Supporters of the Faneuil BPL branch in Oak Square plan to hold a protest march and candlelight vigil in front of the branch tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
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By adamg - 4/3/10 - 9:50 am
Sam Baltrusis reports the film crews at the BPL main branch today are from "Boston's Finest," which may or may not become a show on ABC. He also runs down all the other TV and movie scenes filmed at the main branch.
By Esteban - 4/2/10 - 7:06 am
Thought everyone city-wide should see Kevin's opinion piece - originally, as I understand, submitted to the Globe - unpublished, but now in the South End News:
Questioning the library 'crisis'
by Kevin McCrea
South End News Guest Opinion Contributor
April 1, 2010
By EM Painter - 4/1/10 - 1:09 pm
I am not interested in arguing the list. I have a pretty good feeling that my library can beat these other libraries. But that's what the cutters want, they want to pit us one neighborhood against the other. I imagine the West End library is still there because modernizers of the past, in an effort to bring the West End into the 20th century, flattened the neighborhood in the name of progress, dense urban living and a major road interchange. But instead of a modern neighborhood, the West End became an infamous name, and a symbol of everything that went wrong in urban renewal.
By adamg - 4/1/10 - 9:58 am
BPL releases the data on each branch that it will use as part of its ranking system to determine which of the 26 branches trustees may vote to kill on April 9.
Except for Brighton, Copley Square, Codman Square, Dudley, Grove Hall, Honan-Allston, Hyde Park, Mattapan, and West Roxbury, because they're specialer, um, "lead" libraries, which might actually grow on the remains of any shut branches.
By adamg - 3/31/10 - 5:53 pm
The BPL today released its detailed specs, one of which would seem to skew toward branches serving the well off: WiFi use, something only people with enough money to afford a laptop or WiFi-enabled smart phone would use.
Other criteria include amount of foot traffic, availability of a parking lot or public parking, closeness to a public school and city community center, accessibility to people with disabilities and ease with which additional computing and electrical services can be added.
By Anonymous - 3/31/10 - 11:58 am
NOT SUBJECT TO CLOSURE
Brighton, Central Library (Copley Square), Codman Square, Dudley, Grove Hall, Honan-Allston, Hyde Park, Mattapan, and West Roxbury.
By adamg - 3/29/10 - 11:33 am
Layoffs and staff re-assignments will be done systemwide by seniority, apparently, which means you could see all new faces behind the desks at your local BPL branch should the trustees vote on April 9 (two days after they get staff recommendations on branch closings - at an 8 a.m. hearing!) to shut up to eight branches and lay off 35 or so branch librarians.
By adamg - 3/28/10 - 1:51 pm
Supporters of BPL branch libraries marched to protest possible library closings today outside the main branch in Copley Square.
The march ended with a walk through the old and new wings of the library.
By adamg - 3/27/10 - 6:07 pm
From the Charlestown branch library at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 1. There's also a rally and read-in at the branch, which is not among the eight "lead" libraries designated for staying open, on Monday at 6 p.m.
By adamg - 3/27/10 - 2:55 pm
The People of Boston Branches plans a protest march around and then through the BPL main branch tomorrow (Sunday).
Starting at 1, protesters will march around the Copley Square library to protest possible branch closings and staff layoffs. At 2, protesters plan to march (silently, of course), through the courtyard of the McKim building.
By adamg - 3/24/10 - 3:37 pm
Boston Public Library President Amy Ryan gave trustees a financial plan today that calls for eliminating up to 69 positions among administrative workers and at the Copley main branch - even before any changes are made at the branches. Her plan also calls for cutting back in such areas as window washing - and typewriter and fax maintenance.
By adamg - 3/22/10 - 12:27 pm
Good news for city finances could mean good news for patrons of the Brighton BPL branch, along with fans of Curtis Hall in JP and the Shelburne Community Center in Roxbury.
By adamg - 3/21/10 - 8:42 pm
Mike Ball refused to take no for an answer when the Cranky Librarian refused to let him into the library's new Hyde Park history room:
... The librarian was firm that the room was closed, inaccessible, off limits. That made no sense and I stood my ground. Eyelash to eyelash, she blinked first. After repeating that it was closed, locked and inaccessible, she finally said that the head librarian might grant me access. ...
By adamg - 3/19/10 - 8:24 am
People of Boston Branches will hold a "sun-in" starting at 11 a.m. tomorrow in front of the BPL main branch in Copley Square:
Read, chat with your neighbors about their branch, about the library issue, and soak in the sun. No speakers, no organization. Just show up. The end time is 12:00PM, but it can go all day for all we care.
By adamg - 3/18/10 - 12:19 pm
Another BPL has an active donation program; could it work here?
Via Gretchen Bostrom.
By adamg - 3/16/10 - 9:02 am
Members of branch-library friends groups have started a citywide organization to push for enough funding to keep all 26 BPL branches open.
People of Boston Branches was formally organized at a meeting last night at the Connolly library in Jamaica Plain, according to Brandon Abbs, who organized a protest read-in at the Egleston branch on Saturday.
By adamg - 3/12/10 - 12:58 pm
Friends of the Friends of the Egleston Square Branch Library will hold a rally at noon tomorrow to support the city's branch libraries and demand none be closed as a way to bridge the $3.6-million budget deficit BPL officials say they face.
By adamg - 3/11/10 - 8:01 pm
The Jamaica Plain Gazette quotes city Councilor John Tobin on BPL officials: "They've said they don't have a list [of branches to close]. Of course they have a list."
The Gazette has more on Tuesday's hearing on BPL finances.
By adamg - 3/9/10 - 8:08 pm
The youngest library supporter: Paul Facklam, 4, and his dad
opposed the closing of the Roslindale branch
#bpl2010 - Twitter comments.
Addressing an angry if generally polite crowd of several hundred people at a budget hearing today, BPL trustees Chairman Jeffrey Rudman said that even in an ideal world, the nation's oldest public-library system simply has too many competing demands to address.
And this is far from an ideal world, Rudman said: The BPL faces a $3.6 million deficit in the coming fiscal year. "The arithmetic is the arithmetic, you can't do very much with it," he said.
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