Bostonians Deplore “Downloadables” as Branch Substitutes

“Not the computers, not the high-tech, not the downloadables,” said Boston resident Maria Rodriguez at a March 9 Boston Public Library board meeting. “Libraries are about books and librarians. I didn’t hear anything about that in your vision.” Rodriguez was one of nearly 400 people who came for details about the planned closure of as many as 10 of the city’s 26 library branches and the layoff of up to 25% of the staff in order to address a $3.6-million budget shortfall for FY2011, the Boston Globe reported March 10. [...]

Ironically, when the board of trustees, under direction from Menino, declined in 2007 to renew the contract of then–BPL President Bernard Margolis, the Menino administration accused him of neglecting the branches in favor of the historic Copley Square main library—an assessment refuted by his supporters and by Margolis himself. “While he did a great job restoring the main branch in Copley, I believe the board is looking to expand their search for a new director, someone who would be interested in looking more at the branches,” Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce told the Globe.

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/03162010...