Librarian ouster upheld

The ImagineIF Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously Nov. 18 to deny Deena Wirkus’s appeal to reinstate her to library branch manager in Columbia Falls after her demotion to library advisor in October. Wirkus worked at Columbia Falls library for 35 years and as branch manager for 20 years.

Earlier this fall she was demoted to library advisor and is now working at the Kalispell branch in outreach and children’s services. 

On Oct. 9, director Kim Crowley gave Wirkus a letter that stated she “had not met expectations for some time.” It went on to say that after coaching and classes “we have not seen significant improvements in your behavior.” The letter cited several areas of concern including lack of leadership skills, inability to embrace change, discussing personal issues at work, missed meetings and insubordination. 

Crowley issued an order Oct. 13 to change Wirkus’s position and work location, but that it wouldn’t affect her pay.

Wirkus claims she was forced out.

“I feel I am being forced out of a job I both love and have excelled at for all of those years,” Wirkus said in her appeal letter.

 She said that she hasn’t had an official employee review since 2011 and hadn’t received any verbal or written notice about her performance until she heard from Crowley in October. 

She also said that she has weekly check-ins with her immediate supervisor Sean Anderson.

She responded to each of the letter’s concerns in her appeal. She said that she couldn’t lead her staff if she is scheduled to be out of the library when they are working. Yet, she noted that they continued to do their assignments while she was not there.

The Columbia Falls library has had many changes in the past year. The only change that Wirkus said she didn’t embrace is the increased price of faxing services. The pricing was “prohibitive” to the population that the library serves and many patrons don’t have the technical ability to scan and email documents, she said.

Discussing personal issues and being comfortable with coworkers is a sign of a “truly cohesive team,” Wirkus said. “If anyone asked me to stop, I stopped immediately.” 

But Crowley didn’t agree, saying that they “have had complaints” that Wirkus goes into great detail about personal issues.

Wirkus said that she had missed meetings because they sometimes fell on her days off. She had been asked to work seven days a week so she could be there for meetings. 

“This is not acceptable for a professional position or organization,” Wirkus said. 

Crowley responded that attending meetings on a day off is common and expected for library employees. 

Senior librarian Sean Anderson said that Wirkus missed a meeting in May on her day off, and then a meeting in July. He said it appeared to be a pattern and an indication of mismanagement. He said that a few days after the missed meeting, he informed her that she had violated the duties of her position and missed meetings wouldn’t be tolerated.

Assistant director Connie Behe claimed that Wirkus was “confrontational” during a meeting with subordinates and was not a good role model. 

Board member Michael Morton said that Wirkus had a “justified response” to the October letter after being library manager for so many years. Yet, he also understood that Crowley has authority to put Wirkus in a different role, he said.

Board member Al Logan said that he trusted Crowley’s decision since it was well informed by staff members who worked closely with Wirkus.

The ImagineIF library has worked to increase the staff’s interaction with customers, which sometimes requires employees to move into new positions, board member Connie Leistiko said.

The role of the board is to decide whether to countermand the director’s decision, board chair Terry Guidi said. He didn’t see a reason to do that, he said.

After the meeting, Wirkus said she wasn’t surprised that her appeal was denied. 

“Who else is going to stand up for me, but me?” she said.