On January 18th, the BPL Trustees held their first meeting of 2022.

Opening Affirmation

BPL Board Chair, Priscilla Douglas, opened the meeting with an affirmation of the BPL principles taken from the Institutional Statement Ratified by the Board of Trustees for the Boston Public Library on September 29, 2020:

The BPL Trustees reaffirm their commitment to racial equity and to principles of diversity equity and inclusion, more broadly.
The Library is formally committed to becoming an anti-racist organization in response to systemic racism, inequality, and injustice prevalent in society.
The BPL Trustees acknowledge that the Central Library stands on land that was once a water-based ecosystem providing sustenance for the indigenous people of Massachusetts, and is a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange among nations. The BPL Trustees are committed to land acknowledgements for all locations on which it operates.
The BPL Trustees reaffirm this commitment to set the context for planning, deliberations, and public engagement, so that they take place in the spirit of welcome and respect, reflected in the Library’s motto ‘free to all.’

Douglas also framed the Library’s equity work as EDI, indicating that equity must lead the way into diversity and inclusion.

President David Leonard honored all staff as “Librarians of the Year” and acknowledged how well they handled adverse weather and Covid test kit distribution in December.

Covid

The BPL is in the middle of the current Omicron surge and about 30 staff members were out last week. As of 1/15 /22, the BPL will adhere to the City’s requirement that employees provide proof of vaccination, with first shots by 1/15/22 and second shots by 2/15/22, or undergo weekly testing. Staff will be given time off to get vaccinated and tested, and staff in certain larger buildings can work from home until 1/31/22. Vaccinations will also be required for patrons attending the café, restaurants, or private events. Masks are being made available for staff and patrons.

There will be a delay in returning to expanded hours due to the Omicron surge. The new date has not yet been set. There is also a temporary return to virtual programming, although school visits will be allowed under specific guidelines. Updated Covid signage is up, branches are revising the spacing of computers, and library card renewal dates will be extended.

Open Positions

The BPL currently employs 433 people. As of the end of 2021, the number of open positions fell from 96 to 66 (back up to 76 in early 2022 due to retirements and post-holiday changes).

Staffing Changes

Leonard shared some key staffing changes:

Laura Irmser, Director of Collections, has left BPL. Collections Department Interim appointments include Melissa Andrews, Head of Technical Services & Collection Development (reporting to Michael Colford); Eben English, Digital Services & Digital Repository Team (also reporting to Michael Colford); and Beth Prindle, Head of Special Collections (reporting to David Leonard). Priscilla Foley, Head of Neighborhood Services, will now report directly to David Leonard, with the addition of Maija Meadows Hasegawa as an added Area Neighborhood Services Manager. In the Statewide & MBLN Library Program Support team, Angela Veizaga has transferred to Director of Partnerships and Keith Gillette is a new management addition as Chief Technology Officer.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Leonard and Colford updated the Board on the BPL Equity Agenda, reiterating the goals of:

Being equity-led;
Becoming an anti-racist organization;
Building a healthier culture that promotes equity, respects diversity, and is inclusive;
Ensuring that Collections & Services work is informed by EDI Principles; and
Contributing to progress towards an equitable and equal, anti-racist society.

Leonard reviewed the following EDI timeline:

Began the new dialogue on Racial Justice, May 2020
Created the Statement on Racial Equity Commitment, August 2020
Began the Repairing America Series, 2020 and 2021
Started the YW Work Phase 1, July – December 2020
Continued with YW Cohort Work Phase 2, February to October 2021
Cohort Report Outs, November 2021
Team and Department conversations/planning, Ongoing
Cohort Working Group Recommendations, January 2022 Launch
Equity Coordinator Hiring, projecting February 2022 Start

Staff is very involved in this work. Over 400 employees participated in two different learning workshops offered in 2021. Currently there are several key BPL Inclusion Cohort/Equity Working Groups focusing on inclusive decision making and transparency in communications, recruiting, and hiring with a focus on people of color (POC), professional development (with POC focus), formation of a BIPOC Resource Group and an Indigenous Peoples Issues Group, creation of a Climate Change Response Team, and conducting a Collections Management Procedure Review, incorporating guiding EDI principles.

Demographic comparison: The proportion of Latino individuals employed by the Library lags behind the proportion of Latino individuals in the City of Boston as a whole by about 11%, and the shortfall for black employees is around 5%. Ideally, Leonard stated, BPL staffing diversity would mirror that of the City.

A 2021 snapshot of BPL POC Employees shows improvement is needed in various roles in the organization.

Leadership: 2 of 8 (25%)

Senior Managers: 5 of 20 (25%)

All Managers: 10 of 42 (24%)

Branch Librarians: 5 of 23 (22%)

Senior Librarian Assistant Roles: 3 of 6 (50%)

PSA: 28 of 169 (16%)

AFSCME: 131 of 213 (61%)

Plans for 2022 include updating and managing the timeline for Action Plan commitments, determining metrics, and seeking a new external organization for ongoing cultural competency work and development of EDI expertise.

Key programming themes for 2022 include Black Is… (February), Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (May), Pride (June), Latinx Life (September), and Native Voices (November).

Through the Repairing America program, BPL pledges to continue helping Americans become more resilient and able to face and conquer the challenges of today by offering programs and services in the areas of economic recovery, civic engagement and discourse, COVID-19 recovery, racial equity, workforce development, and youth engagement.

Finance & Audit Committee Report

Evelyn Arana-Ortiz, in partnership with Beth Prindle, sought and received approval for a project by Hepzibah Rapoport Consulting to clean, inventory, catalog, store, and provide access to hundreds of thousands of items in the Library’s significant founding research collection. The project is funded by a private anonymous donor.

New Business

Trustee Jabari Asim was recognized for his newly published novel Yonder, set in the 1850 American South about risks enslaved peoples were willing to take for love.

Also mentioned was the January 31st author talk by Patrisse Cullers, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, about her latest book, An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Change Yourself and the World. She will be interviewed by L'Merchie Frazier, a visual activist and artist, historian, and educator who is the Director of Education and Interpretation for the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket.

Alyssa Cadillac, President of AFSCME, in addition to thanking staff and management for the recognition of all Library workers, asked about eliminating the requirement that all senior staff have Masters of Library Sciences degrees. She also questioned how decisions were made with respect to which Finance Committee contracts are brought to the Trustees.

The next trustees meeting is scheduled for March 15, 2022 at 8:30AM.