"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
For more information go to: www.bpl.org