This sixth installment of seven bite-sized episodes on the transformational impact of new libraries focuses on the community’s response to the new building. While we may think it is about voicing awe at the architectural details and the aesthetic beauty, the loudest response is in the use. Our panel of dedicated library administrators from across the Commonwealth, who represent urban, suburban, and rural libraries share what they have noticed and heard the most since opening their doors.
This sixth installment of seven bite-sized episodes on the transformational impact of new libraries focuses on the community’s response to the new building. While we may think it is about voicing awe at the architectural details and the aesthetic beauty, the loudest response is in the use. Our panel of dedicated library administrators from across the Commonwealth, who represent urban, suburban, and rural libraries share what they have noticed and heard the most since opening their doors.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 00:00
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 Sara. A befitting end to Lauren's decade long legacy before her retirement, we are bringing you the sixth of seven bite-sized episodes that capture the transformational impact of six new libraries via the words of their directors and assistant directors. This episode focuses on the community's response to the new library. We welcome our panel of dedicated library administrators from across the Commonwealth who represent urban, suburban, and rural libraries. Thank you for sharing your stories with us. Let's begin with introductions.
Lauren Stara 00:43
I'm Lauren. I am the library building consultant for the MBLC.
Celeste Bruno 00:48
I'm Celeste Bruno, communications director at the MBLC.
Mark Makuc 00:53
Hi, I'm Mark Makuc. I'm the director of the Monterey Library.
Patrick Borezo 00:57
Patrick Borezo, director of the Hadley Public Library.
Rachel Breen 01:00
I'm Rachel Breen, and I'm the director of the Norwell Public Library.
Barbara Kerr 01:05
I'm Barbara Kerr. I'm the director of the Medford Public Library.
Jean Canosa Albano 01:09
I'm Jean Canosa Albano, the assistant director at the Springfield City Library.
Hermayne Gordon 01:14
My name is Hermayne Gordon, and I'm the director at the Woburn Public Library.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 01:18
Thank you all again for joining us. So let's just jump right into today's topic, which is how has the community responded to the new library. So we'll start off with Mark from Monterey.
Mark Makuc 01:30
Fortunately, our planning board was doing a master plan last year and did a survey so we didn't have to do any of the work. And they listed all the attractions in town and other places and things that you could do. And they had 380 respondents, which was a pretty good number for this size town. And out of the 380, only three people were unsatisfied. 68% were very satisfied, which was the highest ranking possible, and which was 20 points higher than the next on the list. You know, granted, as I've said before, a lot of these things were things like the Appalachian Trail or the Lake Garfield beach, but I was happy to see that people in town really do appreciate this. They saw the work going on, they've come and used it, and they're happy. And like I said, I'm really happy that it was the survey done by someone else. It wasn't just the choir; it was the whole town. I can't believe that all the people that were happy have been here yet. But it's really good to know that they're really happy with it. So our job is to find those three people and get them in here.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 02:40
Sometimes I feel like you can't satisfy everyone, but 68% is amazing and wonderful. That's great. Patrick, how about Hadley?
Patrick Borezo 02:51
I don't really have a specific quote or story, but we have so many interactions every day with people. We've always had a lot of support in the community. And we've always had people that believed in the mission of the library that, you know, were appreciative of what we do. But I think definitely since we moved into the new library, and it's just such a game changer and such a great addition to the community, a great improvement to the community, we get so many comments that are just very casually appreciative of what we're doing. And it's just like, well, we're coming to work and doing our job, but it's much appreciated. It's really great to be noticed and appreciated in that way, for just doing a good job and doing it, you know, in a facility that people feel like is adding something to their lives. We just get that feedback all the time. And it's a great feeling.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 03:33
And that's great for those daily boosts, right?
Patrick Borezo 03:36
Yeah.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 03:36
Especially in the climate we're in right now with what's happening in libraries. That's really nice to hear. And Rachel, how about Norwell?
Rachel Breen 03:45
The response to the new library has been, you know, overwhelmingly positive. We've been open for two years now, and we are still getting first time visitors who haven't been in since the old library and are just blown away by the new facility and everything we're able to offer now. One of our library associates shared with us that one day a patron came up to the main desk and told her, "I love your library. It's better than going to church." So it's been wonderful to get such positive feedback. And you know, we're just so grateful for the community support and, you know, love of the library.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 04:18
That's part of that serene environment. And Mark, when you were talking earlier about the fact that your deck, your porch is being used for meditation space, it's really taking care of the community in a holistic way. That's great to hear. Barbara, how about Medford?
Barbara Kerr 04:34
We're a hit. People were very happy, very pleased with it because the old building was it was old. But Medford's funny because we don't have, I think I mentioned before, there's no adult education. There's no art center. There isn't another building or institution that's kind of the central community center. And we planned that. That's actually written into the grant application was we wanted to be a center for community activity, which we really are, and it's kind of like everybody was like, "Oh, thank god, there's somewhere to go now." So the people are meeting there, and people are working there. But the thing that I'm really enjoying is the nanny brigade, because we had people before when they came to the storytimes, they wanted to stay afterwards and socialize. But there wasn't anywhere to go. And now, in the morning, the coffee cart people are braced for the nannies because they come in, and they go to storytime or lapsit, and then they're in the cafe. And it's a lot of them. And the kids are having snacks, and everybody's having coffee. And it's a real community, because they're sort of isolated in their homes with the kids, but they can come there. And a lot of them are ESOL people so they can talk to each other. And that's the kind of thing that has been happening. There's just a lot of groups that now there's a place to go. And the nannies have the best relationship with the kids who work on the coffee cart, too, because they know who they are. Everybody knows the names of the nannies, they know the kids names, and they dared one of them to eat a hot Cheeto, and he did, and he got a round of applause. And it is actually now a community center, and that that was what we wanted. So it worked. You're creating bonds, and you're also welcoming people into the community where otherwise they may not feel tethered to something in the community. That's amazing. And that's- we did a strategic plan- that's one of the things is to pull more people in there too, because the pandemic was isolating. And there are a lot of people of all ages who are just kind of "There isn't somewhere to go." And now, we've also had to get a liquor license about nine times because it turned out to be a really good party space. So...
Andrea Bono-Bunker 06:37
I think partly when you think about the design of all these buildings, you can see the activity that's happening inside from the exterior, right? So people who are going down High Street in Medford are like look at this lit up space at night that's being utilized for certain functions. You know, it's like an advertisement in itself for you can come here, you can be here, you can learn, you can connect, which is wonderful.
Barbara Kerr 07:05
Drink.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 07:06
Yes, drink. Have hot Cheetos.
Barbara Kerr 07:10
All purpose library.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 07:12
You're like Cheers. You are cheers.
Barbara Kerr 07:14
Yes, exactly.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 07:17
And Jean, how about in Springfield?
Jean Canosa Albano 07:19
It's so fascinating to see the same threads going through so many of the stories, so I echo what my colleagues here are saying in so many ways. But I'll just add, again, that staff, some of whom are new and never even experienced the old building, are overwhelmed by how much praise people who come in either regularly or as newbies, how much praise they heap on the library about how welcome they feel and how the building kind of surrounds them to help them feel welcome. Not just the staff, the way the building was designed in and of itself with special attention to what people's needs are, whether that be the furnishing, or there's so much natural light coming in and vistas going out through all of the windows that we have throughout almost all of the walls of the building. You know, we have folks who come in just to sit in read the newspaper or to contemplate the meadow that surrounds the building. Another thing that I have experienced is taking people on tours of the building, including folks from other libraries. And I've heard more than once, "I can't believe this is just a branch." It is very large, but it needed to be in order to accommodate all the things that people wanted to have available to them in their neighborhood branch. There's some people who've been coming to East Forest Park branch for a long time and do remember the old building are always commenting about how much better this is than the old building. But we also have folks who, because it's the shiny new library in Springfield, they come visit it, and it's inspired a lot of things. It was maybe a motivator for our neighbors in our East Springfield branch library neighborhood to rally together to say, "Okay, what can we have in our neighborhood?" So we're currently working on a project to be able to submit an application to either expand or rebuild the East Springfield branch library. So that has rallied another neighborhood together. And then we're so excited that in the current fiscal budget, we received additional funding because of the enthusiastic use of East Forest Park branch, the municipal budget includes funding for two more full-time librarians who have recently started working there. So I'm sorry, I don't remember who it was who mentioned the concept of the positioning of the library so that it's more visible to people who can make decisions about funding. They really saw how much of an impact having this branch in one of our neighborhoods has had on residents, so the investment was made to staff it even better. So we've added two staff members, and we've added nine additional hours to the branch schedule.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 10:11
And that's a testament not only to usage but also to service. And this service prompts that usage, right? So that's fantastic. And Hermayne, how about in Woburn?
Hermayne Gordon 10:22
Oh, there's so many stories. I mean, this one really stumped me, because I was like, "I hear this stuff all the time." I have to say, again, as I said earlier, people come into the space and they go, "Wow." And they're just overcome with joy to be in the space. I mean, people come from everywhere, but especially in our community, they come in, and the other day, somebody came in and said, "Oh, it's so good to see you. Everybody's so happy, I love being in this space." And it's something about the whole atmosphere. It's the aura. It's the people in the building. It's everything that we're trying to do to bring people in and help them to feel that this is their place. You know, all of the little things, you know, from the displays that go up. It's greeting the people. It's also the really great stuff that we do in terms of just making the building welcoming, making the teen room a great place for the teams to come in and know that it's their space, because they can actually do stuff in there. There's a wall that they can write on and do things like that. So I can think of one thing. I know community groups are always happy. I do my very best to make it so that anyone who wants to come in here, any group from the community, we figure out a way to get them in, and if we can't get them in the program room, the Richardson gallery, the fireplace area has been a great space for so many programs. And that's a gift that keeps on giving. We've have musical programs in there. We've had ESL people meeting and English at large conversation groups in there. We've had the poetry slam in there with the teens. And we try to make it so that we can offer them a space to do what they need to do. So I can't think of one specific quote that stands out, but I think it's just a general joy of being in space. And, you know, that makes me very joyful to know that people are happy in this space.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 12:14
And something else that we talked about was these library spaces and the beauty. Even if it's brand new and doesn't have a Richardson component, they're still beautiful, and all of them are beautiful in different ways. And that really does change the way people feel about being in a building. So for staff, it's so important, it's so important to give staff space, so that they can actually perform their role to the best of their ability. It's amazing.
Hermayne Gordon 12:46
It's great for the staff, especially the staff that was here and worked through the older building and the renovation and everything. It's just really great that they have a place where they can work off-desk and get stuff done and do planning and everything is very well used and much appreciated.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 13:03
Because the work feels valued, and then the community feels valued.
Hermayne Gordon 13:08
Yes.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 13:08
That they're given such beautiful space to use for free.
Hermayne Gordon 13:12
You know, a lot of our immigrant families can't believe that you don't have to pay to get a library card. "For free? We get..." Yeah, absolutely. And everything is here you can use. It's amazing. Yeah.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 13:22
Thank you, again, to all of you for sharing your story or your stories, because it really is difficult to find just one about how the community has responded to these new library buildings. I do want to end this episode with a quote from Emily Anthes. She wrote this wonderful book called "The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape our Behavior, Health, and Happiness." So if you have some time, you should pick up a copy. It's fascinating. But she says, "This is what good design does. It expands what's possible. It nudges us in the right direction, supports cultural and organizational change, and allows us to express our values. Good architecture can help us lead healthier, happier, more productive lives, create more just humane societies, and increase our odds of survival in a precarious world. It can be the infrastructure on which we build a better future, even if it doesn't make us immortal." Thank you to all of you who are listening today. We hope you join us for the shortest episode in our seven bite-sized episodes on transformational impact. It will be about the cycle that a lot of libraries find themselves in and how new buildings break that cycle. Until next time.