Reminder: Filmmaker Alice Stone Presents Her Work in an Evening of Film, Tuesday, March 1, at the South End Library, 6:30 PM

In its continuing series, The South End Writes, FOSEL presents scriptwriter and filmmaker Alice Stone for an evening of  film  on Tuesday, March 1, at 6:30 PM at the South End library. An article about the South End resident, Alice Stone's lens on life, has appeared in this week's South End News.

The presentation had been canceled due to a snowstorm a month ago.

Stone is a local  filmmaker in residence at the Boston Center for the Arts. She created the reality television series, “Ding Dong Feng Shui,” for Scout Productions (“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”); produced and directed a documentary about women bikers called “She Lives To Ride;” and is currently working on “Angelo Unwritten,” a non-fiction film about a former foster care teen making his way toward adulthood. Alice Stone began her career as an editor, assisting on numerous feature films including “The Silence of the Lambs,” and the locally-filmed “The Crucible.” She also edited programs for PBS and the Discovery Channel.

The Tuesday night program will include, among other things, excerpts from “She Lives to Ride,” which was broadcast on PBS , and distributed theatrically to arthouse cinemas across the US and abroad. The documentary was nominated for an International Documentary Association Distinguished Achievement Award. In addition, Tuesday night’s program will feature a Public Service Announcement produced by Stone for a local charity, which stars a Rutland Square resident. For the last part of the evening, Stone will present scenes from “Angelo Unwritten.”

The next scheduled author in The South End Writes program is nationally-renowned poet Henri Cole, who will read from his new paperback edition of "Pierce the Skin" on Tuesday, March 15. "Pierce the Skin" was just named a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Poetry Award. Cole, a South End resident, has published numerous collections of poetry, including “Middle Earth,” which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Another collection,“Blackbird and Wolf” received the Lenore Marshall Poetry Award from the Academy of American Poets. Cole teaches at Ohio State University and is the poetry editor for The New Republic.

Library Advocates Criticize BPL Trustees For Their Lack of Private Fundraising, Call for Any Reductions in Service or Hours to be Applied Equitably Across All Libraries, Including Copley

At last week’s Special Trustees Meeting, BPL president Amy Ryan proposed a FY2012 budget that wasn’t all that bad. That is, compared with the previous two years, when the budget was reduced from $48 million to $40 million. This year, there’s a mere $580,000 shortfall in a budget of about $39.3 million. Uncertainties can become treacherous, however, for a final budget that is determined by a combination of  city and state contributions, use  and condition of library’s trust funds and, last but not least, the  lackluster performance of the BPL’s private fundraising arm, the BPL Foundation. Mayor Thomas Menino, for example, was reported to have requested a $3.9 million allocation from the state to keep library services at current levels, but Governor Deval Patrick has committed to only $2.4 million. And while the state’s economy (and tax revenue) is on the uptick, the suggested $20 million cut-back in local aid by the governor could force more serious reductions in all city departments, including the BPL, if it is not off-set by health-care savings the governor hopes he can squeeze out of unions’ benefit plans.  The city’s actual contribution to the BPL, moreover, is increasingly taken out of the BPL’s trusts funds, totaling $54 million, further weakening the BPL’s resources, if not its autonomy.

Currently, about six percent of the trust funds pay for BPL operating expenses, instead of library enrichment, a figure that appears to be on an upward slant. For example, the revenue from the $8.6 million Friends of the Kirstein Friends Business Branch Fund, abequest from Thomas Drey which paid for the Kirstein business collection maintenance at the now-closed business branch, and is supposed to do the same for the Kirstein collection since moved to Copley, has been “realligned to support the operating costs” of the BPL, according to the BPL’s Financial Notes accompanying the proposed FY2012 budget. Whether that “realignment” has been limited to the Kirstein collection, or will be used for purposes at Copley not intended by the Fund, was left unstated by the BPL budget papers.

The meeting’s interaction between trustees and audience did show that last year’s cat-and-dog fight between the public library and its patrons may have shifted the grounds under everyone’s feet, perhaps even slightly in favor of the patrons. For the first time, both president Ryan and BPL trustees made repeated references to the need to cooperate with union representatives, city and state elected officials, and library Friends groups. This new-found comfort level  is likely the result, too, of the political savvy of the newest member of the library board, Rep. Byron Rushing, who reminded his board colleagues that it would be a good idea to cooperate with and listen to actual library employees, as well.

In another sign of positive change, library Friends' representatives displayed new-found strength by insisting that all the libraries in the system be treated equitably, both in terms of funds raised for the BPL and in any cutbacks. Weakening or closing some branches in favor of strengthening others is no longer de rigueur in the provinces outside of Copley Square. Chairs from both the Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain Library Friends’ took additional note of the fact that vast differences in service and hours already exist among the BPL’s libraries. “So if for example you have to cut Sunday hours, make sure you do it at all branches evenly, not just at Copley,” said Don Haber, of the Jamaica Plain Friends, tongue in cheek, adding, “Oh..so sorry..I forgot.. none of the other branches have Sunday hours to begin with..”

The lack of private fundraising by BPL trustees was a source of obvious frustration for library patrons at the meeting. Ryan repeated the opinion of the City Attorney that BPL trustees can’t engage in private fundraising since this would present “an ethical conflict.” Somehow the opinion, unvetted by independent counsel,  wasn’t the rule of the land before 2008, when trustees lustily collected many millions for the (yet unfinished) restoration of the Copley Library, with trustees William Bulger and Anthony DiScaccia heading the team.

Ryan’s report that the BPL Foundation had raised $715,000 this year brought scathing testimony during the public-comment session. Maria Rodriguez, of the Faneuil Friends in Brighton, said that the $715,000 raised this year was “not acceptable.”  ”A tiny foundation in my neighborhood with only one employee raised twice as much as you did,” she said.

Bill Taube, a Roslindale resident and professional marketing strategist echoed the sentiment. He accused the trustees of  ”wasting millions of dollars” by not having a gift shop at the BPL and by featuring an on-line web site that was not user-friendly and  ”appeared designed not to raise revenue.” Taube said he had been frustrated enough to write a report on the lack of BPL’s retail acumen, which he said he sent to City Council President Steve Murphy and Taub’s Roslindale District City Councilor, Rob Consalvo.

The only piece of encouraging news on the fundraising front  came from trustee Paul LaCamera, who in previous meetings reported he had met with the development specialists at the MFA, who raised half a billion dollars in the last decade for the MFA’s new wing. The former general manager of the “development machine” called WBUR, LaCamera is heading the BPL search committee looking for a new head of the BPL Foundation. LaCamera, who is keenly interested in, and the force majeure behind building a new library in much-neglected East Boston, reported that “we’re down to four finalists,” to fill that position.

BPL Trustees to Hold a Special Meeting Copley Library to Discuss FY2012 Budget

The BPL trustees will hold a Special Meeting Thursday, February 24 at 8:30 AM at the Copley Library to discuss the FY2012 library budget. While budget numbers are usually known at this point in the fiscal budget cycle, this is not the case today. Although Meredith Weenick, the city's former associate director for administration and finance and current policy advisor to Mayor Menino,  promised those figures would be available by December 25, the city's contribution to the budget has not been made public.

The meeting is open to the public and will be held in the McKim Orientation Room on the First Floor.

South End Filmmaker Alice Stone to Present Her Work in a (Re-scheduled) Evening of Film, Tuesday, March 1 at the South End Library

In its continuing series, The South End Writes, FOSEL presents local scriptwriter and filmmaker Alice Stone for an evening of  film  on Tuesday, March 1, at 6:30 PM at the South End library.

The presentation had been canceled due to a snowstorm a month ago.

Stone is a local  filmmaker in residence at the Boston Center for the Arts. She created the reality television series, “Ding Dong Feng Shui,” for Scout Productions (“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”); produced and directed a documentary about women bikers called “She Lives To Ride;” and is currently working on “Angelo Unwritten,” a non-fiction film about a former foster care teen making his way toward adulthood. Alice Stone began her career as an editor, assisting on numerous feature films including “The Silence of the Lambs,” and the locally-filmed “The Crucible.” She also edited programs for PBS and the Discovery Channel.

The Tuesday night program will include, among other things, excerpts from “She Lives to Ride,” which was broadcast on PBS , and distributed theatrically to arthouse cinemas across the US and abroad. The documentary was nominated for an International Documentary Association Distinguished Achievement Award. In addition, Tuesday night’s program will feature a Public Service Announcement produced by Stone for a local charity, which stars a Rutland Square resident. For the last part of the evening, Stone will present scenes from her non-fiction film in current production called  “Angelo Unwritten.”

The next scheduled author in The South End Writes program is nationally-renowned poet Henri Cole. He will read at the South End Library from his work on Tuesday, March 15. Cole, a South End resident, has published numerous collections of poetry, most recently “Pierce the Skin” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). Previous work, “Middle Earth,” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Another collection,“Blackbird and Wolf” received the Lenore Marshall Poetry Award from the Academy of American Poets. Cole teaches at Ohio State University and is the poetry editor for The New Republic.

South End Library to Host Special Election Debate With District 7 City Council Candidates Tito Jackson and Cornell Mills, Thursday, March 10

The two District 7 city council candidates who garnered the most votes in the recent primary to fill the seat of former City Councilor Chuck Turner have agreed to a debate at the South End Library on Thursday, March 10 at 6:30 PM. Tito Jackson and Cornell Mills will each present brief opening statements, after which they'll answer questions. Steve Fox, chair of the Rutland Square Association, will moderate the debate. The Friends of the South End Library encourages everyone to meet the candidates and express their concerns: one of them will be our councilor and vote on libraries, schools, parks and basic services. The Special Election will take place on Tuesday, March 15. While the Special Election only applies to residents of District 7, which includes the South End Library, South End patrons who live outside of the district might want to meet these candidates as well. In case you wonder about what district you live in, here is the map for District 7 and here is the one for District 2, currently represented by City Councilor Bill Linehan.

Boston's Library Friends Groups Are Preparing to Counter the Next Budget Assault on BPL, Insisting Trustees Raise Funds to Stabilize Library System, Distribute Any Cuts Equitably

What a difference a year can make!

Before February 2010, Boston's library Friends groups rarely saw one another, except at City Council budget hearings where a few of the most vocal Friends tinkered at the edges of the library budget by pleading for lesser cuts, higher appropriations or new capital funds to rebuild their libraries. Now, a plethora of Friends groups is organizing itself to speak with as loud and united a voice as possible to counter the anticipated next assault by the City of Boston on its already severely weakened, though once grand, municipal library system. At the latest meeting, held February 16 at the Copley Library for board members and presidents of Friends groups, 30 representatives showed up, including five members of the Friends of the South End Library. The big item on the agenda was articulating a preemptive response to the BPL's proposed budget, which will be aired at a Special Meeting of the BPL Trustees on Thursday, February 24 at 8:30 AM at the Copley Library, to which the public is invited.

Participants agreed to write an open letter to the BPL trustees, with copies to all city and state legislators, insisting trustees raise funds to stabilize the library system. In addition, the letter asks that any proposed cuts to the BPL budget be applied across the system, not to individual branches at the expense of others. "The pain needs to be shared," said Don Haber, co-chair of the Jamaica Plains Friends. "Once a branch closes, it'll never re-opens, even in better times."

The mover and shaker behind the effort to coalesce is Brandon Abbs, president of the Eggleston Friends, and founder of People of Boston for Better Libraries (PBBL). Formerly the People for Boston Branches, the informal association of library advocates quickly formed last year to fight off the proposed closings of up to a third of BPL branches.

The actual numbers of the proposed FY2012 BPL budget are a mystery, which is rather unusual for this time in the budget cycle. Previously (FY 2008, FY 2009, FY 2010), numbers for the BPL operational and capital budgets were crunched in December and made available to the trustees in their public meetings in January. At December's Trustee meeting at the Roslindale branch, the city's budget envoy, Meredith Weenick, stated emphatically that figures would be distributed by December 25. However, at the next BPL trustees meeting, held in January at the Brighton branch, no meaningful figures were publicized for either operational or capital budgets. The City's proposed allocation, which was $30.4 million in FY2010, was described as TBD (to be determined), as were almost a dozen items in the BPL capital budget, including the construction allocation for the proposed new East Boston library, a project close to the heart of trustee Paul LaCamera.

During the March 2010 vote to close four neighborhood libraries, including the East Boston library, LaCamera refused to cast his in favor of the motion. BPL President Amy Ryan was called out during the vote by a phone call from Mayor Menino who, she conveyed to the trustees when she returned, would make funds available to start building a new library in East Boston. LaCamera still did not agree to the closure vote, casting his as neutral.

Tonight's Evening of Film Postponed to March 1 Due to Today's One-Two Punch Snow Storm

South End Library's head librarian Anne Smart and filmmaker Alice Stone have decided to cancel tonight's evening of film due to today's snow storm, which is expected to resume tonight and into tomorrow. The event, in which Stone had planned to show excerpts from her film "She Loves to Ride "and excerpts from current work,  has been postponed to Tuesday March 1, at 6:30 PM. The Friends of the South End Library is looking forward to seeing you then.

South End Filmmaker Alice Stone Presents Excerpts From Her Work, Tuesday Night, February 1, at the South End Library's Evening of Film

In its continuing series, The South End Writes, FOSEL presents local scriptwriter and filmmaker Alice Stone for an evening of  film  on Tuesday at the South End library. Stone is a local  filmmaker in residence at the Boston Center for the Arts. She created the reality television series, "Ding Dong Feng Shui," for Scout Productions ("Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"); produced and directed a documentary about women bikers called "She Lives To Ride;" and is currently working on "Angelo Unwritten," a non-fiction film about a former foster care teen making his way toward adulthood. Alice Stone began her career as an editor, assisting on numerous feature films including "The Silence of the Lambs," and the locally-filmed "The Crucible." She also edited programs for PBS and the Discovery Channel.

The Tuesday night program will include, among other things, excerpts from "She Lives to Ride," which was broadcast on PBS , and distributed theatrically to arthouse cinemas across the US and abroad. The documentary was nominated for an International Documentary Association Distinguished Achievement Award. In addition, Tuesday night's program will feature a Public Service Announcement produced by Stone for a local charity, which stars a Rutland Square resident. For the last part of the evening, Stone will present scenes from her non-fiction film in current production called  "Angelo Unwritten."

The next scheduled author in The South End Writes program is nationally-renowned poet Henri Cole. He will read at the South End Library from his work on Tuesday, March 15. Cole, a South End resident, has published numerous collections of poetry, most recently "Pierce the Skin" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). Previous work, "Middle Earth," was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Another collection, "Blackbird and Wolf" received the Lenore Marshall Poetry Award from the Academy of American Poets. Cole teaches at Ohio State University and is the poetry editor for The New Republic.

Reminder: Author Doug Bauer Will Read New Work From a Forthcoming Collection at the South End Library, Tuesday, January 25, at 6:30 PM

Renowned author and long-time South End resident Doug Bauer will read from a forthcoming collection at the South End Library on Tuesday night at 6:30.  He is the author of a number of books, articles, essays and reviews, including a book on writing called The Stuff of Fiction. Head librarian Anne Smart has requested many of his books which are currently available to patrons at the branch. Bauer is Professor of Literature at Bennington College in Vermont. The reading is part of The South End Writes series, sponsored by FOSEL. Coming up in February's program is scriptwriter and filmmaker Alice Stone, another  South End resident, who will discuss and show some of her movies next week, Tuesday, February 1, also at 6:30 PM  at the South End Library. As always, FOSEL provides delicious refreshments and the event is free to all.

Hope to see you there.

South End Library Friends Group Takes Ownership of Snow Removal in Library Park

The South End Library Park had not yet been sanded long after last week's storm, and left a sheet of ice over the pathway through it.

By Cara Bayles, Town Correspondent

The path through the South End Library Park, a popular shortcut for pedestrians cutting through from Rutland Square to the library on Tremont Street, is a sheet of ice covered by a layer of water.

But the city has told the Friends of the South End Library group that it will not be salting or sanding the walkway through the park.

“They said they don’t have the resources to deal with it right now, and it’s obviously not high on their priority list,” said Glyn Polson, president of the friends group. “It’s a concern of ours, because you can tell from the path that’s been beaten through there and pressed down—the ice is two inches thick in some places—it’s pretty well used and well frequented, both by residents of the city and anyone using the library.”

At a Thursday night meeting, the friends group decided it will pay out of pocket for the labor of spreading salt and sand, which will be provided by the library’s main branch. They resolved to be in charge of this aspect of the park’s maintenance for the rest of the winter.

The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation could not be reached for comment.

The decision suggests a shift in the role of the group, which officially earned nonprofit status in 2006, and last year galvanized around defending the branch when libraries in the system faced closure. Lately, the group has focused on more basic maintenance upgrades, and it has already raised $850 toward a $12,000 new door for the front entrance, to replace the existing one, which isn't handicap accessible.

“It’s in accordance with a new role that friends groups may be taking on in this economic climate,” Polson said. “We feel it’s something we can do to alleviate some of the burden on the city and to help our neighbors and our local library.” E-mail Cara Bayles at carabayles@gmail.com.

BPL Launches New Online Catalog

The BPL has launched a new online catalog search feature to it's website.   Check it out here Adam

South End Patch Article Describes New Lego Club at South End Library

Here's a great article from today's edition of South End Patch about the Lego at the South End Library!

About Town

By Christopher Treacy | Email the author | 6:00am

Legos and the South End BPL 'Play Well' Together

The Lego Club meets every third Wednesday at 4pm for a little creative brainstorming

Some quick history: Ole Kirk Christiansen founded the Lego Company in 1934 as a wooden toy operation. In 1947 it began making plastic toys and two years later unveiled its now internationally celebrated line of colorful, interlocking pieces.

Here’s the real clincher--the company name is derived from the Danish phrase “leg godt,” which means "play well.” And at the South End BPL, every third Wednesday afternoon, that’s exactly what the Lego Club does.

Yesterday at 3pm the children’s room at the South End BPL was fairly quiet. But when I returned an hour later it was bustling with activity as over a dozen kids and a handful of doting mothers packed the low tables to get busy with Legos. Children’s librarian Margaret Gardner produced three oversized plastic tubs of them and the group was instantly off and running.

Liesl Trimnell’s son, Rocco Smith, 6, disappeared briefly to go retrieve his project – a space station – from the display window where Gardner encourages the kids to leave their more accomplished creations.

“This club at the South End library introduced Rocco to Legos and started what we’re calling ‘Lego fever.’ It’s been a little bit of a drain on mom and dad’s pocketbooks, but for the most part I think it’s a worthwhile investment,” Trimnell said.

“It’s inspiring to watch them, and because there’s a range of ages, you can see how the little kids learn from the bigger ones. The possibilities with Legos are infinite—only limited by their imaginations. And they’re perfectly made… so precise. There’s never any frustration that that the parts don’t do what they’re supposed to.”

Rachel Garity’s kids, Thomas, 8, and Victoria, 5, are both enthused about building with Legos. Thomas has turned it into a huge hobby—check out the video of the Lego car he and his dad built earlier in the week.

“Mary Rubin and I helped Margaret get this started,” Garity said. “We’d been to a Lego Club at the North End BPL and thought it would be great to bring it here. Someone from the Friends organization (City-Wide Friends of the Boston Public Library) donated a lot of these. Others were purchased with money they raised. The interactive play is a great experience for the kids.”

“We live in Brighton, so it’s nice that we can come to this even though we don’t live right here… especially since our branch is in danger of closing,” said Gail Monaghan.

Gardner summed it up nicely as she built a little Lego structure of her own: “We look forward to the togetherness and seeing the kids play with others they may not know or only see when they come here.”

“The South End is bigger than a block,” she added. “We celebrate our whole community and Lego Club is definitely a part of that.”

BPL Trustees to Discuss FY12 Budget and Vote to Keep Branches Open, Tuesday, January 18 at Brighton's Branch Library

The Boston Public Library trustees will meet this coming Tuesday afternoon at 3 PM at the newly opened and renovated Brighton Branch as part of their regularly scheduled program to which the public is invited. Among other things, the BPL agenda includes a vote to keep four to-be-closed branches open, thanks to $350,000 allocated in supplemental funding by the state legislature recently. The fate of the four branches, Washington Village, Orient Heights, Faneuil and Lower Mills, was the subject of an intense fight in 2010. The state legislature forced the hand of the BPL by threatening to cut off an additional $2.4 million from the library's budget if the BPL proceeded with the closures. Additional items on the agenda focus on the so-called Compass process, a strategic plan for library improvement, and the FY12 budget.

"The South End Writes" Series Kicks Off the New Year With January 25th Reading by Renowned Author And South End Resident Doug Bauer

Happy New Year to you all!

FOSEL is delighted to kick off its 2011 program, "The South End Writes," with nationally recognized author Doug Bauer. The South End resident, who is currently a Professor of Literature at Bennington College, will read a personal essay from a forthcoming collection on Tuesday evening, January 25 at 6:30 PM. The event is free and includes refreshments.

FOSEL's monthly series at the South End Library began last fall with author Sue Miller, reading from her recent book The Lake Shore Limited, and continued with other local authors, including Phil Gambone (Travels in a Gay Nation: Portraits of GLBTQ Americans); Scott Pomfret (Since My Last Confession, a Gay Catholic Memoir) and Alison Barnet, who writes about the "old" South End for the South End News.

Doug Bauer’s books include the novels, Dexterity, The Very Air, and The Book of Famous Iowans, and the non-fiction books, Prairie City, Iowa and The Stuff of Fiction. He’s also edited two anthologies, Prime Times: Writers on Their Favorite Television Shows and Death by Pad Thai and Other Unforgettable Meals. A personal essay by Bauer, entitled "What We Hunger For," was included in Best Food Writing 2009, a Da Capo Press anthology.

Bauer has received grants in both fiction and non-fiction from the Massachusetts Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, most recently in January 2010 when the NEA awarded him $25,000 in support of his ongoing work in contemporary literature. His stories and essays have appeared in Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Sports Illustrated, Tin House, Agni, and many other magazines. Bauer has worked as a magazine editor and for several years as a free-lance journalist before returning to academic life, earning a Doctor of Arts degree from the State University of New York, Albany. He has taught at Harvard

BPL to Host Budget Roundtables in January, March

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                         PRESS CONTACT: BPL Communications OfficeJanuary 14, 2011                                            617.859.2319, news@bpl.org

Boston Public Library to Host Budget Roundtables First round in January, Second round in March

BOSTON — January 14, 2011 – This month, the Boston Public Library will host two budget roundtables that will provide a budget overview to interested community members and will cover topics such as FY12 revenue assumptions, library trust funds, capital budgeting, and the budget planning timeline. The Boston Public Library’s Chief Financial Officer, Sean P. Nelson, will lead the roundtables and will share online resources and relevant articles for those interested in additional reading. The City of Boston and the Library’s Board of Trustees will also be represented at the gatherings. “Over the past few months, many community members expressed an interest in learning more about the Boston Public Library’s budget,” said Nelson. “These gatherings are designed to address that interest and provide an overview of the steps in our annual budget process.” The dates of the January roundtables are: ·        Tuesday, January 25: Central Library in Copley Square, 700 Boylston Street, Orientation Room , 6:30pm – 7:30pm ·        Wednesday, January 26: Dudley Branch Library, 65 Warren Street in Roxbury, 6:30pm – 7:30pm

There will be a second set of budget roundtables in March 2011. The dates and locations are: ·        Tuesday, March 15, Central Library in Copley Square, 700 Boylston Street, Orientation Room, 6:30pm – 7:30pm ·        Wednesday, March 16, Codman Square Branch Library, 690 Washington Street in Dorchester, 6:30pm – 7:30pm

For more details on the library’s budget and finances, visit the Boston Public Library’s dedicated Budget & Finance page at www.bpl.org/budget.

Mayor Menino Says There Could Be Branch Library Closings in 2011

Dear Friends of the South End Library,

Check out this interesting article in today's Boston Globe about the branch libraries.   I give the Mayor credit for standing up for things that are unpopular, but I wish that would also include things like increasing healthcare contributions for city employees and ensuring all of the city's bus stops and handicapped ramps are cleared after snow storms, not just closing library branches.  Here is the article:

Menino still looks to close libraries

Boost for branches to run out by July

By Andrew Ryan

Globe Staff / January 11, 2011

Opponents of a plan to close four of Boston’s libraries scored a significant victory last week when the state allocated extra money to keep the branches open.

But that sense of triumph may be fleeting. The $350,000 from the state is a one-time fix that keeps the buildings open only an additional three months until the fiscal year ends June 30. After that,new money will be hard to find in a difficult budget year, and Mayor Thomas M. Menino says libraries could once again be on the chopping block.

“I believe we have too many branch libraries,’’ Menino, who will deliver his annual State of the City address this evening at Faneuil Hall, said in a recent interview. “As a politician I shouldn’t say that because it makes people mad. But if we really want to be honest with ourselves and the public you have to say that.’’

Menino did not identify specific libraries he would target or outline a plan to financiallystabilize the nation’s oldest municipally funded library system. But he made clear that he believed his administration was right last year to try to close four neighborhood branches, a cost- savings plan that was later postponed after intense neighborhood and political pressure.

“I understand that people are attached to libraries. But I’m attached to making city services work,’’ Menino said. “As mayor, as leader of the city, I just can’t be caught playing the game of, ‘Oh it means so much to me.’ I have to be realistic about this. That’s what the public is looking for now.’’

The mayor is not expected to focus on the library issue in tonight’s speech.

“I’m surprised that Menino thinks there are still expendable libraries,’’ said Maria Rodrigues, a Brighton resident who spearheaded the campaign to save the Faneuil library branch in Oak Square. “The public as a whole made very clear that libraries are vital anchors in this urban hub that is Boston. They play a function beyond lending books.’’

In April, the Boston Public Library’s board of trustees approved a budget that would have closed Faneuil and three more of the city’s 27 locations by late summer or fall: Lower Mills in Dorchester, Orient Heights in East Boston, and Washington Village in South Boston’s Old Colony housing development.

After months of neighborhood outcry and pressure from Boston’s delegation on Beacon Hill, the city added an additional $654,000 to the library’s budget, enough to keep the branches open until April. The extra $350,000 from the state last week will give the four branches three more months and prevent 21 layoffs, library officials said. Last year, the library laid off 31 employees.

Financial officials at the library have begun building revenue projections and operating cost forecasts but have not yet drafted a comprehensive budget proposal, said Amy E. Ryan, president of the Boston Public Library.

“I think we know there are going to be fewer resources, but we don’t know the exact numbers yet,’’ Ryan said. Reductions could target “collections, hours, or branches closures,’’ she said.

A preliminary financial assessment will be presented to the trustees at their meeting on Jan 18. Despite the bleak outlook, Ryan described “a renewed sense of optimism’’ about the coming fiscal year, in part because of a significantly better relationship with state lawmakers.

The city has always provided much of the library’s operating budget, but the state also contributed a substantial chunk. Two years ago, it covered more than 18 percent of costs. But then, steep cuts on Beacon Hill slashed the state’s contribution from $8.9 million in 2009 to $2.4 million this year.

With the looming library closures, state and city officials clashed at public meetings. Beacon Hill lawmakers ultimately passed a punitive measure that would have stripped the library of its remaining $2.4 million in state funding if it shuttered a single branch.

“Last year we had to use what leverage we had on behalf of our constituents,’’ said Representative Linda Dorcena Forry, a Democrat from Dorchester. “We’ve turned a new page. We’re working together.’’

Part of that evolution came when Menino appointed state Representative Byron Rushing to be a library trustee after Rushing accused The BPL Trustees of doing a bad job lobbying for the libraries. Other lawmakers have made amends with city officials and spent more time with Ryan, who moved from Minnesota when she took over as library president in 2008.

“We are not in la-la land,’’ said Dorcena Forry, who like Ryan expressed optimism about the coming year. “We know it’s going to be a tough budget cycle . . . but I would hope there are no closure proposals.’’

Andrew Ryan can be reached at acryan@globe.com.

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.

Governor Signs Budget Bill, Additional Money for Library Approved

Dear Friends of the South End Library,

Below is a letter from the BPL formally announcing the additional funds from the state!

Dear Branch Friends,

BPL President Amy Ryan asked me to share this wonderful news with you.

Yesterday, Governor Patrick signed a $330M supplemental funding bill for FY11 that included an additional $350,000 for the Boston Public Library. Thanks to the support of the legislature and the Governor and the leadership of Mayor Menino, this supplemental funding from the state will allow the Boston Public Library to continue to keep all branches open for the remainder of the fiscal year. This means that the four branches scheduled to close at the end of March – Faneuil, Lower Mills, Orient Heights, and Washington Village – are now fully funded through June 2011. Boston Public Library Trustees will formally take action on the supplemental funding at their next regular meeting, which is scheduled for January 18 at the recently reopened Brighton Branch library. Work continues on the development of a sustainable budget for the coming fiscal year. We acknowledge that our FY12 budget remains uncertain, but we are grateful for the ongoing partnership of our many users, friends, community members, and elected leaders.

This a great news for our organization. Amy asked that I extend her thanks to all who have worked so tirelessly toward this resolution.

Thank you.

Christine Schonhart

Director, Branch Libraries

Boston Public Library

700 Boylston Street

Boston, MA 02116

617-859-2340

cschonhart@bpl.org

For more information go to: www.bpl.org