Hall,
Burrow to help guide Library
By
Elizabeth Prata
Gray--At Tuesday's regular Council meeting, several
candidates for various committee positions were conducted.
Two Gray residents had applied for two Library Trustee
positions, Richard Hall and Joyce Burrow.
In the interview portion of the application procedure,
the Council had asked Ms. Burrow about her experience
and interest in the position. Ms. Burrow has a teaching
background in literacy and reading, and is involved
with learning disabled children. Councilor John Welch
asked Ms. Burrow what she would expect from the Council
in terms of support and guidance.
Ms. Burrow responded that she is a strong advocate
for the library and would like to work toward raising
its visibility to an even higher level that it enjoys
now. She also said that the Library would need financial
support from the community and the Council. "Currently,"
Ms. Burrow said, "The only group raising money
for the Library is the Friends of the Library. The
community and the Council needs to be donating as
much as is feasible."
She said that as a person with a teaching background
she is interested in what is best for students and
the Library Trustee role is to continue to foster
education and love of books.
Mr. Welch also asked Ms. Burrow how she would deal
with a conflict in roles as a Trustee. The Gray Public
Library Association is a recently incorporated fundraising
and support entity whose bylaws are to support the
Library. The GPLA is also vying to become trustee
of the Pennell Institute land and buildings and wants
to move the Library there and lease the building back
to the Town. Several Library Trustees are also officers
in the GPLA, which is a separate, corporate entity
from the Library. If they become managers of the Pennell
land and buildings, they would be in conflicting roles
as both Council-appointed Library Trustee committee
members and GPLA landlords to the same Council.
Ms. Burrow said that she would deal with conflicting
roles by resigning from one or the other, "So
you are not being pulled in two different ways."
Mr. Hall, asked the same questions during his interview
said that with regard to the conflict question, "any
remote smattering of a conflict should be avoided,
even if you don't see it that way yourself, and you
should remove yourself so the two roles are not compromised."
Mr. Hall's background and experience that he would
bring to the duties of Library Trustee is his Masters
degree in Education, the fact that as an ex-Councilor
he was liaison to the Library Trustee Committee, and
that he raised three children and "was practically
at the library every day. I also use it for my own
benefit."
Mr. Hall was voted as the non-voting alternate and
Ms. Burrow was voted as the regular member. Their
terms expire in June, 2007.
