The Iowa City Public Library Board of Trustees’ working group on the director search will proceed with interviews in August, and a member of the public urged the board to appoint interim director Anne Mangano as permanent director during the meeting’s public-comment period. The board’s presiding trustee explained the working-group process and said updates will be sent to trustees as the group moves toward a recommendation.

Why it matters: The library director sets strategic and operational priorities for the system; a permanent appointment will determine who implements the board’s remaining priorities and who appears before the city council on library matters.

Interim director Anne Mangano presented logistics for the search and the board discussed scheduling. During public comment, an attendee who identified themselves as a long-time resident urged trustees to: “appoint Anne as the permanent director.” The resident said Mangano has been “very helpful…very personable” and that she knows the library’s collections and the community.

Robin (presiding trustee and county representative) told trustees the hiring working group has been meeting and will request trustees hold a date in August for interviews. Robin cautioned that the working group cannot deliberate as a full board because of open-meetings law constraints but that individual trustees will receive updates and may be asked to attend interview sessions held during business hours.

No formal appointment or vote took place at the meeting. The board did not take formal action to appoint a director; the working group will continue its process and may bring a recommendation to the full board at a later meeting. Trustees also discussed procedural constraints: the working group will send individual updates to trustees but will not use full-board deliberations that would trigger open-meetings requirements.

What’s next: Trustees were asked to hold a date in August for potential interviews; the city will post a trustee opening (for a separate vacancy) on Aug. 5, which may be relevant to membership on trustee-related working groups. The board did not set a hiring deadline or vote at this meeting.

Ending: Trustees said they will circulate more information about interview times and the working-group timeline prior to the August meeting, and that any final recommendation would be presented to the full board for action at a later date.