How to apply to become Carol Stream library trustee

Carol Stream Public Library trustees will appoint a new member to the board after the resignation of Patricia Johnson, who has stepped down with less than a year left in her first term.

The board is seeking applicants to fill the vacant seat and hopes to swear-in their choice at its August meeting.

Johnson announced she was resigning last week because of her husband's medical issues, board President Edward Jourdan said.

"I'm sad to see that she wasn't able to stay on, but I completely understand in her situation," Jourdan said. "That's obviously the No. 1 concern for her."

The two were part of the Support the Library Slate that swept all five available board seats in the April 2013 election and helped usher in a period of relative calm after long-running divisions on the panel. They also gained back control of the board from a faction that fired the then-director of the library and considered selling land previously envisioned for a new library.

The site is now leased to the park district as Horizon Park under a 20-year deal that gives the two sides some flexibility to opt out without penalty.

Applicants seeking Johnson's seat must be a resident and registered voter in Carol Stream. The deadline to submit a cover letter and resume is Sunday, July 17.

Those materials can be sent to Jourdan via email at edwardcslib@yahoo.com or dropped off during business hours at the library, 616 Hiawatha Drive.

While school boards have 45 days from the resignation to fill a vacant seat in some cases, there is no specific deadline for libraries in state law, library Director Susan Westgate said.

Jourdan said he hopes the new trustee will run for election next spring when the appointed term ends in May 2017 and continues Johnson's advocacy for youth programs.

The library board typically meets at 7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month.