BPL ADAPTS TO THE PANDEMIC AND REDOUBLES EFFORTS TO BE AN ANTI-RACIST ORGANIZATION
As we enter the seventh month of the COVID-19 pandemic, library operations adapt and move forward, as discussed at the September 29, 2020 meeting of the BPL Trustees.
At the meeting, BPL President David Leonard announced three new appointments: John Craven, a lawyer with significant labor and human resources experience, has been named Head of HR and Labor Relations; Angela Veizaga, formerly the Assistant Manager of Youth Services for the BPL, has been promoted to a new Director of Strategic Partnerships position; and Lina Raciukaitis will serve as the new Youth Education Specialist. Among Raciukaitis’s first priorities will be establishing a mentoring program on Zoom to assist school kids with remote learning.
Leonard reported that the BPL has done a good job of evolving to operate and stay relevant in the current reality, boasting of 40K new e-card registrations, almost 111K books on hold, and 1.9M items borrowed across digital formats (exceeding borrowing for the entirety of last year even though there was a gap between the March 16th closure of the physical libraries and the June 22nd start of TO GO service).
The BPL is currently offering more than 800 programs online with a full sortable calendar on bpl.org, including programs for kids, teens, adults, and seniors. The Dan Rather Arc of History program alone has hosted over 1,000 people.
BPL President David Leonard
Other available services include recommendation lists curated by librarians, personalized shelf service, book groups, suggestions for purchase, BPL TO GO (books on hold), printing TO GO in 24-72 hours, museum passes TO GO, and computer use at the Copley location (8-10 computers). Other branches may be able to offer computer use with advance reservations as required by Health Department protocols. External WIFI has been expanded at nine branches, including the South End – supported by the BPL Fund. Several new Hot Spots have been added with 75 more to come, and Chrome book lending continues. Leonard reported that one of the biggest challenges now is reaching underserved patrons.
As November draws near, BPL will be highlighting the importance of civic engagement by promoting the Census, offering two locations for early voting, designating several branches as polling places, providing ten ballot-box drop off locations, and offering educational programs about voting and democracy.
BPL is also doubling down on efforts to operate as an antiracist organization. The Trustees have approved a Racial Equity Statement, a copy of which is available at BPL.org/racial-equity. Recruiting, hiring, and collection development processes will all be adjusted to align with the Statement. BPL is also engaging YW Boston for an organizational assessment and staff diversity training.
Leonard outlined the following additional near-term priorities:
Youth Engagement
Workforce Development
Equity work – marketing outreach, digital equity, reaching vulnerable and hard to reach patrons
Capital Improvement – on track, back underway
Fiscal Discipline
Progress on capital projects is moving ahead as well. Construction at the Roxbury branch is complete, and Leonard expects a hybrid opening in late October/early November. Adams and Roslindale are on track for completion in the spring or summer of 2021, Hyde Park will be completed by summer 2021, and the design for Faneuil is complete, with construction set to begin in January 2021.
No major financial issues were uncovered in the BPL’s audit. Significant differences in revenue and spending from prior years are a result of changes in operations related to Covid-19. Special event spending is down, contributions and gifts are up, fees and fines are down, there is more spending on books and less on contractual services. The Audit/Finance Committee discussed including racial equity statements in all contracts going forward.
The largest contributors to the BPL last year were:
BPL Fund $1,019,799
The Associates of the BPL $663,004
City Wide Friends $41,030
FOSEL $43,872
FOSEL’s contribution came from its Capital Campaign, and made possible new furnishings and furniture as part of last fall’s “refresh.”
During the public comments portion of the meeting, David Vieira, President of City Wide Friends, acknowledged the South End, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, and Eggleston Square branches as significantly expanding patron support. Viera also acknowledged Marleen Nienhuis for her 14 years as the FOSEL leader and thanked her for her dedicated service to the system.
Viera noted the “elephant in the room” – potentially large holes in the coming city and state budgets, and Leonard assured him that BPL is closely monitoring the situation, has imposed a partial hiring freeze (only essential positions), and has been reaching out to donors. The budget will be addressed in greater depth at the November meeting.
Louisa Stephens, Executive Director of The Associates of the Boston Public Library, announced an exciting fundraiser -- an online auction to be held from 10/16-10/25. Items for sale will include Zoom sessions with famous authors, a signed Downton Abbey script, inscribed books, and the opportunity to be named in the next thriller by Bender. You can check out biditbookit.org for more info.
The new Roxbury Branch is expected to have a hybrid opening later this month.
Paula Cove of MLK Blvd and Jamada Smith expressed disappointment about the decision to name the branch library in Roxbury the “Roxbury Branch” rather than the “Nubian Square Library,” and about the lack of community participation in the decision. BPL trustee Linda Dorcena Forry noted that there had been several community meetings held in Roxbury at which people supported both sides. For the record, she stated that the community process did indeed take place before the vote was taken by the Trustees.
Other announcements
Fine forgiveness will continue until December 2020.
There is a new Art & Architecture virtual booklet celebrating 125 years of the McKim Building, paid for in partnership with Bank of America. It is available electronically at apps.bpl.org/tourbooklet/.
Paula Sakey joined the Boston Public Library Fund as its Executive Director in June of 2020 to continue to broaden and enhance private philanthropy toward helping maintain and expand the Library’s free services.
An executive session followed the public meeting for discussion of the Quincy mayoral request for the John Adams Collection to be returned to Quincy. The Adams Collect is currently held in the BPL Rare Books Collection. Actively used by large numbers of historians and scholars, about 3,000 of the 3,500 volumes in the Collection have been digitized.
Upcoming Board of Trustees Meetings
*All meetings for 2020-21 anticipated to be held virtually via Zoom and may be subject to change.
November 17, 2020, 8:30 a.m , Location TBD
January 12, 2021, 8:30 a.m., Location TBD
March 23, 2021, 8:30 a.m., Location TBD
May 18, 2021, 8:30 a.m., Annual Meeting, Location TBD
Deborah Madrey's Retirement Party Brought Tears, Madrey's Favorite Food, a Splendid Farewell Sheetcake, Tables Full of Gifts, and about 75 Well-wishers
A large crowd of well-wishers filled the South end branch during the retirement reception for Deborah Madrey
The delicious sheet cake with Best Wishes for retiring library staffer, Deborah Madrey
The reception to send off longtime South End library staffer, Deborah Madrey into retirement next January brought so many well-wishers to the branch that food ran out within an hour and several tables were needed to hold many gifts. Madrey was quickly overcome by emotions and had to sit down for most of the event in the seating area, where she remained most of the time, surrounded by friends and paper handkerchiefs.
Deborah Madrey, receiving friends and well-wishers in the library's seating area
It remains uncertain who will take the place of Madrey, whose pronouncements over the years on the villains of the day --or as she refers to them, the 'you-know-whos'-- and the sports scene (specifically tennis and football) were always sought after by patrons who could not quite make up their minds as quickly on the same subjects. It is also not clear who will from here on out provide biscuits to the dogs who patiently waited outside for their owners to get their library materials checked in or out, or their opinions vetted.
One of several tables laden with farewell gifts for Deborah Madrey
Born and raised in Boston, Madrey attended church across the corner from West Newton and Tremont Streets. After obtaining a degree in Education from Emerson College, she spent 17 years as a public-school teacher in Los Angeles but returned to Boston in 1995 to join the staff at the South End library. She has observed many changes in the neighborhood and treasures the many friends she made at the branch. She is looking forward to retirement, hopes to travel, and would like to see libraries keep books and not go "all digital."
Madrey saw most of the changes when computers arrived and when tapes and DVD’s became a “hot commodity,” so much so that she thinks libraries helped put Blockbuster out of business. And, of course, she notes with some reservation the increasing availability of digital books for Kindles. But the biggest changes have been people's tastes in reading, she says. She recalls how popular V. C. Andrew was back then, especially the novel Petals on the Wind. She has not seen western novels and science fiction in a long while, noting, “Now they watch it more than they read it”. She recalls when urban fiction became very popular, with the work of Terry McMillan, which open the door for other black writers who became well known.
As she is known to hundreds, if not thousands, Deborah Madrey behind the circulation desk of the South End branch of the Boston Public Library
Madrey will be around until early January, and will gladly reminisce with any of her friends who have not yet the chance to say goodbye. Bring the Kleenex, bring the dog. Biscuits are still distributed from the box on the shelf behind the circulation desk..
On August 31, National Overdose Awareness Day, Images of Local Individuals Who Died After Overdosing Were Projected on the Exterior Walls of the South End Branch of the Boston Public Library
Images representing the urgency of the opioid crisis were projected on the walls of the South End library on the night of Thursday, August 31
How to pay attention to those who live among us but who can be so easily marginalized? How to remember them after they're gone? On the evening of August 31 several images of the many who died as a result of the opioid crisis were projected on the exterior walls of the South End library. It was the day of National Overdose Awareness Day. The event was sponsored by The South End Forum; the Boston Public Health Commission's AHOPE group (which focuses on needle exchange and related programs); and the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless (BHCHP),
Public libraries, including the South End branch, are among the locales where the social impact of homelessness and addiction plays out on a daily basis. Deploying a full-time guard at the South End library has alleviated some of the acute problems but for many marginalized people, the public library remains the refuge of last resort. It is also where more fortunate library users interact with the homeless and those in need of addiction services in an often-uneasy social dance mediated to some extent by library staff.
According to Melanie Racine, of BHCHP, the display focused on black and white photographs of local people with the person's name, age and a quote from a family member that says a little about the relative who died as a result of overdose. "We hope to communicate the message that the men and women who have died from opioid overdose were mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, daughters and sons, and each was a unique human being," wrote Racine in an email. "The event gives a literal face --in fact, many faces-- to this epidemic."
A similar attempt to humanize a marginalized population took place in California in 2012 when both the main libraries of San Jose and San Francisco organized a powerful photo exhibit of homeless and addicted men and women who used their facilities for shelter and services. Titled Acknowledged, images and text described how easy it was to become homeless, and how hard the struggle was to overcome. One subject, a man who grew up in a middle-class family in Indiana, and had a job and a college degree, caused a car crash where someone was killed. He fell into a depression, lost his job, became homeless. It took him many years to recover.
Report from the The Eighth Annual Easter Egg Hunt: 1,400 Eggs Filled with Chocolate, Poems and Knock-Knock Jokes Collected by a Horde of Happy Children in Less than Three Minutes...
Another Egg Hunt under the belt of the staff and Friends of the South End library. The sun came out. The park
looked great, thanks to a thorough sweeping, weeding and mulching by the Parks Department. The balloons waved in the breeze. The Easter Bunny was better than
ever. So many happy children. The first outdoor event of Spring 2016. The coffee was hot. The lemonade sweet. Baked good as delicious as ever. A plethora of selfies. Some not-so-selfies, too, as here in this post.
The Easter Bunny Will Host the Eighth Annual South End Library Easter Egg Hunt at Library Park on Sunday, March 27, From 11 AM to 2 PM
After a one-year hiatus due to last year's snow deluge, the Eighth Annual South End Library Easter Egg Hunt is back on track for Sunday, March 27 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The Easter Bunny is practicing hugs. The 1,400 eggs have been filled with chocolate, poems and knock-knock jokes. The Parks Department and FOSEL will have scrubbed Library Park clean. Police officers from Area D4 have been asked to be there to assist with street crossing, and if previous years' experience is a guide, they will be there. FOSEL will have created a separate area for little kids up to age four.
Do not be late: The gates to Library Park will open after a count-down of 20 seconds at 11:00 AM SHARP. It will all be over at 11:03 AM, if past experience still holds. There will be Easter baskets for any child who for forgot to bring one. Refreshments will be served.