LIBRARY STUDY COMMITTEE

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

Pine Point Community Center

335 Berkshire Avenue

Next meeting: Wednesday, June 11, 2003, 7:00PM

Hope Center

494 Armory Street

Springfield 01104

1. The meeting was called to order by chariman Charles Ryan.

2. Minutes of the May 7, 2003 meeting were aproved unanimously.

3. The financial report was postponed until the next meeting.

4. Chairman’s Report.

Agreement between the City and the Springfield Library and Museums Association. Mr. Ryan brought the committee up-to-date on negotiations for a city-run library system. Beginning with a meeting on Saturday, May10 with Joe Napolitan and Mayor Albano and continuing through a press conference on Friday, May 16, Mr. Ryan described evolution of an agreement, thus far unsigned, between the city and the SLMA which would result in city take-over of the central library and all nine branches at a “nominal” cost. (See below for discussion of the Mason Square branch library situation.) The mayor’s support, which resulted from reading the financial information in the committee’s interim report and the committee pro forma budgets for three of the city’s branches, was seen as very important to the agreement.

Over the coming weeks, Mr. Ryan will work with library director Emily Bader and her assistant Lee Foggarty to develop a library budget for the mayor. He believes the number of days and hours libraries will be open will be “pleasant news for all” and that the three closed library branches (East Springfield, Liberty and Forest Park) plus Mason Square will repoen on September 2, the day after Labor Day.

Mason Square Progress Report. Mr. Ryan began by saying, “We all hope the sale falls through and that Mason Square will be added to the [city-run] library system.” He then described a meeting with Joe Napolitan and the mayor concerning the announced sale of the Mason Square branch library building to the Urban League. The point was made to the mayor that the committee is concerned about the sale and wants the sale undone. The mayor promised that, whatever happens re: the sale of the present library branch building, there will be a branch library in Mason Square and that the Annie Curran bequest and its share of other library-tagged endowment funds will follow it. As for the proceeds from sale of the Mason Square building, Mr. Ryan has been informed that $440,000 will go to repay principal from the Annie Curran fund, and, while the SLMA intends to keep $260,000 of the proceeds, Mr. Ryan says that matter should be further negotiated by the mayor on the basis the city’s contribution of the $525,000 bond.

On Monday, May 19, Mr. Ryan and Ben Swan, Sr. met with Urban League president Henry Thomas and attorney A. Craig Brown to discuss space reserved for branch library operations in an Urban League-owned building. Discussion centered on where to locate the wall separating Urban League offices from library space. Initially the Urban League wanted it placed so that their office, but not the branch library, would have access to bathrooms. At the meeting, they agreed to consider moving the wall so that bathrooms would be accessible to library users. The future home of the “Read Write Now” program is up in the air with the Urban League favoring space somewhere in the building, library leadership willing to move it to the Pine Point branch library, and Rep. Swan wanting to keep it in Mason Square. The Urban League is seen as wanting this program moved. Archives presently stored in the basement are to be moved to the DPW building on Tapley Street.

In separate discussions, library director Bader and assistant director Foggarty have agreed with Mr. Ryan’s position that a branch library at Mason Square would be open 40 hours per week, have “active programming,” be staffed with two full-time professionals (an MLS librarian and a clerk) and contain as many books as space will allow.

Members of the public and committee members expressed frustration at the turn of events in Mason Square, suggested alternate sites for Urban League offices, and decried the waste of resources represented by sale of the newly renovated Mason Square building, and down-sizing of a library branch in a neighborhood desperately in need of educational resources.

Ben Swan, Jr., while acknowledging progress made in talks with the Urban League, said the sale was unacceptable to the McKnight and Old Hill neighborhood councils. He announced a press conference in front of the Mason Square branch library at 1:00pm, Friday, May 23 to voice neighborhood opposition and outrage and to remind people that sale of the bulding would be contrary to the will of the City Council.

Mr. Ryan reviewed the options for holding on to the Mason Square branch library as it presently exists: Now that the Annie Curran bequest is to be respected in the manning of a smaller but true “branch library,” there would be no reason for the Attorney General to bring suit. Despite hours spent in the law library looking for a legal precedent, neither has Mr. Ryan been able to find one that would allow Mason Square residents to sue. The Mayor has standing to sue over the bond money, but he has said he will not do so. And, lastly, the city council has also shown a “marked lack of enthusiasm” to sue, and, furthermore, such a suit would be over the bond money, not over sale of the library building.

While the Mason Square situation remains in flux, Mr. Ryan will make sure that Mason Square will be included in the draft budget to be submitted to the Mayor.

On a motion by Gloria DeFillipo, the committee voted unanimously to support the Mason Square neighborhood’s need for a branch library and its efforts to reclaim its branch library and to bring it under control of the new city Library Department.

5. Mr. Ryan announced that the Library Department is to be operational by July 1, 2003. Final arrangements will be made at a meeting with the Mayor at the end of June when he will be presented with a revised version of the ordinance creating the Library Department tabled on May 19 by the city council, an agreement between the city and the SLMA and a proposed library budget.

6. A motion by Erica Walch to the effect that the committee come together to review the legal requirements for a new board of library trustees failed on a seven to three vote.

7. A motion by Joe DiVenuto that the committee send a letter to each city councilor that this committee is on record as opposing the sale of the Mason Square branch library and reminding them that they also voted to oppose this sale passed unanimously.

8. A brief summary and written report was presented on field trips to libraries in Manchester NH and Concord MA where valuable informtion was obtained about library budgets, staffing patterns, fund raising and volunteer programs.

9. The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, June 11 in Hope Center, 494 Armory Street.

Respectfuly submitted,

Sheila McElwaine