The woman who was the leading candidate to be the new director of the Verona Public Library has informed the library’s Board of Trustees that she does not intend to pursue the position. Her appointment to the library was to have been announced at Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting.
The Council had announced in June that Library Director Jim Thomas was retiring after a 30-year career. Thomas said after that meeting that the trustees had begun to review resumes of possible replacements, and that there was one internal candidate among them. The candidate who declined the appointment, whose name has not been disclosed, was not an internal candidate. Thomas said last night that he did not know why the candidate withdrew from the position.
The Board of Trustees must now reconvene to consider other choices. Under New Jersey law, the libraries in towns with populations above 10,000 must be headed by someone with a a library science degree and a state-issued professional librarian’s certificate.
How about Bill Trafton? Every time I’m in there I am impressed with how passionate he is about his work – and how helpful he is to all library patrons. If he has the certifications, he seems like the obvious choice.
Just checked with Bill. He does not have a director’s certificate. And he said he is happy doing what he does now.