An Interview with Reggie Wilson, Reference Librarian at the Central Library for 20 Years and recently laid off former supervisor of the Mason Square Library

Question - “What were some of your more memorable experiences when you worked for the Springfield Library and Museums Association?”

Reggie Wilson - “Many of those wonderful moments involved working with a special group of colleagues that I love dearly. I also helped so many patrons in my years of library service. I’m sure that I answered more reference questions for the SLMA in the past 20 years than anyone else. One great memory was when I helped a young lady find her birth mother. I have also helped numerous people get through college and high school, start small businesses, make it into show business, and pursue other dreams.”

Question - “What makes Mason Square Library so special?

Reggie Wilson - “The special people on the staff and our patrons who made the library a vital institution for over 50 years that has outlasted other crippling recessions, riots, and numerous mayors. It started with Ann Curran, who unexpectedly left a million dollars in her will to set up a library (and not a reading room) for the people of Mason Square in 1950. Her plaque is the very first thing that you see on the website that I designed for Mason Square Library at: www.springfieldlibrary.org/branches/ms.html I urge people to check it out before it mysteriously disappears. The second thing that makes it special is former supervisor Bettye Webb, whose tireless energy and leadership of the library during its first 40 years made it into one of the most socially relevant libraries in the state. If you are unfamiliar with her contributions to Springfield history, go to the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum and get the file on Mason Square Library. I looked over her impressive accomplishments when I accepted the job as the supervisor of Mason Square. I hope you see the newspaper article on Bettye Webb where she asked her father why her name is so ordinary. Her father said that Bettye had an e at the end of it that means extraordinary. Extraordinary were her contributions that made the lives of so many people better in one of the poorest sections of the city.”

Question - “What were some of your worst moments working for the Springfield Library System?”

Reggie Wilson “When I was laid off as supervisor of Mason Square Library after 20 years and couldn’t fulfill a promise to one of the many great neighborhood kids in Mason Square. The usually upbeat young adult came in one day looking like it was the saddest day in his life. He said that his mother died and that he had to go the Puerto Rico with his father to bury her. I told him that before he left that I would go by a garden center and we would plant a flowering tree together in honor of his mother in a public garden that I was building in the Mason Square Library courtyard. I got laid off the following day and could not find the young adult’s phone number because the library was ordered closed that weekend.

It’s tough being a young adult today because on the one hand they are told to respect our institutions, leaders, and work hard to achieve their goals while on the other hand watching those very same leaders and institutions let them down with hollow promises. They watch proud professionals such as librarians, social service workers, and teachers being disrespected and undervalued. When Mason Square Library re-opened with much fanfare in October 2001, Deberry Elementary School students cut the ribbon to open a library that was renovated at a cost of $1.2 million dollars to serve a new generation at Mason Square. Even SLMA president Joe Carvalho proclaimed in the Springfield Union that “this has been known as a neighborhood library, but we see it as becoming more popular now with additional city (wide) use.” Now, less than a year and a half after a grand library opening, which included Mayor Michael Albano, U.S. Representative Richard Neal, and city council members, its future and their commitment to the neighborhood is being threatened by a “back room” deal between Carvalho and the Springfield Urban League. The dynamic principal of DeBerry School sent Carvalho an eloquent letter urging him not to sell Mason Square Library to the Urban League to no avail.”

Question - “What else bothers you about the deal?”

Reggie Wilson - “How clandestine and shortsighted it was. I can see why the Springfield Urban League president would walk over hot coals to get his hands on the deed to relocate its new headquarters in Mason Square Library and create a postage stamp sized library for public use. The Mason Square Library before it was renovated already had a value of $750,000. Now add to that a $1.2 million renovation (which includes a new high efficiency furnace, central air conditioning, new thermo-insulated windows, a high-tech security system, replacement of all of the copper plumbing in the basement, a potentially beautiful courtyard that is now an eyesore, additional parcels of land, and an auditorium). To get that mint condition building at a ridiculous price of $700,000 in one of the best "sellers' market" in years is a steal. The main reason why the Urban League of Springfield should not make the deal is that they have traditionally represented poor people who have been locked out of life and death issues that effect their lives. Why should they engage in the same practice by seeking to close on a deal without consulting neighborhood people, other social service centers, daycare providers, community councils, and schools? They will become what they have fought for so long to prevent. Historically, people didn’t migrate to the Mason Square area out of intellectual curiosity, many of them had nothing to lose. Many of Mason Square’s African-American residents came from the segregated South in the early part of the last century. They came to escape lack of opportunities, poverty, and having no say in their future. Many European whites and Latinos settled in the Mason Square area for many of the same reasons.”

I look at all of the grueling work that Springfield Library director Emily Bader did, “running herself ragged” trying to renovate branch libraries going right down the drain. Every citizen in Springfield should go to the Indian Orchard Library and take a good look inside. It’s a masterpiece for that neighborhood. What is to become of that masterpiece? Will it go in another ludicrous deal to become just what Springfield doesn’t need-- another supermarket, drug store chain, or an “all for a dollar store? Who knows?

Question - “Why have things deteriorated so much between the city and libraries?

Reggie Wilson - “Because of a lack of commitment, sincerity, and politics as usual. That is why there is so little meaningful change in this country in general. I sometimes tell the story of a person on an ocean liner that falls overboard. He/she yells “help” and hopes that someone will hear their cry. The first person to come along is a conservative. The misfortunate person asks to throw a rope down so that he/she can be saved. The conservative throws down ½ a rope and says that’s all he can give. The drowning person is going under again when along comes a “cut and run” liberal. The liberal during good times would provide more rope than a person could need but now just looks away. The near drowning person is going under for the final time when along comes the sensible person who is not looking for any personal gain. The sensible person knows that if a person needs help that he or she should never walk away. The sensible person gives the drowning person just enough rope to get back on solid ground. Such a person is former mayor Charles Ryan in his frantic quest to restore branch libraries in Springfield.”

Question - “Are you optimistic that Mason Square Library will be saved?”

Reggie Wilson - “Yes, because there’s a big, powerful train that is leaving Union Station soon. The train is getting longer every day with more and more people climbing aboard. I heard that they are adding more cars. The train is filled with people who have nothing to lose and are angry at the current state of “public” libraries in Springfield. This train is made up of people of all ages and politician ideologies. It’s made up of city councilors, business people, whites, people of color, and all religions. They reflect the true face of the people of Springfield. The train is also made up of dedicated, bright SLMA workers who are supportive of our efforts and know that they are getting a raw deal by the SLMA. These workers are asked to sacrifice just “a little while longer” while in fact they are a few steps away from the June layoff guillotine. The train includes SLMA library retirees who are deeply troubled with what has become of library service in Springfield. It’s filled with everyday taxpayers who paid for the library system that now wonder why a handful of powerful, “shadowy” people, largely from out of town, are trying to do their thinking for them. I’m also sure that more “high profile” people at the SLMA will explore their conscience and climb aboard. The religious persecutions of the innocent in World War II taught the world that if you don’t agree with what is going on, and say nothing or that you are just following orders, that you are in complicity with it. This train is now picking up speed as it travels through the bleak, dreary night. The first stop will be an important Springfield City Council meeting on May 19 at 7:00 that everyone should attend. After that meeting, the train is expected to pickup even more speed. The sun will be rising at the end of our journey when we finally reach our destination.”