LIBRARY STUDY COMMITTEE
Wednesday, April 23, 2003, 7:00PM
Pine Point Community Center
335 Berkshire Avenue
Next meeting: Wednesday, May 7, 2003, 7:00 PM
Pine Point Community Center
1. The meeting was called to order by chairman Charles Ryan at 7:00 PM.
2. A vote to approve the minutes was postponed until May 7, 2003.
3. Lists of committee members and sub-committees were distributed.
4. Reports from Subcommittees:
Fiscal: Photostats of the original (1864) Act of Incorporation forming “The City Library Association of Springfield,” forerunner of the Springfield Library and Museums Association were distributed along with tables listing City contributions to SLMA over the last ten and twenty years. (Mr. Ryan suggested that members prepare their own files of this and similar material.) He hopes to sit down with City Council President Dan Kelly, and SLMA representatives President Joe Carvalho and Trustee Chairman Donald D’Amour to ask further financial questions.
School
Department: Chairman Frank Buntin said the committee had no report.
Staffing: Chairman Mary Rivest said she had prepared a packet for Mr. Ryan. She also said that the SLMA presently has 185 volunteers although volunteer hours have declined by half over the past three years.
Walk Through: Chairman Michele Webber has scheduled a walk-through of closed library branches for Saturday, April 26, beginning at 9:00 AM at the Forest Park branch and going on to Liberty and East Springfield. She also distributed a description of Longmeadow’s Volunteer Tax Credit program by which homeowners are able to reduce property taxes by a maximum of $500. by volunteering in various town departments including Storrs Library.
Comparison with Other Communities: Chairman Janet Denney presented an overview of activities to date. A combination of internet searches, field trips and telephone interviews have been planned to study library operations in Providence RI, Baltimore MD, Concord and Cambridge MA. A conference will also be scheduled with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners to learn more about best practices in library administration.
5. Chairman’s Report:
Beginning with a review of the Mason Square situation and Library Director Bader’s plan to close three more branch libraries if the SLMA receives a 20% cut in city funding in next year’s budget, Mr. Ryan gave a summary of the committee’s work to date. He emphasized the millions of dollars contributed to SLMA over the past ten and twenty years, the fiduciary duty of SLMA requiring from it the utmost loyalty and honesty on behalf of the partner, the City of Springfield. The duties of a fiduciary include the duty to disclose material facts to the City Council, and failure to make this disclosure is deemed fraud. He concluded by saying that if the SLMA cannot be persuaded to undo the bargain they have struck with the Urban League, it is up to the City Council to take over the Mason Square branch library along with its Annie Curran endowment and create a municipal Library Department to operate it.
Committee members and members of the public decried SLMA arrogance, the probable effect of library closings on the future of the City, and voiced support for various legal remedies.
(Mr. Ryan’s remarks with supporting documentation has been distributed to the committee and to City Council members as the study committee’s interim report and is also posted on the web at www.forestparkca.com).
6. The Committee VOTED unanimously to authorize Mr. Ryan to submit copies of its Interim Report to City Councilors by Monday, April 28, 2003.
7. The Committee VOTED to recommend that the City Council pass an ordinance creating a city Library Department to be administered like the Park Commission by a five person committee appointed by the mayor. The VOTE was 10 in favor and 4 opposed, with 1 abstention.
8. The Committee VOTED unanimously to recommend to the City Council that it pass a resolution objecting to the SLMA’s proposed sale of the Mason Square branch library to the Urban League.
9. The Committee VOTED unanimously to request that Mr. Ryan, State Representative Benjamin Swan and City Council President Dan Kelly meet with SLMA President Carvalho and Trustee Chairman Donald D’Amour in order to put an end to the sale of the Mason Square branch library to the Urban League. The Committee stipulated that if this action was not taken by the SLMA, legal action was to be taken.
10. Mr. Ryan expressed the Committee’s gratitude for the excellent cooperation shown by the five city councilors (Mazza-Moriarity, Sarno, Tosado, Rooke, and Foley) who attended this meeting.
11. Next meeting: Wednesday, May 7, 2003, 7:00PM, Pine Point Community Center.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila McElwaine
Secretary to the Committee