Library Trustees Reverse Course, Endicott to Open Saturdays

After a wide-ranging and sometimes heated discussion, Dedham Board of Library Trustees voted Tuesday evening to reverse their previous decision regarding the library location to be open on Saturdays after Labor Day, this time choosing to open the .  

All the trustees, Library Director Patricia Lambert, and several of the 12 members of the public who attended contributed, with the group toiling over many factors.

Topics included the superior assets available to users at the , number of staff in proportion to weekly coverage requirements, new availability of the overtime budget, need to rely on staff volunteering to take offered overtime, process for approving staff vacation requests, and ideas from other libraries.

Ultimately it was the news that one staff member had requested a 12-week leave under the Federal Family Medical Leave Act that tipped the scales. When the trustees, in consultation with the library director, made their original decision in June, the FMLA leave had not been requested or foreseen.

Lambert and library staffer Lisa Ingemi both expressed concern about the impact of that long-term absence on an already tight staff schedule.

As the meeting passed the two-hour mark, board chair Joseph D'Amico called for a vote, “We’ve been here enough. I want this meeting over, so we’re going to make a decision one way or the other.”

Among other business:

• The board approved a request from the Dedham Square Circle to host their annual fundraising party for 200 in the Main Library contingent upon approval of the town administrator and fire chief.

• The trustees heard a progress report and warm appreciation expressed by school Superintendent June Doe for the with the public schools libraries. “It is really a wonderful plan. Obviously you know our needs. We couldn’t be more pleased.”  
  Several trustees said they also were excited by the initiative, but Trustee Brad Bauer worried at length that the implementation thus far was contrary the board’s intention that the books would be available to all Dedham library users as well as the greater library network.  Others reasoned that in light of the technical difficulties it was a promising endeavor and needed to be considered a work in progress.

• Trustees announced progress in recruiting an administrative assistant and in planning the.  For the assistant position, 11 applications had been received and interviews will soon be scheduled.  Researching and drafting the job description for the director is underway, as well as determining the process for the search, but the board has not finalized the process or timeline of the search.