MASSENA -- The Massena Public Library is expected to reopen today after being closed since Monday following numerous library board resignations.

The town council decided Wednesday to hire former library Director Paul Schaffer as interim director to work up to three hours a day managing the library.

He will ensure bills, employee time sheets, scheduling and other management duties are processed in a timely fashion, said Town Supervisor Joseph D. Gray.

The library has been closed since Monday after resignations from the library board left it incapable of conducting business and an absence of any management to oversee the library staff and the library’s day-to-day operation forced the town council to shut the library.

Details of Schaffer's compensation are to be finalized when he is hired next week.

Although the decision is not expected to be formalized until the council’s regular monthly meeting next week, Gray was directed to make tentative arrangements to immediately put an interim director in place so the library can reopen after a three-day temporary closure this week.

"The town council is pleased to see the library back in business. While we still have a lot of work ahead of us in terms of assembling and empowering the Library's Board of Trustees, the reopening is a step in the right direction," said Gray.

"We now have a manager in place and the library staff can get back to the great job they do serving the literary needs of our community," he added.

The town council also directed Gray to make arrangements for the Council to approve compensation for the employees who were scheduled to work this week but could not do so due to the temporary closure. "My expectation is the Council will vote next week to pay the employees who were forced out of work by the closure," Gray said.

The Town Council will now set about the task of reviewing a collection of nearly 20 names of possible library board members.

The list was assembled from volunteers who expressed an interest in being appointed as well as people who were suggested by others.