Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Construction Team
From our daily work, we know that newly renovated, expanded, and constructed libraries are transformational for individuals, families, community groups and the staff that serve them. It is time to celebrate the results of so many people working long hours, overcoming adversity, and investing millions of dollars all for a public good. Welcome to the first in a seven-part series of bite-sized episodes that capture the impact six new libraries have had in their communities via the words of their directors and assistant directors. This episode focuses on one story- one story of hope, one story of connection, one story of growth, one story of an about-face, and more.
From our daily work, we know that newly renovated, expanded, and constructed libraries are transformational for individuals, families, community groups and the staff that serve them. It is time to celebrate the results of so many people working long hours, overcoming adversity, and investing millions of dollars all for a public good. Welcome to the first in a seven-part series of bite-sized episodes that capture the impact six new libraries have had in their communities via the words of their directors and assistant directors. This episode focuses on one story- one story of hope, one story of connection, one story of growth, one story of an about-face, and more.
Andrea Bono-Bunker:
Welcome to the Building Literacy: Public Library Construction podcast which is brought to you by the library building specialists at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. I am Andrea Bono-Bunker, and I am joined by my colleague Lauren Stara. A befitting end to Lauren's decade long legacy before her retirement, we are bringing you seven bite-sized episodes that capture the transformational impact six new libraries have had in their communities via the words of their directors and assistant directors. This first episode focuses on one story of the new library's impact on an individual family or community group. We welcome our panel of dedicated library administrators from across the Commonwealth who represent urban, suburban and rural libraries. Thank you for being willing participants. Let's put some names and libraries to voices and start with introductions so our audience can ace the test at the end of the episode.
Mark Makuc:
Hi, I'm Lauren. I am the library building consultant for the MBLC.
Celeste Bruno:
I'm Celeste Bruno, communications director at the MBLC.
Mark Makuc:
Hi, I'm Mark Makuc cook. I'm the director of the Monterey Library.
Patrick Borezo:
I think I'm next. I'm Patrick Borezo, director of the Hadley Public Library.
Rachel Breen:
Hi, everyone. I'm Rachel Breen, and I'm the director of the Norwell Public Library.
Barbara Kerr:
I'm Barbara Kerr, I'm the director of the Medford Public Library.
Jean Canosa Albano:
I'm Jean Canosa Albano, the assistant director at the Springfield City Library.
Hermayne Gordon:
My name is Hermayne Gordon, and I'm the director at the Woburn Public Library.
Andrea Bono-Bunker:
So our first question about the transformational impact on your communities have your library project is to please share one story of the new library's impact on an individual, family, or community group. So Mark, we'll start with you.
Mark Makuc:
Yes, we have a large senior population in Monterey, and Monterey being very, very small, there really weren't other places for people to meet. And I was approached by a gentleman who wanted to start a Parkinson's support group. And he had a lot of requirements. It needed to have audio visual capabilities for the presenters, so they could do their PowerPoints and present remotely. They needed cordless microphones that could be passed around for those who couldn't speak loudly. It needed to have enough space so that they could split into two discussion groups, one would be for those with the disease, and one would be for the caregivers. It needed to be, of course, completely accessible. And this is all about one year into the pandemic, so they were all concerned about the health issues of, you know, getting together and they needed to feel safe. So it would never have been possible with the original library. It's taken off. And now the first Thursday of every month, they come from all over with their canes or walkers, their wheelchairs, they come to the library, and they get together. And it's really, I feel one of the most rewarding things that I can see happening here.
Andrea Bono-Bunker:
And we got to witness that at one of our board meetings out at Monterey. It was an amazing sight to behold to have those members of your community gathering and seeing what the project allowed them to be able to do. Patrick?
Patrick Borezo:
Yeah, so I think similarly, I would like to highlight an age group and a demographic. And for us, I would highlight our ability to serve young adults in a way that we were never able to do in the old library, which was a very old library built in 1902, that really didn't have a space. We had to kind of shoehorn a space into the basement for young adults to gather, and it was always an uncomfortable fit. And now having a dedicated YA room has allowed us to really welcome that age group into the library with a space that is their own. It's the kind of space where it, for them, it feels semi private. For us, it's easily monitored by a small staff. We can, you know, kind of contain the noise, let them be themselves. And one of the great things about our location is that we are so close to both Hopkins Academy, which is the public high school and middle school for Hadley as well as have the elementary school- we're kind of in the center of a very walkable neighborhood. And both of those schools are easily within walking distance. So we get a lot of kids that come over after school, as I'm sure all of you do. You know, we have kids that are spending 2, 3, 4 hours here in the evening. And I think this is really kind of a game changer for us in that, you know, we're able to host these kids after school, they're able to start to explore their own independence as teenagers and young adults in a space that's, you know, it's safe. Parents can feel comfortable that they're going somewhere where they know, you know, that it's going to be safe and supervised. It's just really been a huge change. The feel here after school is really dynamic. And it's really interesting to have this mix of young people and older folks and young families coming in with young children. It's very different than it used to be.
Andrea Bono-Bunker:
And that teen space, they've really made it their own. It feels so lived in and then also has such personality to it that reflects the teams that are using it.
Patrick Borezo:
Yeah, we're really proud of how it turned out.
Andrea Bono-Bunker:
Rachel?
Rachel Breen:
I think in a more general sense, I think the library has had a major impact on the community as a whole. You know, especially as we've begun to emerge from the pandemic. After a couple of years of isolating working remotely, I think having this warm, welcoming space available for people to use, again, has provided the community with a sense of normalcy and a community space to interact with one another, again. We found over the past two years, the library has really become the go-to place for community groups, friend groups, and I think, you know, when the new library opened, it really created a deep appreciation for, you know, our library and its services.
Andrea Bono-Bunker:
Thank you! Barbara?
Barbara Kerr:
For us, it's all about the meeting spaces, because Medford doesn't have community education. It doesn't have an adult education program at all, doesn't have an art center. And we were trying to sort of fill that space for the community, but we had one room that we were trying to use for our stuff. So there were a lot of things that we really wanted to have, and we just couldn't make it work. And now we have a lot of rooms The thing that I am most excited about is the ESL programming, because there are several groups in the area who wanted to do it at the library, and we just couldn't make it work in the past. And now we have two of them who they do weekly classes. And then we were able to get a grant from the city to offer citizenship classes as well and Spanish language classes. So it has made such a huge difference to have a lot of meeting space so that you can, you can have three things going, you can have five things going on at the same time. It's the ability to provide space for all of those groups to reach out really to the underserved populations in the city who we knew they were there, but we couldn't get them into the building. So that has made a huge difference. We're very, really happy about that. That's what I'm most excited about.
Andrea Bono-Bunker:
And that's great for this time period, too, because English as a second language courses and classes are really hard to come by, as our state strives to help those who are newcomers to our country. So that's wonderful that you're able to offer that. And Jean?
Jean Canosa Albano:
Good morning. I keep finding myself nodding in agreement with what so many folks have said, and that creation of space for community gatherings has been so important for us at our East Forest Park branch library in one of our neighborhoods in Springfield. Other than that, I was thinking back to some of the people that I was listening to as I was crafting the narrative for the grant that helped us build this beautiful new building and hearing about how the neighborhood is one where people tend to move in and stay. So we see people throughout that cycle of lifetimes- of when its new homeowners, and they're exploring ways to improve on their recent purchase by using library resources, or young families through the lifecycle through seniors who stay in their homes for a long time. So one of the great things about having the new library has been that it's large enough and connected yet segmented- if you can picture that- enough for many generations to be in the library at the same time and the opportunity for cross pollination. You know, I see people attending the writing group, for example, have many different ages and stages in their lives, so that we're bringing people together, building communities, and letting people learn from each other who might not cross paths outside of the library doors.
Andrea Bono-Bunker:
And that connection is so important for all of those generations and stages of life, right? And it creates resiliency in a way that I think is being studied more and more, that community connection. And Hermayne, how about in Woburn?
Hermayne Gordon:
So there are a couple of stories. One thing I'd like to share is that our migrant population is being served as a safe space. The group family and community engagement coordinated that we provide space at the library so that kids can get registered for school, and it also provides an opportunity for us to provide library cards to families, whole families. So that's one important impact I think that we are making. We also have had a huge uptick in people working at the library post-pandemic. It's just a great space for people to be in, and they really do like working from here. And then the other one is more anecdotal where people come in and they always love the building, you meet them and they're just like in awe of the space. And many from surrounding communities have also made Woburn Public Library their home because it's such a beautiful space to be in, but we were one of the libraries that offered browsing during the pandemic and so they got used to being in the building and, of course, being around the staff. So those are a few things.
Andrea Bono-Bunker:
I love the breadth of stories but also the connection that different libraries of different sizes have in terms of who they're serving. Groups of all ages and circumstances are finding the library a welcoming arm of the municipality with resources and services that assist them in their own unique journeys, too. So thank you all for sharing. This is a great segue into our next bite-sized episode, which focuses on patrons you may have not seen in the library before your project was completed, and how those new spaces are really calling people back or bringing new people in. So thank you for listening, and we hope you'll join us for our next bite-sized episode.