Elitists want to steal Boston's own library system from it
I'll start by saying I think Tom Menino blundered big time when he maneuvered Bernie Margolis out of his job as Boston Public Library director - and then tried to smear Margolis by accusing him of ignoring the branch libraries, which he hadn't (as proof, let us consider the Menino wing of the Hyde Park branch).
But how dare some rich donor demand the state take complete control of the BPL away from the city (second page of this story) because the city accounting office wants to ensure library bequests are spent the way the donors requested.
Yes, it's wonderful that rare-book dealer Anne Bromer and her husband donated $110,000 to the library two years ago, and yes, one could argue that Menino is simply trying to exert even more control over the library system. But this isn't Rome in 410 and Tom Menino's real name isn't Alaric.
"This is a terrible, terrible thing," Bromer said yesterday. "This library has been built on the greatest confidence of people like myself. It is one of a handful of the greatest public institutions in America, but this mayor doesn't care. The treasures are phenomenal, and he's going to wreck it. He's got to be stopped."
You know what? In the current fiscal year, the BPL has a budget of $28.8 million. Most of that comes from city and state taxpayers. So it's really been built on the greatest confidence of yutzes like myself, simple taxpaying people who, collectively, contribute a lot more to the library than Ms. Bromer.
Where would our say be if, as Bromer and her elitist pals would want it, all city oversight were removed from the Library board of trustees? Independence from elected officials hasn't done much for the MBTA and, as somebody whose family uses a branch library a lot more than the "treasures" of Copley Square, I'm not sure it would do much for the BPL. If Bromer doesn't like the way the BPL is being run, the answer is to help elect a new mayor, not force taxpayers to fund her ideas of what a "public" library should be.
| 
| 
Is that the right interpretation of these events?
I saw it differently when I read the article -- the donors want to ensure that the BPL trust funds they established aren't raided by the city for purposes other than what the trusts were established for.
At the mercy of the Globe
So who knows that the real story is, but the way I read it, the previous policy was that the BPL turns over all its grants/bequests to the city, which then turned around and gave it a lump sum to spend any way it wanted. So, in theory, it was tthe library that could spend the money in ways not originally specified.
In any case, the Beacon Hill/Back Bay crowd has been trying for more than a century now to thwart the will of the electorate, because they fundamentally distrust the little people. Enough's enough.
Library's pot of money and the city
Who do you trust will spend the money more effectively and exclusively for the libraries benefit?
When exactly does the mayor get held accountable for any of the 100 substandard services we get for living in Boston, and why would that happen if he screwed up the library.
If I donated money to the library for a specific purpose
let's say, to buy historic maps, I'd want the library to ensure the money was spent for that purpose. I don't see that as an especially elitist thing to do, or an attempt to thwart the voters' will.
"In any case, the Beacon
"In any case, the Beacon Hill/Back Bay crowd has been trying for more than a century now to thwart the will of the electorate, because they fundamentally distrust the little people. Enough's enough."
-Adam G
I would love to hear more about how the Beacon Hill/Back Bay crowd has been trying for more than a century to thwart the will of the electorate. I'll bet it includes some combination of the Skull and Bones, Masonic Temple, and Knights Templar. I'll bet the Globe knows, but their covering the whole thing up!
/puts on tinfoil hat
OK, so I should take a deep breath
And perhaps not get so carried away with the rhetorical flourishes. Nevertheless, at various points the state has taken control of key parts of city government, including police (there was a time when the state appointed the city police chief) and, more recently, licensing (for awhile, the city had two licensing boards).
Not exacty
Until now, the Trustees were responsible for determining whether any spending met the requirements of the trusts. Now Menino will do it. Quite a different thing. Especially when he has a demonstrated history of raining other trusts to pay for things not related to the trust in any way at all with some sort of tortured "logic".
It's also not a stretch to thing he'll refuse to release any money unless the BPL knuckles under to some ridiculous political demand of his. I mean, it's not like he's never done that before, eh?
But if there's no evidence
But if there's no evidence of inappropriate spending by BPL staff, why is the mayor suddenly asking for this change?
The Presidents of the Boston Public Library.
The President of the Boston Public Library's response is one of the links in the sidebar at
boston.com...city_gets_a_say_on_bpl_trusts/
Note there appear to be two Boston Public Library Presidents -- the Chairman of the board and the President of the lib.
The president has been fired
There is a lame duck director of the library in place and when he leaves they will conduct a search. It would be crazy if they did not audit him.
That loser Margolis needs to go.
Administration and Finance Cabinet. Mayor. City Hall. Boston.
Scroll to...
Library Administration
after clicking on...
Administration and Finance Cabinet
at
http://cityofboston.gov/budget
see also
http://bpl.org/general/trustees/2008plan.pdf
http://bpl.org/general/trustees/charters.htm
http://www.cityofboston.gov/auditing/cafr.asp
http://www.cityofboston.gov/AdministrationFinance/
Alternatively
Instead of helping to elect a new mayor, she can literally build a library to her own specs and leave the BPL alone. Of course, while $110,000 is a nice chunk of change, that won't cover much more than groundbreaking.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Having worked in Boston
Having worked in Boston fundraising, I can tell you that 100K is chump change. Donors don't have the clout to start demanding changes for less than $1 million.
NH town library money was spent on dog food
Town: Library money was spent on dog food
BENNINGTON, N.H.—A selectman in Bennington says a routine annual audit shows that town-raised funds meant for the public library were spent on dog food, groceries and other inappropriate expenditures, instead.
The Bromers actually do have
The Bromers actually do have a decent idea of what they're talking about, but I would tend to agree that taking the library away from the city would be a bad idea. I think perhaps we just need a new Director for the BPL, like now. I know the search committee is working as fast as they can, but we need someone yesterday.
how psyched is the Zak right
how psyched is the Zak right now?
Not seeing an issue here
Look, the Bromers can whine all they want, but the library belongs to the city. By definition, a gift to the library is a gift to the city. As with any donation, you can purpose restrict it, which is the point of all these trust funds. But whether or not you restrict it, the receiving entity is under an obligation to follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. You cannot direct that the city renounce a fiduciary responsibility just because you don't like the administration.
And if you are worried about the city making off with the goods, that is what auditors protect against. Frankly I'm shocked that the city has been so lax up until now. I'm the finance director at a non-profit (much smaller than the Library) and there is no way that I'd allow a subsidiary entity to keep its own books without at least establishing a significant internal auditing procedure. Now, you can argue that the city should go that route, rather than taking complete fiscal agency, but either way, the city needs to closely monitor how the money is spent.
Compare New York Public Library
Compare New York Public Libraries
http://nypl.org/pr/annualrpt.cfm
http://www.local1930.org/
Menino as vampire
A different view on the BPL situation from the Phoenix.
Mumbles has a history of
Mumbles has a history of leaving top level jobs in his administration empty for years when one of his insiders leaves for greener pastures. Now, after years in office, he needs to make changes in the operation of the library? What, he's done such a great job with the Fire Dept? The guy who runs the copy machine has to take a drug test, but not public safety employees? Tommy was never exactly a natural leader, but he's turned into Captain Queeg.