[Summit] PCL

Fri Mar 1 16:36:33 UTC 2013

All,

I find it puzzling and worrisome that a PCL Board member would authorize publication of her anonymous letter, which seeks to publicly justify a decision that apparently cannot be discussed publicly by the Board.

Assuming that there is an open hearing on this, which I expect there to be, I will definitely be there.

There's a Facebook page aimed at asking PCL to either justify this decision or have it rescinded. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Tom-ODonnell/342323785884587?fref=ts  185 likes less than 24 hours is pretty impressive. They are asking people to contact the Mayor's office at (401) 421-2489 to "tell them that we want PCL to explain why it fired a good librarian". Or send a letter to: Mayor Angel Taveras, 25 Dorrance Street, Providence, RI 02903.

Several people have asked for the email's below.  I'll note that the City Council does not have a direct say in PCL operations.  However, the Council does appoint one PCL Board member and contributes 75% of the $4.9M PCL budget, so they have a definite interest in making sure that the decisions of the director and the Board serve the public trust and the interests of the community.

Council President Michael Solomon ward5 at providenceri.com<mailto:ward5 at providenceri.com>
Councilman Kevin Jackson Ward3 at providenceri.com
Councilman Sam Zurier Ward2 at providenceri.com

best,
Tom Schmeling
12th Street

On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 9:32 AM, <smasri1 at cox.net<mailto:smasri1 at cox.net>> wrote:
A friend of mine who is very involved at the Providence Community Libraries sent this to me today and gave me permission to send it out to the listserve.  I am not weighing in one way or another - I just wanted to send something from the perspective of someone who is deeply involved at the Library.

Dear Friend and Rochambeau patron,
As you know, I have a long history of involvement with the Rochambeau Library; as a patron since 1964, a Friends member since  the early 1980s, as a board member of the Friends of Rochambeau from 1996 -2004 and as its president from 2003-04. Partially as a result of my experience of being the president of the  Friends, I worked with other individuals throughout the city to try and make the Providence Public Library more responsive to the needs of the branches and their communities. When that didn’t happen and PPL was on the brink of closing 5 branch libraries, four of us, in 2009, founded the Providence Community Library which now runs all nine neighborhood libraries in the city of  Providence. I am currently a board member of PCL.
 You may have heard that Rochambeau librarian Tom O'Donnell is no longer in the employ of PCL.  A number of Rochambeau patrons have questioned that decision. At this time, even though Tom can choose to talk about the situation, PCL can not. As the employer, PCL is restricted by law from giving particulars about any person who leaves its employment.  However I would like to assure you, that the decision was reasoned and made with the best interest of PCL and the Rochambeau library in mind.
Tom of course has the right to have the decision reviewed by PCL's Performance Review Committee. Perhaps at that time the facts will be developed and both parties will have the chance to have their viewpoint understood. However, please be assured that the Board and Staff of PCL shall take all steps necessary to insure that Rochambeau continues to remains the vibrant community library it has evolved into since the founding of PCL.
 I greatly appreciate the interest and support you have shown for the Rochambeau library and for PCL and hope you will continue to be actively involved with the library.
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