Letter: Pick Schlegel For Goodnow Library Board

The following is a letter to the editor and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Sudbury Patch.

New faces and fresh thinking are the lifeblood of any organization that wants to remain relevant
and serve its community. This is especially true for municipal boards and committees, and the
Goodnow Library Board of Trustees is no exception.

Natalie Schlegel is that new face and fresh thinking. An accomplished leader and team builder
where she works at Bentley University, Natalie has kept her focus on the long-range goal of
maintaining international student study abroad in the midst of the most serious health
challenge in a century, Covid-19.

For over 30 years the Friends has raised funds and supported programs of value to the library
and the community; museum passes, drive-by book drop, the annual book sale, and notably,
programs in the Children’s room. The friends sole, dedicated purpose was to support the
Library. In a hasty decision earlier this year the Friends were vaporized in an instant when the
Goodnow Library board of Trustees voted to sever ties with the Friends of the Goodnow
Library.

The most harmful, and hurtful, aspect of the Trustee’s decision was to cause a loss of goodwill
and a sense of belonging to a beloved institution among the many residents who felt
themselves to be a part of the Goodnow Library.

As a good friend said to me, “We are all the Library”.

Something went terribly wrong among the Trustees that resulted in their decision to cut ties
with the Friends. Whatever it was, it was most regrettable.

New faces with fresh ideas are the first step toward rebuilding trust and restoring confidence.
Natalie Schlegel is seeking a seat on the Library Board of Trustees to do just that, restore a
viable working relationship between the Trustees and the Friends.

We have had enough divisiveness and harsh words. Civility and finding a way to ‘yes’ are the
path we should be seeking. Natalie Schlegel can set us along that path.

Please join me in voting for Natalie for Library Board of Trustees on March 29.

—Len Simon, Sudbury