The Churchill County Library was closed on Monday, according to a social media post by the county. The post explained the closure as “due to staff illness” and said it didn’t open until 11 a.m. last Friday, May 10.
Five library staff members have retired or resigned since February, with one of those resignations coming last week. Typically, there are 6.3 library staff members. Currently, there is a children’s librarian and a part-time page in addition to the library director.
A contentious Library Board meeting on April 25 led to the setting of a special meeting on May 9 to consider the evaluation of the job performance of the Library Director C.L. Quillen, receive an update on the process to recruit and fill vacant employee positions, and a consideration of existing library hours.
At the special meeting, Chris Spross, Human Resources Director, reported that a part-time page would be hired on May 10.
No decisions were made at the special meeting after board members pulled the agenda item related to the director’s evaluation after being advised by Civil Deputy District Attorney Jeff Weed to keep the meeting to “information gathering.” The regular board meeting was agendized for May 16 at 3 p.m.
Library board member Jo Petteruti opposed language in the agenda item specifically addressing the evaluation of the library director. According to the Nevada Revised Statute, this must be done in a public meeting as Quillen serves “at the will of the board.”
“We’ve never used this language; it immediately implies there’s an issue, and that’s not right. We’re supposed to be advocates for the library and the lady we chose,” Petteruti said to Board Chair Kelli Kelly. “She was your choice to begin with. Shame on you.”
According to Spross, due to budget constraints, the recruitment process to fill the retired library position vacated in February was put on hold, but that process has been reinstated and can begin again now.
“I have no information on when we can proceed on the three other vacancies,” Spross said.
During public comment, Gaylene Drinkut, a library patron, went on record with her experience in the library on May 8. She visited the library with her 8-year-old granddaughter. “There were kids cursing and shoving each other as we walked into the library, and inside there were kids on the tables, they were throwing boxes, and playing ‘grab pants’ in the corner. That is not what I’m used to in the library. It was chaotic.” Drinkut said one librarian was on duty trying to get order, and the other was on break. “I called the police it was so out of order.”
Police came to the library and did a sweep, talking to the children, but told Drinkut they could not do anything unless the staff told them a patron needed to leave.
“The librarian who came back from break was making excuses for the children, saying the library is a public place and the kids need a place to go. This kind of behavior doesn’t happen unless it has been allowed, and it only escalates,” Drinkut said.
The Fallon Police Department confirmed that they have been called to the library three times in the past six months to address issues with juveniles.
During public comment and by the board members during the meeting, several suggestions were made for options that may help with staffing issues and cover library hours, including using temporary staffing through Manpower, accessing volunteers from NAS Fallon, implementing parking lot pickup, and engaging the school resources officer to assist with unruly students.
Petteruti raised concerns about covering library hours. “We had 6.3 positions, and we’re open 55 hours per week; I’m puzzled how we can carry the schedule with half the staff,” she said. “This is a terrible quandary; we don’t have the staffing, and budget cuts have fed into all of this, thank you very much.”
During public comment, Kaitlin Hansen went on record saying, “We can talk about cutting hours, but the real issue is why the mass exodus of employees is happening. That’s the main issue that needs to be discussed. If employees were not leaving, there would be no issue with when the library is open.”
Quillen was asked to present options to the board at the next meeting to solve the issue of keeping the library open.
Quillen said she is happy to provide several options, “I just wanted to have some parameters.”
“I’m concerned about cutting hours,” said Library Board Chair Kelli Kelly. “It is difficult to put them back. One thing we all agree on is that we care deeply about the library and patron access.”
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