Federation Relationship with Board of Library Trustees
John Hill, chair of the Board of Library Trustees, informed the Federation late Wednesday that we were no longer invited to sit at the dais during Board of Library Trustees meetings. Mr. Hill stated that his intention was to allow the Chief Librarian to have a separate yet strong relationship with the Friends instead of the perception that the relationship of the Friends is primarily with the Board. He was informed that the governing documents for the Board still has the Federation President as an ex-officio member and that the Board would need to change those documents if they want this change to be permanent.
While the aim of a strong relationship between the Federation and the Director is admirable, the actions that have been taken are not justified. The Federation has a non-voting member on the Board of Trustees so that the community has a direct voice in the discussion of policies. This does nothing to weaken the potential relationship between the Federation and the Chief Librarian. At the meeting, Mr. Hill was strongly encouraged to rethink his actions and the Federation pledged to be ready and willing to discuss a resolution of this issue with the Board.
