On October 11, for the first time in nearly three years, the BPL Trustees held an in-person meeting. 

Board Chair Priscilla Douglas began the meeting by introducing two new Trustees:  Jose C Masso, III and Lynn Perry Wooten.  Masso is currently Chief of Human Services for the City of Boston and was formerly Co-Executive Director of United South End Settlements.  Wooten is President of Simmons University, and earlier served as the David J. Nolan Dean and Professor of Management and Organizations at Cornell University.

Douglas identified three imperatives for the 2022/2023 Trustees:  Engage, Amplify, and Partner.  She reminded the Trustees of their role as agents of public trust, stewards of the BPL’s resources, and day-to-day ambassadors for the Library. 

The committee on Engagement, which exists to ensure that communities feel connected to the Library, is chaired by Linda Dorcena Forry, with Masso as Vice Chair.  In discussing the committee’s mandate, Masso highlighted the goal of making the branches “preferred destinations.” Others expressed the need for better public communication and promotion of the Library’s offering. 

An update about the Trustees’ Committee Structure was presented.  Information about the specific committees can be found on the BPL website at https://www.bpl.org/about-the-bpl/board-of-trustees/board-of-trustees-committees/.

BPL President, David Leonard, began his President’s Report with recent highlights, beginning with the September 13th opening of the Special Collections Department following a significant renovation.  More details can be found here.  Other highlights included the Passport Program, Adult Summer Reading, Book Lists of Native American lives and stories, an All-Staff Professional Development Day on September 23rd (with Library closure), and an offering of 30 different workshops for staff.

In the Challenges portion of his Report, Mr. Leonard gave top priority to vacancy management, indicating there are currently 50-60 active, full-time vacancies at the Library (a 20% shortage).  This problem is not unique to City departments or libraries.  Although BPL has been hiring and promoting from within, efforts are complicated by the requirement that employees be City residents and the challenge of providing compensation commensurate with the high cost of living. 

Next on Leonard’s agenda was the need to repair systems at the South End Branch, which were destroyed as the result of a burst pipe last April.  BPL is reviewing new information on the cost and timing of the repairs, both of which will exceed initial estimates.  A meeting with leaders of the South End community is set for the week of October 17th to discuss whether to proceed with repairs or move directly to the the programming study phase of the planned renovation.      

Next Mr. Leonard talked about the need for a new Strategic Plan to replace the shorter-term Roadmap of current priorities, which covers 2019 – 2024, as well as the last full Plan which was completed in 2012.  The Trustees’ Strategic Plan Sub-Committee, headed by Trustee Christian Westra, will work toward a creating a new plan for 2024.

The Trustees next voted to approve (i) a lease extension for the North End Branch and Il Panino, (ii) collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Housing on the redevelopment of the West End Branch to include housing, (iii) a three-year contract with The Catered Affair, and (iv) BPL’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022.

Jabari Asim was recognized by Douglas for being appointed Distinguished Professor of Multidisciplinary Letters at Emerson College.

In the Public Comments* portion of the meeting, Pamela Miles and Jamada Smith of Roxbury expressed the desire to reopen the decision on the naming of the “Roxbury Branch of the BPL at Nubian Square,” wishing it to be called the “Nubian Branch.”

The next meeting of the BPL Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, November 15, 2022, at 8:30 am in the Central Library.

*The following public comment was submitted in writing to the Trustees by FOSEL president, Yvette Jarreau.

 FOSEL Statement for BPL Trustees about the South End Branch

o   SEL has been closed almost 2 of the past 3 years due to cosmetic update in 2019, Covid, and now almost 6 months and counting due to basement flood

o   Quantity of lost services from first quarter 2019:  94 programs; 20,600 visitors, 22,300 items in circulation, 738 wireless sessions, and 2845 computer sessions

o   Parents, children, and day care groups have lost most of their Branch services; staff is assigned elsewhere

o   No gathering place; no meeting space; no taxi voucher pick-up – a key pillar of BPL strategic plan

o   Seniors are not all able to get to Central Library easily

o   No WIFI in Library Park

o   SEL Programming Study has been planned/budgeted for 3-4 years.  There is an opportunity to engage the community in the future of SEL

This is an important operational issue for the Library and a significant disruption for the community.  BPL could shift its approach to branch closures/service interruptions by implementing solutions for providing temporary services when branches are closed.

After almost 6 months of closure, we do not have a scheduled reopening timetable. 

Why doesn’t the City Facilities Department assign a project manager for the SEL programming study?  What is holding this up and how can you advocate for this to happen?