The letter of resignation is in my director's mailbox. The moving boxes are piling up at home. I have been offered and accepted the position as director of the Franklin Public Library in Franklin, Wisconsin, a sprawling suburb south of Milwaukee. I start in a month.
Must tell you, the process is quite interesting. I saw the ad for the position. I applied and quickly received a phone call telling me that I would be contacted once the application period closed. Wow! That was impressive. Already I knew that the Franklin Public Library Board of Trustees was conscientious. Good sign #1. Then, quite soon after the posting closed, I received a call to set up a phone interview. Good sign #2. The head of the search committee explained the process and the interview began. The questions were applicable to the job. Great sign! No nonsense about how I'd get out of a room with no windows or doors, or who I'd lunch with if I could lunch with anyone living or dead. (By the way, the answer to that one is easy. I'd lunch with my parents. I have so much to tell them about the grandchildren and great grandchildren they didn't get to meet and about my new and rather unexpected career in libraryland.)
The next step was an in-person interview. First I toured a beautiful library -- and I know beautiful. Manitowoc Public Library overlooks both the Manitowoc River and Lake Michigan. During the day it bathes in natural light streaming in from a two-story wall of windows. Aisles are wide enough for me to focus on titles even with my trifocals, and there are lots of places to sit and peruse selections.
That said, Franklin Public Library is housed in a beautiful single story building in the federalist style. The entrance is inviting and immediately demonstrates that the library is devoted to the community -- and vice versa. When you walk into the library proper light shines down from skylights above. Service points are immediately to the right (circulation), center (reference and information), and left (children's services). The collections fan out from the hub, and are surrounded by a variety of seating options, including chairs around a fireplace, and access to an outdoor garden and patio. Yes, Franklin Public Library uses its outdoor space, as well. All four seasons will be lovely at this library!
One of the features I really like is that some marketing-minded librarian decided to put face-out shelving amidst the shelves of spine-out shelving. This makes it easy to find the books you seek, both by giving you great clues as to what materials are shelved in the area, but also giving the eyes a rest from reading words on their sides. I can't wait to shake the hand of the person who did that!
Then the interview. I met with the Search Committee and found everyone quite pleasant. Again, the questions made sense. The committee got to know me, and I learned a bit about the library. I left feeling good about the interview, but one never knows. I was thrilled with the phone call inviting me back to be interviewed by several staff members. I returned to Franklin, noting that it really isn't as far from my home town as I thought (which will come in handy until my husband and I can both move). The people I met were delightful. This could be good.
Then I waited. I knew when the search committee was meeting to make their decision about whom to recommend to the full board, thanks to the requirement of library boards to post their agendas. That night my husband and I ate dinner rather quietly. As the minutes ticked by, I was steeling myself for the disappointment. Then the phone rang, and the head of the search committee told me that I was their #1 candidate. All this had happened in just two months. Now all I had to do was be approved by the full board, pass a physical and drug test, and survive a background check.
The first two were easy. The full board approved my appointment. I signed the necessary paperwork. The library posted the appointment on their website and facebook page, and I was interviewed by the local paper. The physical and drug test were without issue. I thought the background check would be, too. Little did I know that Franklin's finest would not see a grandmotherly librarian, ask a few questions, and give me their blessing.
I needed to produce all of my transcripts -- all the way back to high school, not just graduate school (which I had with me when I met the detective). I needed to discuss various jobs, including my part-time gig as the business manager for the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra, and provide contact information for my parents and sisters. I resisted the urge to provide the cemetery's address for my parents. I didn't know if the detective had a sense of humor, and though I now know that he does, I probably made the right choice. The detective visited Manitowoc to talk with my neighbors and friends. He called a variety of police departments to ask about my driving record. He even visited the college where I earned by BA. Now, I couldn't recall anything that would have disqualified me, but I was certainly happy today, almost four weeks after Franklin publicly announced my appointment, that the detective called to say all was well.
So tomorrow I begin to train my successor and earnestly pack up my office and home. I've had the same job for 13 years (my longest tenure ever), and have lived in my home for 25 years. It's going to be a busy month.
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