Great Neck Library Trustee Marietta DiCamillo was appointed the library board’s new president at the library’s annual reorganization meeting Wednesday, as the board shuffled leadership positions among its members.
Francine Krupsky was appointed vice president, former president Varda Solomon became board secretary, Josie Pizer became treasurer and trustees Joel Marcus and Michael Fuller were chosen to be assistant treasurers.
The appointments were made by consensus, said DiCamillo in an interview.
“Varda has done a great job. It’s not an easy job,” DiCamillo said. “I think that we need to take care of the goals for the board. I’m very happy to do the job and I know that it’s a huge responsibility, and I think that I’m up to the challenge.”
DiCamillo, the chief financial officer at the Major League Baseball Player’s Association, has served on the board for 13 years.
A resident of North New Hyde Park, DiCamillo is also the president of the North Lakeville Civic Association in North New Hyde Park.
This will be her first term as president.
DiCamillo listed four main priorities for her year-long term – the finalization of a Main Branch renovation plan that will have community support in a referendum, the signing of a staff contract, adopting a leadership role among Nassau libraries and the hiring of a permanent director to replace former library Director Jane Marino.
“I plan to have active board, with 100 percent involvement by other trustees,” DiCamillo said.
The planned renovation is in its preliminary stages as the library’s building advisory committee finalizes an architectural contract for the project, and comes more than a year after a $20.8 million expansion of the Main Branch was soundly defeated in a referendum. And Marino, whose position currently being filled by acting director Laura Weir, will not be permanently replaced until the director search committee recommends a candidate.
That committee, which is to consist of the full board, director, business manager, three library staffers and three members of the public, is still searching for residents to serve as members.
The board will move to accelerate the hiring process, but there is still work to be done, according to DiCamillo.
“Our intentions… are to have a brief meeting [in February] with the individuals who are interested in serving on the director search committee,” DiCamillo said.
And though some members of the board have voiced support for holding a referendum on the Main Branch renovation in the spring, DiCamillo thinks that time frame is optimistic.
“I think realistically… it’s more of a fall date,” DiCamillo said.
The board is also considering the formation of a subcommittee to contest increases in fees charged by the Nassau Library System.
The Nassau Library System, which provides access to online databases along with other services to member libraries, has been accused by board members of unfairly targeting Great Neck through a fee structure that is based on library operating budgets. Great Neck has the largest budget of any library in the Nassau Library System consortium.
The board approved the payment of $13,000 in disputed fees earlier this month, but said the move was solely designed to avoid a cutoff of services to library patrons and that it would continue to oppose the fees.
