The three men vying to be Omaha's library director spent Monday learning about the community each hopes to serve.
They met with library staffers, toured some city library branches, and before the long day ended, sat before a few dozen library patrons to explain themselves and what each might bring to the job.
The finalists are Bill Rodgers, director of the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City, Mo.; Gary Wasdin, assistant dean at the University of Alabama libraries in Tuscaloosa; and Harry Williams, library director at the Brockton Public Library in Brockton, Mass.
One of the three will replace former library director Rivkah Sass, who left earlier this year to become the director of public libraries in Sacramento, Calif.
The Omaha Library Board will formally interview each candidate today. Kevin Thompson, president of the Library Board, said Monday that the board could make a decision this week.
“The process has gone very smoothly at this point, and we're extremely satisfied with our three finalists,” he said.
The new director's salary will be between $105,000 and $120,000, Thompson said. Sass made $106,000 during her last year on the job.
Omaha's system has 12 library locations. Library officials have dealt with several rounds of budget cuts this year as former Mayor Mike Fahey and current Mayor Jim Suttle addressed shortfalls in the city budget.
Last summer, the Library Board announced several cost-cutting measures, including the temporary closing of the Florence Library. However, rallies and fundraisers were held, and the branch remained open.
Each candidate said he was awed by the community support for the Florence branch. Wasdin cited the rallies as “one of the main reasons I applied.”
Sass, who spent six years in Omaha, had expressed frustration about a lack of financial support for the city's libraries from both city officials and private donors.
“In terms of civic priorities,” she said in an interview, “it's never been high in the hierarchy of needs.”
Each candidate said he was aware of Sass' concerns, and although the three didn't comment directly on her criticisms, each said he was well aware of the challenges he would face if selected for the position. A tricky financial situation is a fact of life at many libraries, they said.
“I'm from the Northeast,” Williams said. “It's no cakewalk here, but there are a lot of libraries in the Northeast that are threatened with total extinction. As a matter of degree, this library is well-supported.”
Still, the three said, the library needs to emphasize finding new revenues. Finding grant opportunities and building partnerships with corporations and/or community organizations could be essential.
Rodgers said libraries must operate with ample cash reserves, as the recession has battered library income from investments in financial markets.
“So lots of libraries have been hit hard with the reality that they need to work harder in the community,” Rodgers said. “Basically, I think you need to be open to any fiscal strategy that's going to benefit the library.”
All three finalists said they planned to compete for the library's share of city resources but said they didn't want to do so in an obstructive manner.
“We're in the same pot with other city agencies,” Wasdin said.
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