NEWBURYPORT — It may have taken longer than officials originally hoped but Newburyport Public Library’s search for a new crop of volunteers is nearing the finish line.
On Thursday, Head Librarian Kevin Bourque said he’s secured eight of the 12 volunteers he hopes to enlist.
“We’re in a good spot,” Bourque said, adding that he’s received 11 applications so far.
Mayor Sean Reardon suspended the library’s volunteer program on Jun 7, 2023, amid allegations of people performing union duties in the basement archival center, as well as harassing and bullying employees.
The mayor’s move came on the same day former Head Librarian Sara Kelso resigned after less than a year on the job.
Months later, former senior librarian Sharon Spieldenner, who worked in the archival center, was placed on approved paid administrative leave. The city then announced she had retired in January.
Her ouster led to volunteers and their supporters sending a letter to the City Council in April, asking councilors to look into what they said was a lack of transparency in the Human Resources Department.
In late July, the City Council unanimously authorized spending $12,000 to investigate what happened at the library in 2023.
As of Thursday, the investigation has yet to begin, according to City Council President Ed Cameron.
In November, Bourque succeeded Kelso and, according to city officials, began rebooting the volunteer program soon after.
He spent the end of last year collecting feedback from staff and former volunteers. Early this year, a new program and policy were developed. It was approved in May by the board of directors, as well as library staff.
Last month, Bourque put out the call for adult shelvers and teens to fill a newly created advisory board. The archival center will remain off limits to volunteers.
It was hoped the volunteer program would be restarted by the first week of September, but by mid August only two volunteers had been approved. Now Bourque is looking to have the eight volunteers he secured, all adults, in the building by the beginning of October.
“Between vacations, interviews and waiting to get enough people to get a schedule going, it’s taken a little bit longer than we’d like,” he said. “But two of those people will start training in the next week and a half.”
By and large, Bourque said paid employees are happy to see volunteers make their return.
“They want people to be active in the library,” he said. “There’s a sense that having people back in is good. It’s good for the library and the community, as well.”
All this was good news to Reardon, who said he’s happy to see there are volunteers willing to work in the library.
“To me, this has always been more about having opportunities for people who want to volunteer for the city to do so,” he said. “I’m glad we came up with some tasks in the library that needed to be done. Because people were willing to do it.”
For those looking to help the library beyond shelving books, Reardon’s Chief of Staff, Andrew Levine said the Newburyport Friends of the Library is always on the hunt for volunteers.
“That’s also a great opportunity to get involved,” he said.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.