Next BPL Trustees Meeting on Tuesday March 9, 3 PM

The next public meeting of the Boston Public Library Trustees will be held at the Copley Library on Tuesday, March 9, at 3 PM. The plan is for BPL president, Amy Ryan, and the  trustees to further discuss the proposed closing of up to 10 (as yet unidentified) branches, as well as cutbacks in hours and services at both Copley and the neighborhood libraries,  and lay-offs of library personnel, or a combination thereof. A $3.6 million budget hole needs to be plugged. Many library advocates testified at the most recent BPL Trustees meeting on February 17, describing the importance of libraries in their neighborhoods and the devastating effects the closings would have on the fabric of their communities. Neither president Ryan nor the trustees provided information on what criteria they planned to use for the proposed closings. Will it be the number of people using the library (there are “counters” imbedded at the South End Library’s entry), proximity to other libraries, number of books, videos or DVDs borrowed, size of the branch, handicapped accessibility or noise-making by the loudest advocates? Stay tuned, or better yet, show up on March 9….