Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Library director proposes rewriting workforce position as ‘Library Resources and Systems Manager’
Loading...
Summary
Director Joy Holt proposed renaming and rewriting the library’s workforce development/social services coordinator role to emphasize systems management, databases and adult-learning supports; trustees questioned education requirements and funding but Holt said the position remains a general-fund, unclassified exempt role.
Joy Holt, the library director, told the board she rewrote the job description for a position formerly labeled “workforce development and social services coordinator,” proposing the title Library Resources and Systems Manager to reflect a heavier emphasis on systems, databases and adult-learning support tied to workforce tools.
“This position has been very difficult to fill,” Holt said, explaining that past applicants tended to have social-services backgrounds drawn from DHHS rather than the library- and systems-focused skills the library now needs. She said the new description keeps the role at the same grade and unclassified exempt status while shifting duties toward managing databases, vendor relationships and website work and delivering more structured technology and workforce programs.
The change is intended to reduce duplication with partner agencies, Holt said, while enabling the library to provide “base level skills” — such as resume help, computer basics and guidance on the Nevada Career Explorer — and to manage behind-the-scenes systems like research databases and the website.
Trustees pressed Holt on education and recruitment. One trustee said a posted minimum of an associate’s degree might discourage applicants with advanced qualifications. Holt said the language was written with human resources to allow equivalent years of experience to qualify candidates: “I don’t want to prohibit someone who has 15 years of experience in libraries,” she told the board. She added that her hope is to recruit someone with higher education and relevant experience but not to exclude experienced applicants who lack formal degrees.
Board members also asked whether the position was funded by grant dollars. Holt said the role is budgeted in the library’s general fund and has historically been a library-funded management position; the grant that provided contractor support for parts of the workforce work is expected to move to a different agency after the grant period ends.
Holt described responsibilities she expects the revised position to carry: creating a paper trail and historical documentation for technical systems, managing research database subscriptions and associated budgets, liaising with vendors, and designing and delivering more systematic technology classes than the current drop-in “Tech Busters” offering.
Holt emphasized that the role will have support staff and is not intended to eliminate existing assistant positions: “I can assure you I’m never gonna make a change to staffing that’s gonna eliminate a position,” she said.
Next steps: Holt said she had circulated the rewritten description as late materials and invited board feedback; the board did not take a formal vote on the job description during the meeting.
