Woburn deserves better—and so does the library staff

July 17, 2020

To the Editor:

Having been the Children’s Librarian for the Woburn Public Library for 17 years (2000–2017), I am appalled at the train wreck that was once a thriving library.
● Director Bonnie Roalsen has made the library an inhospitable place for all patrons and the staff, in particular those staff who have dedicated *years* to the library.
● She has chosen automation over the human touch, which is antithetical to the friendly, helpful community resource the library is and should be.
● Ms Roalsen no longer has the use of volunteers after they discovered they were being used to keep library staff from working. I am curious to know what she does with her time, since she is not responding to the phone calls, letters, and emails of concerned citizens, nor is she updating the web page to keep patrons abreast of developments, Programming, checking in, appropriately packing book boxes, timely delivery of requests and said boxes, and shelving books doesn’t appear to be happening. Services are next to nonexistent. Blaming the pandemic is an excuse; other libraries are finding ways to function and keep their staff working. Woburn is certainly not getting their money’s worth of her annual salary of $105,000.
● The Trustees who worked so hard to see the library renovation and expansion through to its conclusion are now abdicating their responsibility by failing to reign in the destruction of services being perpetrated by Ms Roalsen, and compounding the issues by failing to answer the community’s questions, and maligning community members as “misinformed,” rather than admitting they are rightfully concerned.
● The Trustees also assume the attitude that they are primarily the reason the expansion project was successful, ignoring the fact that the hard labor that went into cleaning out,downsizing and moving the library was due to the cooperation, hustle, muscle, and dedication of the very staff they are abandoning now.
● Roalsen and the two assistant directors, Rebecca Meehan and John Walsh, were approved for an $11,000 junket to England. That money could have been better used for staff building and training the entire staff 2-3 times over. Having the money at hand doesn’t mean it should be used for the benefit of three administrators when the results of that trip have not contributed to the function of the library, at least so the rest of the staff and library patrons are aware.
● The renovated and expanded library is just over a year old. Why is so much additional money being spent on still more technology?
● Six of the nine Trustees voted to cancel their July meeting when it became clear that upset residents would demand answers for the chaos being caused in the library. They may try to hide, but they still owe the community an explanation for their failure to get the library safely open, fully staffed, and running smoothly.
● Mayor Galvin has once again shown how much he despises the library, whether that is because he doesn’t use it or because, when he challenged the Library to prove there was support for the expansion, he was shocked at the number of “Yes to Our Library” signs that indicated how out of touch he was with his constituents. He has singled out the library out of every other city department to furlough the staff. To think that eliminating their salaries is going to have a huge impact on Woburn’s budget is downright laughable.
● Mayor Galvin has also shown how little he knows of the operation of the library, having decided, in his infinite wisdom, to allow only degreed librarians to work. Library assistants are vital to the operation of the library. They are paraprofessionals who know what has to happen out front and behind the scenes, providing support services while degreed librarians handle the professional aspects, such as book selection, technical service, programming, and outreach.
● Mayor Galvin is fully aware that the FY2021 budget passed with library staff salaries fully intact, yet claims that there may be a significant shortfall in the future. Given the fact that he has stated in multiple articles that the city has a comfortable financial cushion, and also given that library staff salaries are lower in many cases than other city departments, it’s clear he is lying. He and Bonnie Roalsen must have other plans for the salaries of those furloughed. They appear to be complicit in this decision.
● It’s obvious that there is no transparency whatsoever on the part of Galvin, Roalsen, and the Trustees. Further, because of this situation, not only has the Minuteman Library Network sent a strongly worded letter, but is considering withdrawing Woburn’s membership. Want to borrow from other libraries in MLN? It won’t be happening. Other library networks may also refuse service to Woburn residents. Why should their taxpayer dollars provide you with services, when your own tax dollars are being squandered?

I am sick at heart, knowing that a terrific staff is, through gross mismanagement by Library Director Bonnie Roalsen, languishing at home, wanting to work but not being able to, despite Ms Roalsen’s utterly ridiculous claim to the contrary. Her behavior in Woburn is consistent with her behavior as the Dedham Public Library Director, where she focused primarily on adding expensive technology, alienated staff, drove a wedge between the staff and town officials, as well as trustees, and left that library in turmoil. In my opinion, her behavior in Woburn should elicit a similar outcome, i.e., resignation or termination.

As for the Trustees, two have exceeded their terms of office and have stayed on through the laziness of Mayor Galvin to replace them. The six that refuse to be accountable to Woburn residents have failed in their responsibility to the community and the library, They should be removed from office. Likewise, lifetime appointments should be phased out, so that there is fresh blood and new ideas, couched in the current needs of the community, not Roalsen’s siren song of “technology only.”

Mayor Galvin must be held accountable for singling out the library for his personal vendetta. It is shameful, and does not speak well of his leadership. “A comfortable cushion” and “furloughing library staff for economic reasons” demonstrate he is talking out of both sides of his mouth.The actions he is taking appear to amount to union busting, and certainly do nothing to improve the working relationship among administration, professional, and paraprofessional staff. He has failed to appoint new trustees. The library is a community resource, not a political football.

Finally, the citizens of Woburn need to stand up and demand their tax dollars’ worth of library services. You have a world-class library in the center of town that your tax dollars paid for. The staff is also world-class, and doesn’t deserve this shabby treatment. I hope you fight for what you—and they— deserve.

Cynthia Fordham
Children’s Librarian (retired)
Woburn Public Library
Saugus MA