Library board responds to complaints
Flathead County Library Board Chairwoman Jane Lopp provided official answers Thursday to a long list of concerns from a group of Whitefish library supporters, but apparently didn't satisfy them.
"We wrote a five-page letter with over 20 specific questions. We would hope the board's response to our questions was less superficial and generic than they appeared," said the Whitefish group's spokeswoman, Anne Moran. "I can't think of a better demonstration of the diligence our issues received than the very brief verbal response we got at the meeting today."
Lopp, on the other hand, said Thursday's answers were a full disclosure to factual questions raised in the letter. The remaining points, she explained, were matters of opinion from the group and it would be neither productive nor appropriate for her to give a formal response.
Lopp consulted with County Attorney Jonathan Smith to answer issues laid out in a 5 1/2-page letter signed by four former library trustees and another Whitefish library supporter, and presented at the county board's Aug. 27 meeting.
The letter focused largely on the performance of Library System Director Kim Crowley regarding personnel issues and management style, and hinted at a labor lawsuit.
During discussion in August, the group reminded trustees that the city of Whitefish owns the Whitefish library building. Retired attorney Jake Heckathorn warned that he was pursing legal channels for Whitefish to secede from the county library system.
One bone of contention was Crowley's directive to remove an American flag from the Whitefish library's community area in order to reduce clutter. Some, including John Bartlett, took offense and asked for it to be returned to its place.
Thursday morning Bartlett thanked the board for a letter he received regarding the flag and for the flag's return to a prominent spot. But he took exception with the fact that the letter was signed by three librarians instead of Crowley, who gave the order.
On a suggestion from trustee Laura Long, Bartlett said he would work with the local VFW to get another flag for the library's community room.
Lopp addressed several points brought up in the rest of the letter, categorizing them under personnel, resources and management.
Personnel - Lopp said Smith found that the library board followed county policy in a disciplinary hearing for Whitefish library employee Skeeter Johnson. The board upheld Crowley's decision to give Johnson four days off without pay for refusing to hold a discussion with Crowley following a system-wide staff meeting.
While Johnson contended she was not on the clock and therefore justified in asking for a meeting at another time, Lopp later said employees are paid for 30 minutes' travel time before and after staff meetings so she was technically on the clock.
Whitefish branch manager Joey Kositzky was not notified of the disciplinary action, Lopp said, because Kositzky was on vacation. And Smith advised that it's only a courtesy to do so, not a requirement.
Resources - Circulation was up 30 percent this year, explaining why fewer books were available on the main library's shelves at any given time, one concern of the Whitefish group.
Whitefish taxpayer support toward the county library system amounts to 9.3 percent of $112,008 last year, Lopp said in answer to another question, whereas the Whitefish branch receives 9.7 percent of the money allocated system-wide. Grants and other funding sources help make up the extra funding.
Management - County library board meeting agendas were not being posted, the Whitefish group charged. Lopp said they now are posted in all branch locations and on the county library's Web site. However, Thursday's meeting agenda could not be found on the Web site on Thursday.
Whitefish library backers had asked for a management plan to be posted, and Lopp provided copies of the board's 2006-2009 Plan of Service that covers all five locations. The city of Whitefish owns the building and the county employs the people, she noted, and separately own various resources such as the self-checkout equipment, furniture and books.
In response to Moran's request for a public statement of management philosophy, Lopp said all communities in the county are unique in character and their libraries reflect that. As a result, trustees do not have one overarching policy for managing all branches.
Donations to the Whitefish branch, whether from the Friends of the Whitefish Library or other sources, need to be evaluated for duplications, usefulness and appropriateness, Lopp said.
The Whitefish group took issue with the idea that resources were going into Kalispell's possible new library instead of distributing then among the branches. The consultant who did a library study several years ago showing that growing population will require a larger main library in Kalispell, Lopp said, was a professional well-versed in library systems with limited resources. Trustees modified the consultant's ideas based on feedback from patrons and each community.
Following Lopp's explanation, Moran offered several other points including a note that the Whitefish branch's community room remains under control of the city. She also asked for a survey or focus groups to gather Whitefish opinions on library management.
Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com