Blast from the past

A few weeks ago, I saw an announcement from the East Baton Rouge Public Parish Library that "Dr." Michael Bielawa would be presenting a program on baseball. Well, I thought, "Is that the same MB who worked for me at Bridgeport Public Library and wrote a book about Louisiana baseball (oh, and Bridgeport baseball, too)?"

Emails followed, and yes it was "my" Michael B. When I was City Librarian there (2000 - 2006) he was head of Community Relations, and along with Michael R, would sometimes "cover" the office.

Well, this morning, I got a call, and we met for coffee (along with his charming, artist wife Janice) at PJ's on Maple Street. [I think this is the original PJ's location.] We had a great hour plus of reminiscing and catching up. [Shout out here to all my BPL friends...we talked about you. In so many ways I miss you, but I am enjoying my new life.] There was some sadness in hearing about the difficulties at BPL, but I also know that all of you are strong competent people who will survive!

I am in a better place for me, and am happy. Check with Michael B when he gets back!

[Edited on Monday, 3/30 to add links and correct the name of the EBRPL.]

Library Funding -- i.e. Public Library Funding

I was reading the latest issue of AL Direct. Several stories jumped out at me, but this is the first I will blog. It is about the funding issues facing the Hartford (CT) Public Library. But first some background.

Over half of the "public" libraries in Connecticut are not municipal libraries. What? I can hear my non-New England colleagues cry. Well, in Connecticut, and other primarily New England states, there is a tradition of having public library service provided by an organization which is a legally incorporated, tax-exempt [501(c)3, usually] corporation. Besides Hartford, other notable cities in Connecticut with this arrangement include Stamford, Darien, Wilton, New Canaan, Redding [the Mark Twain Library], and many others. Each community has a unique history and different level of funding. I am intimately familiar since I was the Library Director for the Wilton Library Association for almost a decade.

So, the Hartford Courant ran a story that the City wants to take over the public library because the Library Board is closing two branches. Well, HELLO!!! The reason why is that there is not enough money!!!

Look at what is happening in Bridgeport, which is, by the way, the LARGEST city in Connecticut by population! Here is the Library Journal article (which is not the latest news, but the latest I could find using the Connecticut Post's inadequate web site and search engine).

I have news for Eddie Perez and other mayors/city managers. It costs money to keep the Library open. If you don't provide the money, choices will be made. They are hard choices. They are not what Library staff members want to do.

AFTER YEARS AND YEARS OF BUDGET CUTS, THERE IS NO FAT IN LIBRARY BUDGETS, AND IF YOU CUT FUNDS, HOURS MUST BE CUT!!!

That last is in bold, italics, and all caps because I am trying to yell!

Another Loss

I earlier mentioned my personal and the CT library community's loss with the death of Jan Gluz. This week I received further bad news with the death of Margaret Paylor. While Margaret did not have the same impact on the Library community, she did have an impact in Wilton. Margaret was the Business Manager at the Wilton Library Association. The obituary summed her career at the library in a simple sentence which very much understated her influence.

Margaret was hired by Dan Wilson in the 1970s as the Business Manager. When Dan left, Yvonne Given became the Library Director, and was succeeded by Joan Foster. I became the Director in 1985. It was my first experience as a Director, and first experience running a 501(c)3 organization. We wrote all our own checks in Wilton. That meant that payroll and all the other bills were paid every other week. That was a lot of checks to write.

Margaret taught me a great deal about cash flow, budgeting, budget negotiations, and dealing with the auditor. The simple sentence in the obituary clearly understates her worth to the organization.

After I left Wilton, Karen Ronald became director and was then succeeded by the current director, Kathy Leeds. Karen was director when Margaret retired, and was nice enough to invite me to that party.

Many times, Margaret and her husband, Bob, would take time in the summer and canoe in the Allagash Wilderness in Northern Maine. I never understood why they kept going back until the summer of 2004 when I had the opportunity. I canoed the length of the Allagash with a group of Boy Scouts. It was a great 70+ mile seven day canoe trip to an incredibly beautiful part of New England.

So in the last two weeks, I have lost the two library business managers who trained me, and taught me a great deal. I owe them a lot. (The good news is that the Business Manager at the Bridgeport Public Library is younger than I and is in great health, and my current Business Manager is also in splendid health.)

A Loss -- Personal and Professional

I have spent part of the last 24 hours or so reeling from the news which I received from a couple of my Connecticut friends/colleagues. The Business Manager for the Connecticut Library Consortium died on Sunday. Prior to that she was at the Southern Connecticut Library Council where I worked from 1995 - 2000. Her name was Jan Gluz. I know that when I started there, she and the rest of the staff were very nervous. Among other things, it was the first time that a man had worked there. Since my Connecticut library experience had all been in a different part of the state, I was also an unknown quantity.

The note which went out on the Connecticut lists (and which Executive Director Chris Bradley kindly sent to me) included some wonderful stories and comments about Jan, I am going to past Chris' words, and then add some of my own:

Jan was someone on whom so many of us in Connecticut's libraryland knew we could always depend. Jan started at the old film co-op in Seymour. … Then there came (and went!) the CLSUs, and Jan went to Hamden for two decades with SCLC, which is where I suspect she developed her signature phrase, "I'll give it a shot!" When CLC appeared from the merger of the CLSUs, Jan gave the job of office manager/bookkeeper a really good shot.

In Jan's office at CLC in Middletown sits a Mac, a PC, and a typewriter, and Jan used them all. (Although she never refused to give any new technology a shot, Jan knew enough not to go unarmed into the night!) She did betray her conservative Midwestern roots by voting Democratic, but Jan was always an old-school money manager, keeping the books and the money safe from the big-spenders like yours truly. People who did business with SCLC and CLC during the Jan years always got paid on time, could always count on their paperwork being correct, and had their inquiries answered not only competently and completely, but friendly-like.

Jan had edited SCLC's newsletter for years, and so quality control for CONNtext also fell to her.

It is the last which became part of Jan's and my enduring relationship. When I started at SCLC, I was scared to death about having to create (almost from scratch) a monthly newsletter. I doubted my writing skills, and had never used anything other than a word processing program to "lay out" a newsletter. Jan was "a doll" in getting me started. In addition, I had to transition from a DOS-based PC to a Mac! What fun we had over the five years of doing the newsletter, including two complete re-designs. We "fought" over commas and other punctuation marks, we discussed grammar at great length, we searched together for appropriate graphics and dingbats, and we talked about type size and fonts. In short, we worked really hard together on the newsletter, and had fun doing it. Jan was probably the best editor I have ever had, as well. She often had me re-write for clarity. I am an incredibly better writer for having had her edit me for five years.

Jan is one of the people who remind me why I do not like to use the term "professional" to designate librarians with degrees. Jan did not have an MLS. However, she was always the consummate professional. She treated members and vendors with equal charm. She made sure that the organization was on firm financial grounds and that the reports balanced to the penny! She was a true professional in every single thing that she did.

When I left, I know there was true sadness, and we saw each other frequently at library related events during the remainder of my time in Connecticut.

There is an obituary and information on the memorial service, which I cannot attend, alas. You can rest assured that on Saturday morning, she will be in my thoughts and prayers.