Great Neck Library seeks applicants for four seats

Janelle Clausen
A flier from the Great Neck Library, which is seeking applicants for board of trustee and nominating committee positions.

The Great Neck Library is looking for people to fill two nominating committee seats and compete for two board of trustee seats, whose terms end early next year.

Terms will expire for Marietta DiCamillo and Michael Fuller on the Board of Trustees in January.

DiCamillo said that while she has not come to a final decision on whether or not to run again, she said she is likely to do so.

“It’s something I’m very dedicated to. I feel very strong about the library,” DiCamillo, a three-term trustee, said. “I love all the things the library provides, so it’s something I enjoy and will probably continue.”

Fuller said that he has not yet decided whether or not he will run again at this point.

The terms for Marie Franzoni and Omer Soykan, who hold seats on the Nominating Committee, will also end.

Trustees serve for four years, while Nominating Committee members serve for three.

Franzoni described serving with the library is a great way to give back to the community. She said she was considered a “tremendous patron of the library” and asked to join the nominating committee.

“The other people that are on the committee with me are the same, and they are interested in promoting the quality of the library,” Franzoni said.

A library flier says that potential trustees should be interested in helping the community, represent their interests, actively attend meetings and be an enthusiastic team player. A trustee should also learn about programs and the “bigger picture” of issues libraries face overall, the flier says.

“It’s very important because the trustees have to work as a unified group and it’s very important that the personalities mesh,” she said.

Marie Franzoni said that it can be hard getting people to apply for a trustee seat.

“It’s a tremendous time involvement,” Franzoni said of the board position, noting the various committees and subcommittees members serve on.

A library board must develop a strategic plan and a budget, oversee programs and services, and ensure the library abides by local, state and federal laws. They also evaluate the library’s quality and hire – or fire –  the library’s executive director.

Robert Schaufeld, president of the library’s Board of Trustees, said that the board and its committees tend to meet once a month. A trustee could expect to do some work outside the meetings, like responding to emails, dealing with any unexpected issues that arise, and fielding phone calls.

Still, Schaufeld said, it’s rewarding and not all-time consuming.

“It’s more juggling a career while doing all these things,” Schaufeld said.

But if two seats were vacant on the Board of Trustees and the library had nobody run, then “we don’t have the ability to function” effectively, Schaufeld added.

Franzoni said the time commitment for a nominating committee applicant is relatively small in comparison. Their primary responsibility is to solicit applications for any position and review them, she said.

Anyone interested must send a letter and resume by June 1 to the Chair of the Nominating Committee, c/o The Director’s Office – Great Neck Library, 159 Bayview Ave., Great Neck, NY 11023.

A nominee must be a member of the Great Neck Library Association or a registered voter with the Nassau County Board of Elections by October 2, 2017.

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