On May 24, 2022, the BPL Board of Trustees held its annual meeting to welcome new Trustees appointed by the Mayor and to thank those leaving the role.  Welcomed in were Jose C. Masso III and Lynn Perry Wooten, PhD.  Departing Trustees Joyce Linehan and Zamawa Arenas were thanked for their great service.  Three Trustees were reappointed; Evelyn Arana-Ortiz, John Hailer, and Priscilla Douglas.  Later in the meeting the Board voted on its slate of officers, with Priscilla Douglas as Chairperson, Evelyn Arana-Ortiz as Vice Chair, and Pamela Carter as Clerk.

Chairperson Douglas announced that under Mayor Wu’s reorganized cabinet, BPL is now housed in the Department of Human Services, which also includes Youth Engagement, Age Strong, Veterans, and the Office of Returning Citizens.

BPL President David Leonard echoed the thanks to the outgoing Trustees and offered congratulations to Priscilla Douglas on being the Speaker at Northeastern’s recent commencement ceremony and to Michael Colford for being named to the Massachusetts Library Organization.

Library Operations. Leonard announced that BPL has hired 40 new staff members this year, 43% of whom are people of color.  He stated that the Libraries will return to fuller in-person hours, including Saturday hours for all branches and Sunday hours for the Central Branch, and will gradually return to in-person programming with masks strongly recommended for all. 

Leonard spoke about BPL’s resistance to the book banning movement taking place around the country, and indicated that although BPL does have a process for evaluating suggestions for censorship, it has seldom needed to use it. 

Leonard referred to a multi-page document enumerating past year accomplishments, which is available at: https://www.bpl.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/05/Meeting-Materials-for-5.24.22.pdf (see Executive Summary on pages 9-11).

He expressed excitement about great summer programs and work in the Equity/Diversity/Inclusion area, work force development, youth services and reopening of the Rare Books area.  He also expressed dismay at the closure of the South End Branch due to water damage and indicated that the damage is still being assessed.

Anna Mazzola, President of the Friends of the Faneuil Branch Library, presented a proposal to dedicate and rename the Children’s Room at the Faneuil Branch Library as JaiJai’s Room after Jairam Miguel Rodriges Rao, who was a frequent and active patron and supporter and passed away recently at the young age of 17.  The Trustees voted in favor of bestowing this honor.

Angela Veizaga, Director of Strategic Partnerships, then presented the BPL 2022 Action Plan for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, which the Trustees approved.  It can be accessed here:  https://www.bpl.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/05/Meeting-Materials-for-5.24.22.pdf (see pages 12-16).

The Equity/Diversity/Inclusion Update was presented by Roudnie Celestin, Equity Programs Officer, who joined BPL in February.  Celestin talked about initiating digital equity through the long-term lending of Internet service and Chromebook laptops, and equitable procurement through a new contract with Sweet Teez, a small business owned by a woman of color.  For Women’s History Month, Celestin created a Women’s History Tea, in which she connected with all the branches about inspiring women in history.

BPL holds many special collections of non-circulating materials, which are available to patrons, and their rarity requires that access be balanced with security.  After three years, a Collections Security Policy has been created, reviewed and approved by the Trustees.  It provides for Library-wide responsibility for collection security, including digital security, and an institutional commitment of resources to the purpose, and it addresses security breach response measures.  The Policy is available on the BPL website and will be audited and reviewed biannually.  You can access it here:  https://www.bpl.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/05/Meeting-Materials-for-5.24.22.pdf (see pages 17-19).

The Finance and Audit Committee, represented by John Hailer and Ellen Donaghey, presented a summary of Mayor Wu’s recommended operating and capital budgets for FY ’23, and the Board voted to accept it.  Votes were also taken on several large contracts:  Emcor for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing services throughout the Library system at over $7.5M, United Elevator at almost $450K, and Marcum LLP for audit review services at $106.5K.  Other votes were taken to delegate approval of upcoming contracts to the committee.  (https://www.bpl.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2022/05/Meeting-Materials-for-5.24.22.pdf (see pages 5-8 for the budget documents).

The Next meetings of the Trustees are scheduled for Oct. 11, 2022, Nov. 15, 2022, Jan. 17, 2023, Mar. 21, 2023, and May 23, 2023 from 8:30am to10:00am.  They are slated to take place in-person at the Central Branch but may end up virtual. 

New Business. A documentary called Latino Pioneers in Boston will be presented in Rabb Hall on Thursday, May 26 from 5:30pm to 8:00pm.  The documentary can be found here: https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/61e1e6572236a03600833da7

John Hailer raised a question about social media censorship and wondered whether it might be a future topic for Board discussion.  Leonard indicated that BPL has a media literacy specialist who might be able to prepare a briefing related to that subject.   

Public Comments. Alissa Cadillic, President of the AFSCME#1526, endorsed the renaming of the Children’s Room at the Faneuil Library Branch.  She also raised air quality issues in existing buildings and suggested there should be an allocation in the capital budget for this purpose.  She also mentioned the need for new employees to have two weeks’ onboarding when they join BPL. 

David Vieira, President of Citywide Friends of the Library, requested that in-person Trustees’ meetings be held at various branches as they were before the pandemic.  He expressed a desire to reschedule the Friends breakfast and to invite Board members to attend so they can get to know the Friends groups.

Samuel Pierce expressed continuing concern about the name of the Roxbury Branch, referencing the need to reckon with Boston’s history regarding slavery.  Sadiki Kambon also spoke on the Roxbury Branch naming process, stating his belief that it was mishandled.  Trustee Ben Bradlee responded to these concerns suggesting that the phrase “at Nubian Square,” currently used only administratively, could be made official by the Trustees.  John Hailer pointed out that there was ample opportunity for all of the varying viewpoints on this issue to be expressed, and that many supported the name “Roxbury Branch” based on its historical importance.  Priscilla Douglas reiterated that the Library Administration has fully briefed the Mayor on the name change and the issue is closed.