Whither the Plinths: Success of Retail Addition and Library Upgrades to BPL's Johnson Building May Hinge on Landmarks' Approval to Remove Visual Barricades on Boylston and Exeter Streets

Exeter St plinths

There are many reasons why the Boylston Street entrance to the Copley Library --known as the Johnson building-- can't hold a candle to the grace and appeal of the McKim building to which it is --awkwardly-- connected, according to participants in the so-called Johnson Improvements project, now underway at the BPL. But the  focal point of their wrath has become the 93 plinths that encase the Johnson building on three sides. The seven-foot granite barriers were placed there in the 1970s after architect Philip Johnson, who had designed the addition without any windows fronting the streets, compromised with then-BPL trustees who insisted on having windows. "He put them in but then covered them up," explained Bill Rawn, who was hired by the BPL as the lead architect to help rejuvenate the Johnson building and create viable retail space to go with it. The plinths obstruct natural light, cut off the library from the street, and create a dead zone on what should be a prominent block on Boylston Street, say the eight members of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The success of the project,  which has for its goals revitalizing the library's Deferrari Hall, a new and expanded Children's Room on the second floor as well as revenue-producing retail space on the first floor and concourse level below, may well hinge on the removal of the vertical barriers.

There will be little opposition from the Library Board:  "I just want to make sure the plan is for the plinths to come down," said Rep. Byron Rushing, one of the eight trustees on the nine-member board, after an in-depth presentation last Tuesday by Rawn, the eminent architect of a number of local libraries, Mattapan, East Boston and the Cambridge downtown library among them. "If all we do here is remove the plinths," Rushing continued, "this project will be a success as far as I am concerned." "If necessary, I'll loan you my gavel for it," joked Library Board chair, Jeff Rudman.

What is no joke, however, is that the plinths, as well as the facade of the Johnson building and Deferrari Hall on the inside, have landmark status. Boston's Landmark Commission will have to approve the changes, without which creating attractive commercial space and long-overdue major upgrades to the Central Library are unlikely. But opening up the library to the street and reconnecting it to the community is an important goal for architect Rawn, as it is to the CAC members and BPL executives. Which means convincing the Boston Landmarks Commission to approve removing the plinths will be key.

Boylston Street plinths of the BPL

Monetizing some of the one million square feet that makes up the Central Library may seem incompatible with an institution that has the words  FREE TO ALL carved above its entrance. A baby step in the process of capturing revenue for the BPL occurred in 2009 when the City moved the Kirstein Business Library, then located in its own building behind the Old City Hall downtown, to the lower level of the Central Library on Boylston Street. Revenue from the Kirstein trusts that paid for operations at the previous location has since been used by the Central Library to offset  its operating costs, after court approval in 2010.

Merging commercial enterprise with the library's mission to capture income poses thornier issues, however, including whether the revenue generated by public library space will be applied directly to the BPL or to the City's coffers for general use. The hours needed for successful retail operations, especially innovation/high-tech spaces that are open 24/7 --proposed for the lower-level concourse where Rabb Hall is located-- don't match limited library hours either. A spokeswoman for the librarian's union stated, moreover, that for increased hours of operations at the BPL to mesh with the hours demanded by successful retail space "should not be negotiated on the backs of library staff" and that preference should be given to retailers who provide good wages and benefits. Finally, maintaining  security for both the library's collection and retail establishments while promoting easy access and a welcoming environment at the same time, will require additional sophisticated, and expensive, solutions. CAC member Gary Saunders wondered whether it would make sense for any retail space at the Johnson building to have a completely separate entrance from the library. But first....the plinths...Stay tuned.

The CAC meetings are open to the public. The next one will be held April 10, although the date still has to be confirmed. Check the BPL web site under News and Events. Scroll down to Strategic Planning for further information and dates.

Nemo the Nor'easter Forces the Closing of the Entire Boston Public Library System --Including the South End Library-- Friday, February 8, Saturday, February 9 and Sunday, February 10.

Nemo the Nor'easter

On a day filled with headlines like "Potential Historic Blizzard Looms" and "Historic Crippling Blizzard Ahead" the Boston Public Library wisely decided to shut down all its branches Friday and Saturday February 8 and 9. And yes, that includes the South End library. In addition, the Central Library at Copley Square, the only facility in the library system open on Sundays,  will be closed on Sunday, February 10, as well.

If you can't make it through the snowy weekend without that book or DVD you meant to pick up, hop on a train, bus or bike and  get to the Copley Library now: it's open tonight till nine o'clock. Otherwise, dust off the sled and the trash-can lids, flatten out the cardboard box that new 80-inch television screen came in, and go sledding in Titus Sparrow Park. It will be the hot spot in the South End.

New Art Journaling (for the Young) and Writing Workshops (for the Young at Heart) to Start Thursdays at the South End Branch

art journaling

Two new art and writing workshop will be offered at the South End branch on Thursday afternoons, starting next week for one and a week later for the other. The first, "Art Journaling for Fifth-graders and Up" has been organized by children's librarian Margaret Gardner and will be held under the guidance of graphic designer Mary Owens, a long-time library supporter who also designs the snappy posters for The South End Writes series. The first  art-journaling workshop will be held next Thursday from 4:00 -5:00 PM, followed by additional ones each last Thursday of the month. In case you wondered what this might be about, here's a link to an art-journaling web site for kids, teens and beginners. Participants will create their own keepsake art journals in which to draw, write and make collages. The first session will be devoted to making the journals from materials provided for free at the library.

Ernest Hemmingway

"Writing in the World: a  Creative Writing Workshop for Adults" will beginThursday, February 7 at 3:00 PM and run weekly through April 11.  Led by writer and teacher, Debka Colson, the workshop is aimed at beginning writers age 55 and up to experiment with short fiction and poetry. Students will develop their skills through writing prompts, discussing examples by major writers, peer review and a public reading/reception at the end of the course. Fun exercises will help writing students reflect on life in their communities, and their roles in it, from a fresh perspective.   The class is limited to 10 participants who must commit to attending all sessions. Registration is required: call Anne Smart at 617 536-8241.

The writing workshop was funded by the MetLife Foundation in partnership with the Boston Public Library, Lifetime Arts Inc., and the American Library Association's Public Programming Office. In addition, The Friends of the South End Library are paying for materials and refreshments. 

Local Advisors for BPL's Project to Add Stores to Copley Library Express Concern about Mixing Library Mission with Commerce but Agree on One Thing: Johnson Building Needs a Major Overhaul

johnson building

A group of local advisors from the Back Bay met at the BPL for the second time on January 10 to look into a proposal by the Menino administration to add retail commercial space to what is by all accounts a dead zone on Boylston Street: the 1972 addition to the Central Library's McKim building, otherwise known as the Johnson building. Its cavernous street-level entry features Soviet-style security gates, a drab circulation counter and a lonely reference desk way down in the center, but "nothing that welcomes or embraces me," complained Meg Mainzer-Cohen of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. The conference room where the meeting was held came itself under fire from Karen Cord Taylor of the Independent Newspaper Group who looked at the colorless rug, unattractive wood paneling and neon lighting and declared it all "ugly."

Yet fixing the building's shortcomings by adding commercial space to attract shoppers to the library did not appear to be the logical solution to the Community Advisory Committee's (CAC) members, either. "There's no doubt about the demand. I could rent the space tomorrow," said Chris Gordon, a BPL development advisor. "But is it compatible with the BPL? Does it have to be integrated or separate? Is the mission of the BPL revenue or library services?"  "Store owners don't want to feel they're passed by on the way to somewhere else, like a library," added Peter Sherin, also of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. "I have an aversion to franchises," commented Cord Taylor. "Any retail here should be iconic for Boston. Another "Curious George" store puts me off."

Support for creating a conference center that would bring in revenue seemed equally lukewarm. "There's no daylight downstairs," Gordon pointed out. Cord Taylor said that a conference center is someplace you'd want to go to, not because you have to. She reiterated there's little architectural or visual interest in the Johnson building, as opposed to the adjacent McKim Building, which is filled with natural light and architectural detail. "Or like the JFK Library," piped up several other advisors, extolling the breathtaking water views from that library. How to make the BPL competitive with already available conference space in Boston was not an easy task, the consensus was, and unlikely to generate a lot of money.

A market analysis report by a consultant group, Byrne-McKinney, was not yet available for the committee's discussion, but library-mission-centered proposals seemed to generate most excitement among its members: a light-filled Children's Room; a prominently displayed exhibit about the history of libraries; a place for chess instruction or even  a 'Little League of Chess centered in the library.'  Architect Bill Rawn, who in the 1980s worked on a masterplan to revamp the New York Public Library and more recently designed both the successful Mattapan branch as well as the Cambridge Public Library, said his take on libraries is that they are egalitarian institutions that should be accessible to everyone and offer opportunities to all. "Parts of the Johnson building work very well, but others don't match the excitement of the McKim building,"said Rawn, whose firm heads the Johnson Improvements project. Referring to the library's Boylston Street location as a "weak retail block," Rawn suggested that "we have to think about this project as one that extends into the sidewalk."

BPL trustee, Rep. Byron Rushing, who attended the meeting as an observer, said plainly that the Johnson building was a 'mistake' that we are now 'stuck with.' "Had we had a Community Advisory Committee when planning the Johnson building, it would never have been built," he asserted. "Before there was a Johnson building, we never talked about a McKim building. It was always the Central Library or Copley Library." Rushing expressed a strong desire to change the name of the Johnson building. "The trustees are very open to this project," he said. "We don't want to hear that something is 'too cutting-edge' or even 'too expensive.' "

The next meeting for the Johnson Improvements project will be Wednesday, March 13, 8:30 am, Central Library's Commonwealth Salon. The public is invited.

South End Photographer/Social Worker Jennifer Coplon Will Talk About Her "Ugandan Elders" Exhibit December 12 at the South End Library

Ugandan Elders Exhibit

On Wednesday, December 12, the strikingly beautiful portraits of Ugandan elders now on exhibit at the South End Library will be further illuminated by Jennifer Coplon, a longtime South End resident and clinical social worker who took the pictures when she traveled to the African country last year. Coplon  uses photography to capture "the resilience, resourcefulness, and courage of elders who are often considered "down and out." The exhibit,  Ugandan Elders: JaJa Mamas and Papas, is part of a larger study in which Coplon is interviewing and photographing elders who have often been marginalized or discounted. Her next focus will be residents at Olmsted Green, the newest housing offered by Hearth, Inc. for formerly homeless elders.

The talk will begin at 6 p.m.

New South End Library Photo Exhibit of Ugandan Elders Highlights Dignity of Homeless/Landless Africans Despite Decades of Civil War and AIDS

A Ugandan Elder, by photographer Jennifer Coplon

Ugandan Elders: JaJa Mamas and Papas, a photo exhibit that will open officially on Tuesday, November 20 at the South End Library,is the brainchild of Jennifer Coplon. A longtime South End resident and community-based clinical social worker, Coplon spent the last few years training to be a photographer as well, at MassArt, the MFA and the New England School for Photography. Last summer, a social-work trip to Uganda brought her face to face with the homeless/landless poor of Uganda. She encountered people who had suffered multiple losses from AIDS, malaria and civil-war trauma, elders for whom there was little likelihood of improvement in their economic circumstances.  Coplon was struck by their dignity, an observation that happened to interface with another passion of hers, creating positive images of the elderly homeless.  Coplon, whose work includes photographing and interviewing formerly homeless elders here placed in permanent housing through Hearth Inc., says that by developing a portraiture  focused on human dignity she hopes to counter the marginalization and discounting of our own elders: "When you look at this man here," she said, pointing to a portrait  of a Ugandan in a brilliant deep-blue garment,"you'd never guess he's dirt-poor."

There's recent precedent for the fusion of photography and homeless-centered social work on display in a library setting. Earlier this year, the San Francisco Public Library mounted the photo exhibit, Acknowledged, which featured portraits of the many homeless serviced by local agencies affiliated with their library system (San Francisco is quite advanced in this area: it is the first public library to have hired a social worker on its staff to deal with homeless patrons). Photographer Joe Ramos, who volunteered for the homeless, was handed a camera in 2006 and asked to tell the agencies' clients' story in portraits. His photographs and accompanying texts shone a light on the frayed social safety net, too close for many Americans, with examples like Ethel, a direct descendant of Abraham Lincoln, and Graham, a middle-class college graduate from Indiana who spiraled into depression, job loss and homelessness after a car accident he caused killed another person.

Jennifer Coplon's exhibit opens Tuesday, November 20, at 6:30 PM, at the South End Library. It is free to all.

Handicapped-access Door Pads Have Been Installed at the South End Library, Easing Access for All

Better handicapped-accessibility at the South End library

Thanks to donations by library supporters and a PruPAC grant collected by FOSEL, opening the doors at the South End branch is now as easy as a tapping on a door pad. No more acrobatics by parents trying to hustle strollers, shopping bags and other youngsters through the entryway all at the same time. No more children tugging at the heavy door to be let in when a stiff wind blowing in from Tremont Street tries to keep them out. Whether you're in a wheelchair, leaning on a cane, or simply carrying too many books and DVDs under your arms to also open the library's door, your access into the branch has been greatly improved.

Head librarian, Anne Smart, told FOSEL she's making it her job to instruct everyone how to use the pads. There are three: one on the outside of the building, at the corner of Tremont, as illustrated in the picture where library user Francis Pugliese is pointing to it. The second pad is one the inside between the two glass doors, on the left when entering and the right when leaving. The third is on the inside, across from the staff counter. The South End Library is now one of only a few in the BPL's constellation of branches that is fully handicapped accessible. An elevator to its second floor was installed more than a decade ago, and its bathrooms are fully equipped for wheelchairs and strollers. The campaign for automatic doors was sponsored by FOSEL and its president, Glyn Polson. Thanks to the board, the generous contributors in the South End, and the grantors at Pru-PAC.

FOSEL Book Bags for Sale to Help Pay for Library Programming for Young, Old and In-betweens

In case you wondered what to buy your friends and relatives for holiday gifts, you can stop that right now. FOSEL has just received its order of beautiful, 100 percent cotton book bags, designed by our tireless and talented graphic-design volunteer, Mary Owens, as per the pictures alongside this text.

The totes have a color-accented bottom and an additional shoulder strap for easy carrying. The green tote features a logo that says, "The South End Library Rocks," as indeed it does. The red bag's logo consists of six sayings about libraries that should warm the heart of all patrons, as displayed above.

They will be available at FOSEL-sponsored events like The South End Writes, and can be ordered and picked up at the South End branch. FOSEL also offers payment through PayPal on the web site by clicking on DONATE. The cost per bag is $10. All proceeds will be used to fund programs for young and old at the library.

BPL President Amy Ryan Thanks FOSEL for Funds Raised to Pay for the Installation of a Handicapped-Accessible Door at the South End branch

FOSEL president Glyn Polson and Mayor Thomas Menino

The Friends of the South End Library (FOSEL) received a letter of thanks from the president of the BPL, Amy Ryan,  thanking the organization for its  check to pay for a handicapped-accessible door at the South End branch. Glyn Polson, the president of FOSEL, applied for a grant to pay for the door from Pru-PAC last and received a check a few weeks ago. PruPAC is a fund established by developers 25 years ago to benefit neighborhoods around the Prudential Center. The Prudential Project Advisory Committee, a city-formed group composed of neighborhood residents and business representatives, had awarded the grant earlier this year. . The Friends of the South End Library was among a dozen of downtown non-profits that collected a total of more than $210,000 from the PruPAC  fund recently.Once installed, the library will be one of a handful of BPL branches that is fully handicapped accessible. An elevator to the second-floor community room was added to the building in previous years. Polson is working closely with the BPL’s Facilities Department to complete the project as quickly as possible.

According to Christine Schonhart, director of branch libraries at the BPL,  electricians will meet with the contractor at the branch next week to review the door and set a schedule. "While we won’t have to close the branch to install the switch, there might be some disruption to the entrance for people to move around the workers," she wrote. Further details will be posted as soon as they come over the wire...

The BPD's Archivist Margaret Sullivan and her Colleague Dr. Kim L. Gaddy Shine a Light on the History of Boston's Fairest

After personnel files were put on microfilm at the Boston Police Department in the 1970s, a sergeant detective about to retire dumped a box of women's roster cards on the desk of another, Kim L. Gaddy, saying she didn't have the heart to shred them. "That's how it all started," Dr. Gaddy told a rapt audience at the South End Library on October 16, during the slide show of "Boston's Fairest." With Margaret Sullivan, the BPD's archives and records manager, Dr. Gaddy spent hundreds of hours at Radcliffe's library and the "dank basement" of the BPL, among other places, to document the history of Boston police women.

They only had to go back to the 1920s.  The time between the two world wars was one of  social change and the 1919 Boston Police Strike had decimated the department. It  consisted of "rookies and old men," said Sullivan. In 1921 the first six women who had been allowed to take the entry exam were appointed. They were denied uniforms, weapons, cars and handcuffs. But they had their badge. They'd show it, presumably bark "you're under arrest,"  and haul the perps to the police station by hailing a cab. More women were hired in the 1940s, including the first African-Americans, among them Dorothy "Harry" Harrison, the daughter of physician Columbus Harrison, who practiced from his home on Chandler Street. "Can you explain why these women were placed in the South End which was one of the most dangerous parts of Boston?" one member of the audience wanted to know. "Because they were good," said Sullivan, "and they knew the district very well."

The BPD remained largely the domain of men. But the perpetrators included women, as did of course the victims of crime. Handling female prostitutes or battered women caused discomfort among male law enforcement. The female recruits were expected to focus on women by protecting them from "mashers" (men who'd harass them) and bring home lost children. They did that --even bought kids ice cream on the beaches of South Boston-- but would land punches, if necessary, with the best of them.

Despite nine decades of proving their worth, the BPD’s percentage of female officers is still only 14 percent, roughly on par with the police departments elsewhere. “Police work has a very macho image but it is 85 percent social work, instead of knocking heads” said Dr. Gaddy, explaining part of the reason why women many not even see police work as suitable for them to this day. Answering another audience question, the speakers affirmed no specific efforts are underway by the BPD to demystify  what this profession is all about. "It's hard to get across why police work might appeal to college women" now looking to make career choices, agreed Sullivan. "It's not the only barrier," she said, referring to  other disincentives: jobs are not necessarily there right now, you have to be put 'on the list,' you have to live in Boston, there are several tests. "By the time you take care of that, most will have made other choices," she said.

The first African-American female olice officer, Dorothy Harris

A few years ago, Sullivan helped uncover the history of Boston's first  African-American officer in the BPD in 1878,  Sgt. Horatio J. Homer. She is currently working on the biographies of some twelve police officers (she calls them her "dirty dozen") who made difficult choices in their careers, including resigning when that was 'the right thing' to do. "It's hard to be a good cop sometimes," Sullivan said. One of her subjects is a former resident of Rutland Square, Captain Francis Wilson, whose father, Butler Wilson, a staunch Republican, helped start the Boston branch of the NAACP.

Mayor Menino Hands FOSEL a Pru-PAC Check to Pay for the Installation of a Handicapped-accessible Door at the South End Branch

menino:glyn

The Friends of the South End Library was among a dozen group of downtown non-profits that received a total of more than $210,000 from the PruPAC  fund, established 25 years ago by developers to benefit the neighborhoods around the Prudential Center.Glyn Polson, president of the South End library's Friends group, applied for the grant to help pay for the cost of  an automatic door at the  branch. Once installed, the library will be one of a handful of BPL branches that is fully handicapped accessible. The Prudential Project Advisory Committee (PruPAC), a city-formed group composed of neighborhood residents and business representatives, had awarded the grant earlier this year but not yet issued the check. Polson is working closely with the BPL's Facilities Department to complete the project as quickly as possible.

What Do the MA Board of Library Commissioners and the Legislature's Library Caucus Have to Do with the Boston Public Library? Answer: More Than You Think...

MA Statehouse

In 2008, when two powerful Beacon Hill legislators resigned as trustees of the Boston Public Library, Mayor Thomas Menino did not replace them with other state legislators. The former trustees,  then-Senate President William Bulger and Rep. Angelo Scaccia, had previously funneled tens of millions of capital and operational dollars annually into the BPL to, among other projects, restore the Copley Library.  After their resignation, in protest of Mayor Menino's refusal to renew the contract for then-BPL president Bernard Margolis, there were no BPL trustees around on Beacon Hill to protect state allocations to Boston's libraries. At a time of severe economic stress, the state's portion to Boston's library budget was reduced from $8.4 million in 2008 to $2.4 million in 2010. This came on top of  several years of harsh city budget cuts to the BPL, not opposed publicly at the time by the remaining BPL trustees. Still, in 2008 it was generally believed by Boston library patrons that their local branch would be open when they awoke the next morning. How could it not be? But in 2010, BPL's  trustees and its president Amy Ryan proposed closing ten of the 26 local libraries and Boston's state legislators had to step back into the BPL fray, spurred on by their otherwise peaceful constituents who had turned into enraged local library supporters. The 24-member Boston Delegation to the Legislature passed a 2011 budget amendment threatening to cut the state's $2.4 million contribution to the BPL unless the City of Boston, as they put it, "funds and maintains operations for all branch libraries in service as of January 1, 2010." As a result, all the BPL branches remained open, albeit with reduced staff, despite the economic downturn.

Rediscovered awareness of voters' support for libraries' is reflected in the growing number of  state legislators who have become members of the Library Legislative Caucus. Founded in 2008 by former State Rep. Mark Falzone (D-Saugus), the Caucus is now headed by Rep. Kate Hogan (D-Stow), a strong library advocate elected in 2009. In her Maiden Speech to the Legislature in 2010, she described her mother's apartment looking just like a branch of the local library, and her mother as "the best-read person she's ever met" thanks to he public library. "Aid to public libraries is local aid," Hogan told her colleagues." The Library Caucus membership among House and Senate members has nearly doubled  from the 40 it started out with since Hogan became its chair, according to Scott Kjellberg, Rep. Hogan's legislative aide.

"The Library Caucus is helpful," said Cynthia Roach, Head of Library Advisory and Development for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The MBLC works on state aid to libraries, mostly in an advisory capacity with minor enforcement power centered in its state-funded library-construction programs. When asked about public awareness of the state's role in libraries recently, Roach acknowledged "we're in much better shape now."

Among the Library Caucus's early supporters is South End Rep. Byron Rushing, also the Second Assistant Majority Leader in the Legislature. Appointed to the BPL Library Board by Mayor Menino in 2010, shortly after he publicly denounced the BPL's lack of advocacy at the Legislature, Rushing has begun to re-lubricate the rails between the Legislature and the BPL. In March of this year, Rushing helped bring together the BPL's trustees and executives with MBLC's director Robert Maier and Library Legislative Caucus Chair Hogan at the Copley Library for a breakfast meeting; a previous get-together had already taken place at the Legislature in November 2011.

In April, Rushing reported that  44 legislators signed up for BPL library cards at a State House library event, "part of the effort to inform my colleagues that any resident of Massachusetts can apply for a card in the BPL," Rushing said. Following a language change engineered in the fiscal 2012 state budget by Rep. Hogan, the newly formed Library for the Commonwealth (formerly the Library of Last Recourse) expanded services and allowed all state residents to be eligible for a BPL library card, according to Hogan’s office.

The improving relationship between the state and the BPL strengthens the hand of an additional player in city of Boston's library system which, in its trustee appointments and budget allocation, depends almost entirely on the good, or not so good, graces of  the mayor of Boston. When the 2012/2013 state budget was approved last month, operating money for libraries was increased "slightly" from the level-funding provided the previous year, said Roach, of the MBLC. A position for a second state library construction specialist has been fully funded this year (the MBLC plays an important role in the construction and renovation of Commonwealth libraries) and money for a program for the visually impaired, Talking Books,was increased by three percent to $2.4 million. In addition, said Roach, the MBLC hopes to convince Governor Deval Patrickto approve a new bond bill for $150 million worth of library construction during the 2012-2013 fiscal year, something that would benefit, among other projects, the East Boston Library, now in progress. A previous library bond bill, for $100 million, will cover only the costs of the first seven libraries on the to-be-constructed list.

At this point, The East Boston Library's number on the list is...14.

FOSEL Wins $8,000 Grant from PRUPac for Handicapped-accessible Door at South End Library

The Friends of the South End Library is pleased to report that our request for a grant from the Pru-PAC Community Benefits Committee has been approved!! This grant, combined with generous donations from private donors and library patrons will ensure that the handicapped-accessible door will be installed as soon as Pru-Pac's funds become available. A date for the disbursement of the grant funds has not been set.

FOSEL applied for a grant of $8,000 to fund a capital improvement project at the South End branch of the Boston Public Library, specifically the installation of an automated door to allow library patrons with physical disabilities, as well as the elderly patrons and parents with strollers, to access their community library. As you know, the current doorway consists of two separate heavy doors both of which must be opened by hand. With the installation of a handicapped-accessible door, the South End Library will be one of a handful of BPL branches to become fully ADA compliant, since the library already has an elevator to the second floor.

BPL did not allocate money to support this vital need in their capital budget but it did express strong support for FOSEL’s campaign to raise funds for this project. As this is a capital improvement project, BPL will have direct supervision over the installation of any handicapped- accessible entrance way and control over the bidding process and the selection of a contractor. However, we anticipate a swift completion upon distribution of the funds from PRUPac.

Prudential Center developers contribute money to the fund only when a building permit is issued. Following issuance of the permits for the Exeter Residences, $302,500 was contributed. The second project, at 888 Boylston Street is currently in a holding pattern. However, when the required permits are issued another $169,500 will be contributed to the fund. It is unclear at this time whether the South End Library funding will come from future or current funding.

Having identified a handicapped-accessible entrance to the library as a priority issue, FOSEL embarked on a private fundraising campaign to raise the necessary funds to have an automated entrance system installed. To date, we have raised over $6,000 from South End residents to accomplish our goal. The Pru-PAC committee took into account which projects which had secondary funding sources, so our neighbor's generous contributions were a vital component in the approval of FOSEL's grant request. Thank you all!!

Reminder: The Easter Bunny Will Visit Library Park Sunday, April 8, at 11:00 AM

The Easter Bunny will visit the Fifth Annual Easter Egg Hunt, sponsored by the Friends of the South End Library, Sunday, April 8, at 11:00 AM, right after the Egg Hunt in Ringgold Park sponsored by their Friends group, which starts at 10:00 AM. There will be refreshments, a separate area for tiny hunters, and police help crossing Tremont Street. Bring your own baskets, or use ours...Hope to see you there, on Tremont Street between Rutland Square and West Newton Street.

"New Busy-ness" Measure Is Not Meant to "Compare" Branch Performance But to Assess "Reach" of Library Services into Neighborhood, Says BPL's Spokeswoman Gina Perelli

A recent measure by BPL administrators to redefine what makes a branch "busy," the so-called "new Busy," is not meant to compare branch libraries competitively, according to Gina Perelli, the library's communications director. Perelli also said that the measure was "proposed" and "still looking for input" from library staff. "The idea is to capture the reach of library services into a community," she said, "to look at how many contacts the staff has with patrons as opposed to just the figure for ciculation." The "new Busy" calculation, published late February in the internal BPL Weekly, did not include a request for comment from library staff, and listed the three branches with the highest numbers consecutively. They were West End, West Roxbury and Mattapan.

A BPL's branch's circulation was one of the measures used in 2010 to determine which libraries should be closed and which remain open. The "saved" libraries, which tended to be larger, would have more resources and be open more hours. However, a number of to-be-closed libraries, while small, were convenient for users' access while larger ones were hard to reach by public transportation, or because patrons were elderly, handicapped, or too young to walk longer distances. Testimony during the library-closing hearings in 2010 suggested that patrons of East Boston's Orient Height branch, for example, one of the four on the closing list, would have had to traverse the tunnel to get to the next closest library in East Boston.

The "new Busy" calculation adds to each branch's circulation figure the number for visitors, programs and computer sessions. However, it doesn't take into account the number of hours a library is open, or the number of computers available for computer sessions. Had this number been adjusted for hours open, in a "new new Busy" configuration, the three "top-performing" branches would have been West End, Jamaica Plain and Mattapan. BPL's Perelli acknowledged the flaw during a phone conversation and pointed out that the definition of a program was not set either. "Circulation also depends on how large a collection is," she added, agreeing that there might still be "a lack in uniformity" in the numbers used to assess  either a branch's reach or its comparative popularity.

"We are still reframing ourselves as a result of the Compass hearings," said Perelli, referring to last year's numerous meetings to produce the BPL's long-term Compass Strategic Plan. "It is still an internal adjustment, informed by Compass to look more broadly at the community."

South End Library's Friends Looking for Your Financial Help to Fund Handicapped-Accessible Entry to the Branch--Please Donate

Preparing Envelopes

We are at the last stage of a massive mailing campaign -- envelopes are stuffed, address labels have been applied, postage stamps affixed. It was both easier and harder then we thought. My thumb is tired from, of all things, peeling labels and stamps off their sheets. Our return address stamp is not easily applied but when it is, looks great. Hope you have received one of these  (see photo) in your mailbox.  Make a donation by using our return envelope or clicking on the DONATE icon if you want to use PayPal.

Thanks.

Return Address Stamp

Fourth Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Library Park Sunday, April 24, 11 AM - 1 PM

The Easter Bunny's suit has been delivered to Easter Egg Hunt headquarters in the South End. The eggs are being filled with candy, poems, riddles and knock-knock jokes. The Easter baskets have been pulled from the closet. The Parks Department has its brooms ready to clean Library Park. Area D4 Police will assist street crossing, so all is about ready for the Fourth Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Library Park. As always, there will be a separate safe area for the littlest egg-hunters. Be there at 11:00 sharp on Sunday, April 24. See you there.....