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 Stara. A befitting end to Lauren's decade long legacy before her retirement, we are bringing you the last of seven bite-sized episodes that capture the transformational impact of six new libraries via the words of their directors and assistant directors. In this episode, we ask our panel of dedicated library administrators from across the Commonwealth who represent urban, suburban and rural libraries to share any final thoughts about their experiences. Let's begin with introductions.
Lauren Stara 00:40
I'm Lauren. I am the library building consultant for the MBLC.
Celeste Bruno 00:46
I'm Celeste Bruno, communications director at the MBLC.
Mark Makuc 00:51
Hi, I'm Mark Makuc. I'm the director of the Monterey library.
Patrick Borezo 00:55
Patrick Borezo, director of the Hadley Public Library.
Rachel Breen 00:58
I'm Rachel Breen and I'm the director of the Norwell Public Library.
Barbara Kerr 01:02
I'm Barbara Kerr. I'm the director of the Medford Public Library.
Jean Canosa Albano 01:06
I'm Jean Canosa Albano, the assistant director at the Springfield City Library.
Hermayne Gordon 01:10
My name is Hermayne Gordon, and I'm the director at the Woburn Public Library.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 01:15
Thank you all, again, for joining us. Does anyone have anything that they want to share that we didn't cover? Anything that from listening to other stories, or statistics, or any transformation that's happened in their communities has prompted?
Barbara Kerr 01:31
One thing: it's getting some political clout out of a new building, because it's very visible- it's on the main street- very popular. We had a lot of support before or we wouldn't have gotten the building. But now like all of the city councilors, and the political candidates who are running for things now are saying, "Well look at this, look at this thing that we built. This is great. Why aren't the other buildings in the city like this? How are we going to get this maintained?" We got a couple of really serious budget bumps last few years because it did generate so much support, and people were mad because we were underfunded. We couldn't be open Saturdays in the summer the first year, because we didn't have enough people. And it's a really good bargaining tool, to say, "We've got all these numbers. We've got all this popularity. We need more people." So I find that that really is it's a very powerful tool to work with for increasing the library's stake in the city.
Jean Canosa Albano 02:28
Right, that's that positioning of the library that I was talking about. You know, I mean, or it's akin to that, I should say. And just when people come and see, be a city councilor, or whoever it is, state reps offering office hours, they really get a chance to see how much people are using the library. How all this extra space that was added with the new library or a reno is allowing more residents, more constituents to do more things that they want to do, and a great variety of them.
Andrea Bono-Bunker 02:58
And I think so often, when you think about your former building, there was probably this cycle of under-utilization, because you didn't have the spaces that people were looking for or needed to serve their interests or what they really needed to accomplish. And it becomes this vicious cycle of, "Well, you don't really have the numbers that are proving that you need more." But then, I mean, it is "Field of Dreams": when you build it, they will come. You know, and this happens in every community. And there's always that argument of “Well, why do we need it, it's not being used well.” But when you do build it, when you create it -and these buildings are built through a community engagement process, right? None of them are just one person sitting down saying this is what we need for our library. This is really the manifestation of the community's wants and needs in their public spaces. And showing how when you're responsive to that, and when you actually do listen to what they want and need, they use it, and they come, and you are the community connection point. And when you think about it, you are the town entity that creates the most goodwill of your citizenry. So people come, they don't have to spend any money, they get resources, they get socialization, they get connection, and it's a really beautiful thing. Anything else that anyone would like to share? It sounds like we may have already covered everything about the transformational impact of your libraries within your communities. So thank you so much for sharing, and to everyone who is listening. If you're on the path toward a new library, it can be a daunting undertaking, but we hope that you can take heart in the fact that every difficult conversation you have, every obstacle you encounter, and every hour you volunteer or serve in the name of progress on these projects, pays off tenfold for your community. Thank you, again, for tuning in. Until next time.