Current interim Heather Norborg would continue in that role under the proposal
By Bob Seidenberg
Evanston Public Library trustees will entertain a proposal that calls for them to shelve the idea of a nationwide search for an interim Executive Library Director, saving the effort for when they hire a permanent director.
In a memo to the Board for Wednesday’s meeting, Board President Tracy Fulce noted that with current interim director Heather Norborg’s indicating willingness to serve in the interim position for up to a year, trustees might be better off with that arrangement while focusing on a search for a full-time permanent director.
“Because a comprehensive national search for a permanent ED (Executive Director)is a significant financial investment and can take six to nine months to conclude,” wrote Fulce, “it is my recommendation that we do not double our expenses by hiring a search firm for the interim role.”
Instead, she proposed the interim process could be managed internally “via a Board committee “formalizing the terms of the interim leadership for the next 12 months.”
She recommended the committee’s other main role be drafting the Request for Proposal to identify a professional search firm for the permanent Executive Director position.
Norborg has been carrying out the interim director duties since late last year when Executive Director Yolande Wilburn took a leave from the library’s top job.
Trustees voted to formally accept Wilburn’s resignation at their Feb. 18 meeting.
They initially backed a plan to bring in an executive search firm to recruit someone for the interim position, with that person ideally in place sometime in June.
The expected interim appointment would then run 18 to 24 months, with the possibility of the interim Executive Director’s being considered for permanent Executive Director status.
During discussion at the March 23 City Council meeting, both council members Tom Suffredin, 6th, and Clare Kelly, 1st, brought up questions regarding the status of the interim director’s post.
Suffredin asked about the status of the post as the city and Library renew talks on an intergovernmental agreement between the two entities on shared services costs and upkeep of library facilities, which are owned by the city.
Kelly, whose First Ward includes the main library branch, included the hiring of a search firm to find an interim director among her concerns of costs approved by the Library Board.
In her memo, Fulce listed “fiscal stewardship “ as one of the responsibilities of the new committee she proposed creating, “ensuring that we do not incur unnecessary placement fees temporary roles, reserving our resources for the permanent recruitment process.”
Furthermore, “by appointing a committee to solve the ‘interim problem’, we ensure that the Board maintains direct oversight of the transition,” she wrote.
“This approach prevents us from rushing into a permanent hire under pressure, while also ensuring that interim expectations are clearly defined, documented, and managed professionally.”
This would mark the second interim stint for Norborg, if the plan is approved.
She also held down the interim position during a 15-month nationwide search to find a successor to Karen Danczak Lyons, after Lyons stepped down as Executive Library Director in June 2022.
