Kalamazoo Public Library Begins National Search for New Director

The Kalamazoo Public Library Board of Trustees met in special session yesterday evening to consider search options for replacing outgoing director Ryan Wieber.  No information was revealed during the meeting about the Lansing-native's future plans.  Outgoing trustee Christy Roth was the only absent member of the 7-person board.  When the trustees arrived, they found complementary KPL 150th Anniversary tote bags and t-shirts on their chairs.  Board candidate Jeff Messer attended the meeting in-person, while candidate Kara Trainor attended virtually.

Board President Jannie Williams first asked the trustees whether or not an ad hoc search sub-committee should be formed.  Trustee Lisa Godfrey said there would not be much benefit in forming a 3-person sub-committee, as all executive search meetings are subject to the Michigan Open Meetings Act.  She suggested a search committee comprised of the entire board.  This would be particularly beneficial, given the upcoming winter holidays which can cause scheduling problems and the search process will likely extend in to the next board term, which begins in January, following an election in November that will result in 3–4 new board members.  The board quickly agreed with Lisa's suggestion.

The board then considered whether or not to employ the services of a professional executive search firm.  They quickly agreed that a professional search firm is much more capable of conducting a full nationwide search than board members.  The speed, experience, reach, and resources of a search firm is worth the expense.  Search firms typically narrow the applicant list down to 6 to 10 candidates for the board to consider.

Prior to the meeting, board members were given information and bid amounts for three different search vendors:  DCM Associates, John Keister & Associates, Bradbury Miller Associates.  The board first eliminated DCM Associates from consideration, due to their high price (≈$40K, double the bid of the other two firms) and lack of library search experience.  Interim Trustee Denise Miller didn't like Keister & Associates, because they provided only 2 pages of information and said nothing about DEI experience.  That left Bradbury Miller, which KPL previously used to hire Director Wieber in 2017.  The board was satisfied with Bradbury Miller's previous work and DEI experience.  At 5:27 p.m., the board voted 6-0 to hire Bradbury Miller Associates for a full nationwide executive search, with the work to begin immediately.

When it becomes available, archived video of this meeting can be found at Meeting Agendas, Materials & Minutes.