike most of the city’s

volunteer boards and committees in that it can buy and sell

property. For that reason, the board has a treasurer and members

are considered trustees.

The board is also looking at a July 1

deadline, when the city officially will take over the library from

the county. The board intends to meet weekly if necessary to get

needed work done before that date.

As first steps, board members worked on

new bylaws and policies and drafting a job description for the new

library director. A salary for the position has not been set, but

money has been set aside in a budget created by the ad hoc library

committee that preceded the library board. The board agreed that

the director will not need a four-year library degree.

They also need to brainstorm ideas

about promoting the library to the community and to identify all

transitional activities, such as applying to join the Montana

Shared Catalogue system and choosing a representative to the

Montana State Library system. Whitefish belongs to the Tamarack

region, which includes northwest Montana counties.

An important date is Feb. 3. That’s

when the city will meet with the county and begin negotiations on

how to divide the branch library’s resources — books, furniture,

computers and other equipment.

The library board has an important

resource backing them up — the Whitefish Library Association, a

group of local residents who have pledged $75,000 over five years

to help the community library get started. Members of the

association will meet with the board on Feb. 2 — the day before the

potentially difficult negotiations begin with the county.