InFocus featuring the Importance of Libraries

From the 22 News Plus studio, this is 22 News In Focus with Patrick Berry. Hello everyone and welcome to this edition of In Focus. I'm your host Patrick Berry. I have in the studio with me today are Tim Carabini and Eileen Chapman. Tim is from the state side of the, he's a commissioner and vice chair of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and Eileen is the director of the West Springfield Public Library. Thank you both. We're talking libraries, folks. You may be getting ready to change the channel but I urge you not to because it's a fascinating conversation and the reason I'm having this conversation is because libraries are so crucial to our everyday way of life which is why Tim and Eileen are here. So thank you both so much for joining me. Tim, I do want to start with you because you're, you look at libraries as a bigger picture across the state of Massachusetts. Explain to me a little bit your role. Sure, absolutely. First of all, thank you for having us. Very glad to be here also with Eileen. We've worked together previously as well. Yeah, so you know the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is, it's actually an independent agency within the executive branch and it is managed by a board of nine commissioners and there is a director of the commission itself and a staff of about 23-25 in that range. The MBLC, which I will probably use that abbreviation a lot, was actually founded in 1890. Now actually every state has a state library agency. We were the first and you will find libraries in Massachusetts General Law Chapter 78. It's all about library services across the commonwealth. I don't know all of the origins of what led to the creation of the MBLC but basically you know the MBLC has the authority and the responsibility for organizing and developing and coordinating and improving library services across the commonwealth. So I think from its founding it really spoke to our leaders in the state saying this is an important institution, we want to make sure that it's equitably available across the commonwealth, let's create this commission that will make sure that that happens and we've been in existence ever since. Now Eileen, you operate a local community library here in West Springfield. How closely do you and your counterparts across the state work with Tim and the commission? Well you'd be surprised almost, well a good portion of our funding comes from the state aid that is dispersed from the MBLC. So so long as we meet state standards that is you know hours open, staffing, municipal funding requirements, then we get state aid every year and so if you participate in the program that helps you to fund your materials that you circulate, your programs, your services, things like that. So we're always making sure that all of our standards are in place and that we check in. Honestly I've contacted the MBLC around reporting time weekly, they provide zoom webinars so that everybody knows what they're doing, it's a regular cooperative effort. And just I mean you two are both here today and it seems like a very supportive relationship, encouraging relationship, friendly relationship, I have to imagine it has to be that way to to sustain the local libraries. Yeah I would say that libraries in general, librarians in general, are a very collaborative group. We support each other, it isn't about oh we want to get all of your patrons at our library, it is we're offering this program would you like to offer it as well, or you know maybe not this one but the next time over. Right you know we have this art exhibit this month but if you haven't already checked out the one that's in Agawam you might want to do so. So Eileen you you hinted at a moment ago you get funding but how is is that how libraries operate funding from the state, do you do fundraisers, is it your local municipality, how do you how do you stay open? This is one of my favorite topics, we stay open, we the basis of almost every library is their municipal budget. Okay. And if you think about it based on statistics from the MBLC because that's another thing that the MBLC provides everybody is the hub of information, libraries in western Massachusetts especially are about an average of two percent of their municipal budget, so cities and towns you know you think about it schools are a huge piece, police, fire, huge pieces, council on agings are senior centers, libraries, park and rec, they're the smaller pieces of the pie, but unfortunately they're often the first ones that get a you know hard look when it comes to budget time. But of that two percent it comes to about fifty dollars again on average in western Massachusetts per capita, so of your fifty dollars we buy books, puzzles, puppets, games, toys, media kits, library of things which can be musical instruments, it could be cooking utensils, it can be gardening tools, it can be outdoor gear, I could go on and on and on with what libraries offer and that's just the physical things. I want to interrupt you because the library of things I just found out about that maybe within the last year or so somebody yeah I forget they were looking for like a frying like a big frying pan they were right it was like thanksgiving or something and somebody said oh check with the library there was a library and sure enough yes they got whatever cooking tool they needed. Exactly imagine we have microscopes and we have telescopes uh one library somewhere and I can't tell you where I'm sorry about that but I know they're near water and they circulate kayaks so you have submarines they have to have a good deal of storage more than we do but yeah we have we have some very hot spots in most libraries are very very popular library of things wi-fi hotspots borrow to take with you camping or something if you're out of the area or there are I mean a lot of schools supply families with hot spots and chromebooks etc but a lot of libraries are talking about the you know the adults that have or the seniors that are past you know having a business that gives them those kind of things so a lot going on there's a lot going on we've only just begun so stay with us we're back in just a minute we're talking more libraries we're back in just a minute this is 22 news in focus with Patrick Berry this is 22 news in focus with Patrick Berry welcome back everyone to this edition of in focus I'm your host Patrick Berry sitting across the desk from me today are Tim Carabini and Eileen Chapman and we're talking about it should be one of your favorite things it's your local library so thank you both so very much thank you Tim you're part of a a the commissioners of the Massachusetts libraries and would you say there are nine of you there are nine commissioners yes and as part of your role you are here in Western Mass do you offer guidance and support to all four counties of Western Mass just here in the Pioneer Valley well I am physically located here in Western Mass and and technically speaking commissioners are not we're not appointed based upon any kind of geographic consideration not at all I think that there's an awareness on the part of you know the administration that they want to have a nice spread of commissioners because part of our work with libraries is you know equitable access distribution making sure that the entire commonwealth is covered so I do tend to see the librarians in Western Mass in Berkshire County and also the Pioneer Valley more often because I am physically here but but we definitely across the the entire commonwealth I do I would say of the commissioners I am the one who is the westernmost at this point and I probably at our meetings would be the one to say how would that play in Western Mass interestingly though I've I was really pleased to see one of the programs coming out of the Massachusetts Center for the Book which is one of the organizations that the MBLC supports actually originated in the Pioneer Valley it's a it's a children's literature festival or kids lit fest as they call it in fact it's it's held annually every May and it started just in the Pioneer Valley they've opened a year or so ago they they started including Berkshire County as well it's so successful that's an example of something that now we're talking about hey could you take that further east real lots of times I think out here in the west we're waiting for something to come to us right now our way yeah but it's nice to be exporting something the our libraries as we stand today are considerably different than what they were in the 70s when I was when I was a kid going through you know through school our library is one of those organizations that you're constantly staying in touch with what's happening in the world and and the resources that people need and you know and I think about again the the opening comment was you know it's 2020 mid 20 mid-2020s what do we what do we need libraries for anymore I can open up my phone and I've got the world at my fingertips I can you know no more Encyclopedia Britannica's I've got Wikipedia so do libraries constantly change and update and to meet the needs of their communities I think you already know the answer to that I think that's a yes we have a lot going on at libraries and a lot of services that we provide as well I do want to mention that there's also between the MBLC and the local library there's also the Massachusetts library system which provides interlibrary loan service among every other thing that they provide including training and consultants etc etc etc the interlibrary loan ability means that within from library to library across the commonwealth 15 13 or 14 million items move from library to library in a year so anything you need we can get and we can go beyond Massachusetts as well so if you need a physical item generally not our library of things so much we don't move kayaks but books audios videos you name it those kind of things move within libraries and then at more local level there are how many networks in the system I believe it's nine nine so ours is cw mars which is central western mass automated resource sharing and they provide our technical our software our hardware they provide our online catalogs so those online catalogs and I want to get this right represent 167 libraries in central western mass so when you go online to see what's available it's amazing how much access you have and that is for 750 000 residents are affected by that so if I go online and look I'm not just looking at this is what's available at western library this is what's available within the network correct you can limit it to your library but then you can see what everyone else has and you can see most of the time there are a number of libraries that are able to put in their records before a book comes in so you can see something that's coming out you can put that book on hold months in advance oftentimes so we and and they also provide a central cataloging source so that small there are some very very tiny libraries in in western masses you're well aware of and so they may not have a dedicated cataloger it helps for those libraries to have this online catalog they just add their record to the main record so they have an item record of holdings record that goes on to the item record so that's wonderful but to get back to your original question and what we offer people that that you know how do we stay current it's I I have too many words trying to come out of my mouth at the same time there are so many programs and services that we offer that help people with job you know employment resources and difficult times that people are going through we often are looking to help people find those resources we could be doing story times we could be doing stem programs we could be doing there's a lot of lego clubs out there dungeons and dragons so those are programs that we do that keep us current in terms of what people are enjoying we do yoga meditation tattooing we have every library has something different that they offer but then there are the things that help people especially seniors for example who come in with the new device that they were given at Christmas by their children and they don't know how to use that I want to read the book but I don't know how to get to it so we provide tech help hours for a lot of those people we have always been doing that I would say that COVID did a really good job of bringing people closer to technology because we were for our hands we all FaceTime our loved ones because we couldn't see them in person exactly and more people that used to use the library strictly because they didn't have a computer then often went out and got a very you know bottom of the line computer but they still come in for free wi-fi because libraries almost everywhere offer wi-fi so so Tim the way Eileen just explained and what's happening in West Springfield do you see that across the Massachusetts network yes absolutely it might not always be kayaks but no and that's a very good point as well because I think that you know when we talk about the Mass Board of Library Commissioners we're a state entity I think that and Eileen mentioned that there are some other organizations kind of in the mix as well a couple of thoughts about that one is that even though the state has had the MBLC since what did I say 1890 you know we recognize that first and foremost what's appropriate for a community library it's determined at the community level so we are not in a position to say hey West Springfield you should be doing this or that I think one thing that we do that helps with that though is we help with the interconnectedness what Eileen mentioned about the librarians being connected and sharing information is incredibly impressive to me I've worked across other states as well and I don't believe that I've seen the type of communication among the librarians within a single state as much as I've seen here and you know the MBLC itself in some ways you know there's that analogy of you know there's there's the duck that you see above the water and then the feet paddling underneath you know in many ways calm and cool above water absolutely yes and in I think in the context we're talking about you know Eileen's library is the duck above water that you see right the MBLC is you could think of us as what's paddling underneath we the funding that we administer and that we provide from the state and that we use to incentivize municipalities to continue to provide at the local level is really funding some of these engines I mentioned the Massachusetts Center for the Book and the Literacy Eileen mentioned the catalogs and the regional networks and CW Mars these are all things this is all a framework the mass library system that is not necessarily fully funded by the MBLC but we definitely have a major role in that we're constantly advocating we have we have seven different budget lines and many of the budget lines our budget lines go to this kind of thing the we have in in Worcester and also in Watertown the libraries that serve the folks who have disabilities with sight you know blind and disabled that's another area that we focus on as well so we're very happy and back to your original question absolutely every time I go into a library I see or hear something that probably a number of things maybe something that I've always expected to be there because it was there when I was a kid right but I'm also seeing things that oh yes I've seen many libraries doing that but then I'm also hearing something that I don't know of another library that's doing that it's a very meet the needs of the community yes it's a very creative profession I would say very creative very good believe it or not folks we are up on our second commercial break time is flying but we've got plenty more library talk so join us after after this break this is 22 news in focus with Patrick Berry this is 22 news in focus with Patrick Berry hello everyone and welcome back today on in focus the topic is libraries joining me uh here in the studio is uh Tim Caravini and Eileen Chapman Tim's from the and I want to read this the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners but as you said the MBLC much easier rolls off the tongue a little easier and Eileen is from the Westbrookville town of Westbrookville Public Library thank you both so very much I think of I live in Westfield I think most most people know I think of the Westfield Athenaeum um and and its structure as an organization it's you know it's got guy who runs the runs the library and then it's got two I want to say community involvement elements there's like an elected trustees I think and then there's the friends of the library is that unique to Westfield or is that the structure of how libraries are everywhere maybe I'll start it's not unique okay I think that uh what the structure is actually varies according to municipality I think that you know elected trustees are very common in Massachusetts I think there are some trustee boards that are appointed rather than elected ours is yours is appointing him with uh friends of libraries is very common those tend to be uh 501c3 separate organizations some libraries also have in addition to that foundations that may have an endowment that they manage for the library but um yes when when it comes to uh trustees friends of the libraries and foundations if there is one those are great opportunities for community members to participate uh in the library and what it does in the community do you have both trustees and friends we do and ours our trustees are appointed and our friends just join if you can uh they are they're wonderful organizations the trustees participate there they have bylaws of their own and they are part of the town's charter so they exist uh at the pleasure of the mayor as you might say and they help guide the library in decision making and policy making they do not have anything to do with our staffing but some in some towns they do definitely get involved especially in the director's position and then and then the friends to your point in the 501c3 the fundraisers they are the fundraising arm of most libraries and they often run book sales or wine tastings they are very imaginative on their own and those two the trustees and the friends that's where you encourage the public aside from walking in and using the library but you encourage the public to get involved very much correct yes absolutely and i think um i mentioned eileen and i both talked a little bit about the interconnectedness of the librarians across the commonwealth well from the mblc standpoint we also attempt to foster connections between trustees and also friends groups we've offered training for new trustees uh in the past um we will often participate with um i know that the friends have planned at various points in time conferences where they're getting together and it's a little bit of a different type of animal um but you know it is really very much um if you're involved in your community and you want to influence what's happening in your community as we've been saying all along a lot comes from the library it's a it's a place where there are a lot of connections there's strong community strong civic life this is a great outlet for someone who wants to be involved and some organizations that support us besides ala american library association and mla there's also the massachusetts trustees um library trustees association and the friends of the association so there are many places to get involved at a state level if you'd like to also participate there we i think it's a good time to shout out to the special librarians and the academic librarians and the school librarians because they're you know it breaks down into some very niche areas but it's really important everyone does incredible work for their institutions so the three of us in this room are of a of a different generation we grew up using our libraries we were sent by our teachers to go to the libraries are the are today's students student aged children are they utilizing libraries or are or is it more of our age and you know the people that maybe grew up with libraries do you are the doors do you see younger people coming through the doors i guess is the question it's an excellent question i think i'll deal with this one i can say in uh in march we had 8 000 people that walked through the doors that's already taking away the people that walked out the doors this is just in the doors not staff and of those probably a quarter of them or greater are under 18 and that's because somewhat in you know story time um preschool level kindergartners but grade schools they come in they're looking a lot of times to do after-school work they use our computers our chromebooks line up on their chromebooks yeah it's a quiet time and printing is a huge piece because they may not all have printers at home or even the ones that have printers you you start watching every print job and every picture that has to come out and the parents are looking at toner and thinking the library will print this for 40 cents a copy exactly i might go that way instead and that's another offering that we we provide is is we provide back services and printing services and people can wirelessly send their print jobs so that there's that but on top of it there are also study groups that come in and work together on projects so we see all ages i will say that young adults are a hard group to capture because they have so many alternative things that they're a part of sports that's changed over the generation right right just yeah we have to we have to entice them with pizza and things like that so you'll find libraries doing some amazing and when i mentioned tattooing that was that's actually one of the programs if we set out a mini tattooing two-hour period we have people lined up to do the tattooing and dungeons and dragons is a popular group and teen advisory boards are popular across the state as we're nearing the end of our time here online libraries can all be found online you know you go to wspl.org that's right yes you do but you know you just we all have a presence you all have a presence online you can check out things online it's amazing too that that's where you quickly access our online databases and all of our online resources and our audiobooks and ebooks that are available through cw mars and from the state that are um you know that you can download to your devices and streaming services and what on and on and on but unfortunately our time does not i want to thank you both for joining me it's been a fascinating conversation it's great to hear libraries are still uh such a an integral and important part of each one of our communities so kudos to you for thank you and make your money back come into the library your taxes are going to your library use it fifty dollars a go and check out four books and come to any program and you've already got your money back i love it nice seeing you thank you both thank you this is 22 news in focus with patrick berry