Great Neck Library looking for trustee, committee candidates

The Island Now
There are currently six members on the board: Robert Schaufeld, Rebecca Miller, Weihua Yang, Josie Pizer, Joel Marcus and Barry Smith, who is not pictured here. (Photo by Janelle Clausen)
There are currently six members on the board: Robert Schaufeld, Rebecca Miller, Weihua Yang, Josie Pizer, Joel Marcus and Barry Smith, who is not pictured here. (Photo by Janelle Clausen)

Several Great Neck Library leadership spots will be at stake in October elections, according to a press release from the library inviting patrons to consider running for one of the positions.

Seven seats will be up for election on Monday, Oct. 29, 2018, with four being on the Board of Trustees and three being on the Nominating Committee, which vets prospective candidates for positions.

The four seats on the Board of Trustees include one held by Robert Schaufeld and one by Joel Marcus.

They also include ones being held by Josie Pizer, a former trustee selected to fill a vacancy following the ouster of Douglas Hwee for alleged misconduct, whose term was slated to go until 2021, and the vacated seat of Francine Ferrante Krupski, whose term was set to end in 2020.

There are currently six members on the board: Robert Schaufeld, Rebecca Miller, Weihua Yang, Josie Pizer, Joel Marcus and Barry Smith. One seat is vacant.

Trustees are responsible for all library appointments, developing a strategic plan and overseeing management of the library and its programs.

The three seats on the Nominating Committee include that of Donald Panetta, Howard Esterces, and the one vacated by the recently elected Sam Gottlieb, whose term would have gone until 2021.

The Nominating Committee’s five members include Howard Esterces, Donald Panetta, Patrick McDonnell, Cheng Carey Ye – who was elected last year – and Marietta DiCamillo.

DiCamillo, a former longtime trustee, was appointed to fill the Gottlieb vacancy shortly after her term ended. The Nominating Committee had endorsed Weihua Yan, now a trustee, for her seat in the 2017 election.

Members of the Nominating Committee vet and recommend library candidates for trustee positions, but do not have the power to appoint them.

This year’s elections follow the appointment of Denise Corcoran as Library Director, after a months-long search sparked by the board voting to terminate Kathy Giotsas from the position. It also comes as the board works on a landscaping plan as a finishing touch for the Main Library, which underwent a multi-year renovation.

Members of the library board are also considering updates to the Parkville and Lakeville branch libraries, according to branch committee meeting minutes.

Nominees for a position on the Board of Trustees or Nominating Committee must be a member of the Great Neck Library Association or a registered voter with the Nassau County Board of Elections by Oct. 1, 2018.

Interested candidates must send a letter and resume by Friday, June 1, 2018 to The Chair of the Nominating Committee, c/o The Director’s Office, Great Neck Library, 159 Bayview Avenue, Great Neck, NY 11023.

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