Dear Mr. Chairman:
Congratulations again on your re-election as Chairman of the
Fairfax Library Board of Trustees. On behalf of all of us concerned
about the state of our libraries let me say we are pleased you have
chosen to continue to serve. I am sure you will find the upcoming year
both challenging and rewarding!
One of those challenges is upon you and your colleagues now - the
selection of a new Director for the Fairfax system. This responsibility
is the single most important personnel action your Board will take and
one that rests with your Board alone - both State law and County policy
are unequivocal: "the Director shall be selected and appointed by the
Fairfax County Public Library Board of Trustees."
I realize this is an weighty responsibility and I am grateful for the
hard work and diligent service of your search committee. The new
Director will be charged with restoring the Fairfax Library system to a
position of excellence. The years'
long deterioration of the system's budget, collections, and employee
morale has caused great damage. It is thus crucial you identify and
select a new Director with a proven history of restoring large library
systems to their appropriate position as a cornerstone of their
communities. The District of Columbia and several jurisdictions in
Virginia have successfully come back from similar self- inflicted
wounds and under your leadership I am confident the Board can select a
Director to restore the Fairfax system to its former prominence too.
While it has been important and useful to have had input from non-Board
Member advisors to the search committee, it is imperative no
individuals other than the Members of the Board have any "vote" or
"veto" on the actual selection process - this is reserved by law to the
Members of your full Board. The Supervisors of Fairfax County have
placed their confidence in you through the appointment process. As
such, neither they nor any other official have any further role in the
selection process other to ensure appropriate State and local laws are
observed. Inappropriate involvement in the Board's deliberations at
this stage would taint the entire process and leave any decision
potentially subject to well
-merited criticism and open to challenge.
Again, my thanks for your service. Please let me know if I can ever be of assistance.
Very best regards, Dennis
Dennis K. Hays
Chairman, Fairfax Library Advocates
No comments:
Post a Comment