This is a union position, Local 4928 Mass Library Staff Association. Libraries are sources of knowledge and information, the foundation for launching explorations of the unknown, for individuals and for entire communities. Gravity Maze. I will reiterate what I said at the last trustees meeting: The world is changing at a rapid pace-a pace only accelerated by the pandemic. Members of the library's staff said they have offered to provide many services, including both virtual programming and curbside pickup, but have been told not to. 2016 - 20193 years. Prospector. Once you see that vision for the library, you cant unsee it. "As library director, I want to set the record straight. Thats my kind of place, and its why we have robots you can play with, and 3D printers, and telescopes that you can sign out. That's what happened when we recently met with Bonnie Roalsen and Rebecca Meehan, director and assistant director, respectively, of the Woburn Public Library. The above letter was produced by Bonnie Roalsen. There are reports of public inquiries into her ability to spend municipal funds and questions of relying on favoritism for her hiring. They include: This impressive list of accomplishments is par for the course with Roalsen. He had books on the first floor and electricity experiments on the second. And I thank the Trustees for the opportunity to share my vision and our upcoming strategic planning process with you. Classifying the Home Rule Petition backed by the council that night as nothing short of a power grab, embattled Library Director Bonnie Roalsen tendered her resignation right before the City. gov ekagrbtyw@fuunf. We have not renewed any memberships since late last year. But a modern building without modern ideas is just four walls and rooms full of shelves. Still, its a solution that I and others are hoping is temporary. Contact. "We're all in this together," Roalsen said. For today's episode, Samantha is joined by Dorrie Karlin, Bonnie Roalsen, Mayor Scott Galvin and special guest Captain Jack Sparrow! Part of the librarys strategic plan is to establish a solid foundation to support not only STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) technologies and literacies, but also to look to the future and support GRIN technologies (Genetics, Robotics, InfoTech, and NanoTechnology). A small group of vocal people, driven and encouraged by actors and agendas outside of Woburn. ", Roalsen noted that due to the pandemic, "the library will not return to full, normal operation anytime soon. E-Mail: office@black-bonnie.de. Try getting more specific and search using the city, state, or specific location. She was honored by the Library Journal as a 'Mover and Shaker' in 2007 as an emerging leader and changemaker in libraries for her work transforming libraries and helping them move forward, and is now a nationally recognized speaker, innovator and educator in the library science field. Just visit radaris.com and key in the name of the lost family member in the search bar. Encourage entrepreneurship. Why? Roalsen's leadership choices reflect poorly on the city's administration, the board of trustees, and the legacy of the library as a whole. It's the perfect gift for Valentine's Day Bring your mini-DIYer into Lowe's at one of the select time slots. Bonnie Roalsen Tech Integration, Cultural and Knowledge Organizations, Libraries, Blockchain, AI, Innovation Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States 402 followers 398 connections Join to connect. A public campaign in support of library staff morphed into a broader conflict, with multiple staff members resigning amid other complaints about the library's leadership. Its all about adapting. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a17c0ec0fbc0bff "The pandemic has accelerated that timeline and forced us to do things in new ways.". Bonnie Roalsen Library Director, Woburn Public Library, USA Arthur Robbins Library & Information Centre Manager, Roche Products Ltd, UK Iain Robertson Digital & Information Services Officer, South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture, UK Brian Rogers Director of Library IT, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (USA) Roalsen gave a lengthy statement defending her tenure at the library. Bonnie Roalsen, Director Dedham Public Library 43 Church Street Dedham, MA 02026 781.751.9281 Margaret Connolly, Chair Sarah Santos, Study Resources Main Menu by School by Literature Title by Subject by Study Guides Textbook SolutionsExpert TutorsEarn Main Menu Earn Free Access Upload Documents Refer Your Friends Earn Money Become a Tutor The views expressed in this post are the author's own. In her editorial, Roalsen argued that cuts are in fact necessary and defended the library's offerings during the pandemic shutdown. That director, Bonnie Roalsen, announced her resignation today, claiming the library had been reduce[d] to a political tool. It is true that Woburn mayor Scott Galvin has begun to seize an awful lot of power over the library in the last month, but it may have been his best option for cleaning the mess up there. Im not trying to tell you a meteorite might hit. refused to comply with Galvins attempts to discontinue her contract, Support Woburn Librarians Facebook advocacy group, disastrous trustees meeting on January 19, we need to have a talk about censorship. I have spent the last 15 years of my career broadening the services and materials that libraries provide. Union negotiations are held between the mayors office and the union. Click to reveal This decision comes after long consideration of the circumstances in which we find ourselves with the current administration and Board of Trustees of the library. Want to post on Patch? Huge increase in number of library events offered to the public for free - with broad appeal across the community, resulting in a dramatic increase in community utilization and visits to the public library. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. As I have said since my very first interview for the job in Woburn, a library is far more than a storage facility for books. Bulks. Roalsen's resignation was submitted to the trustees and is effective March 24, according to the letter she provided to Patch. Youll never look at a library the same way. Library Director Bonnie Roalsen stepped down in Feb. hours before Woburn City Council was due to discuss legislation to give the mayor the power to remove her. The Endicott branch library has also been renovated, removing the old shelving which blocked the windows and beautiful views out over the Endicott Estate grounds. Callan, We urge you to listen to your constituents and put a stop to this plan to lay off the library's staff. Its what Woburnites should expect of their library. The future had never been more uncertain. Given her former staff members say this anti-staff behavior was well underway before she came to Woburn, it is unfortunate that she is now in a position to engage in what looks like transparent union-busting. 2 Men Shot; 1 Dies In Early Morning Shooting In Woburn: Police, Woburn Teachers Ratify, Staff Ratify Contracts To Strike, MA Has Another Mega Millions Winner After $31M Ticket Sold In Woburn, Dive In Commonwealth Virtual Information Session, Free Online Mindfulness Session: Taming the Overactive Mind, Author Event with Sociologist Amanda Freeman, Taxes in Retirement Seminar at Woburn Public Library, Free MA Community College Outlined In Gov's Budget, Woburn Area Pet Adoption: Little, Roland, Hootie & More, Woburn Area Prospective Homeowners: Look Through 3 New Properties For Sale. Carli Coco Roalsen treasured infant daughter of Bonnie and Ron Roalsen of Wellesley and beloved sister of Noele and Caleb. The news has left her many admirers deeply disappointed. See 9 social pages including Facebook and Twitter, Hours, Phone, Fax, Email, Website and more for this business. Getting the marble through the towers requires logic and reasoning skills. Internet Archive logo : +49 (0) 7681 / 20 632 - 0. This is an area that has been accelerated by the pandemic, making this more possible than ever before thanks to technology. tl;dr: Woburn Public Library is intending to lay off all of its staff in July, despite their salaries being approved in the FY21 budget. Radaris isnot acredit reporting agency and does not offer consumer reports. Attorney General Maura Healey said that the library trustees had one of just five intentional violations she found last year. The Dedham Public Library is now a vibrant institution and a nationally recognized example of excellence, demonstrating how libraries can thrive and prosper in the digital age. The library's staff can offer services and programming from home, as scores of libraries throughout the state have been doing for months; however, it looks like the scant programming offerings for the next month will be provided by private performers and not qualified library staff. I therefore regretfully submit my resignation to the trustees, effective March 24th. "The city predicts it could take two years to return to pre-pandemic levels of revenue generation. She opened up the building to the community as a place for learning, as well as a place for having fun.. A future where, as I said before, in a decade, 800 million people could lose their jobs to technology. The litany of accomplishments and innovations that have transformed Dedhams libraries have wowed the entire community. Radaris does not verify orevaluate each piece ofdata, and makes nowarranties orguarantees about any ofthe information offered. The library now offers multiple gaming areas and ways to experience Virtual Reality (immersive learning experiences) both in the library and out in the community, as well as offers users an opportunity to learn about drones, their applications across industries, and the chance to learn to flyall for free. Bonnie Roalsen Follow Spatial computing, blockchain, platform design Advertisement Recommended BDW16 London - Jonny Voon, Innovate UK - Smart Cities and the Buzz Word Bingo Big Data Week 83 views 18 slides QR Codes - fad or fab - at Alt Becta Successful Deployment Workshop andyramsden 1.5k views 16 slides DEDHAM, MA - Earlier this week it was announced that the Dedham Public Library's Director Bonnie Roalsen has been wooed away to become Director at another public library in Massachusetts, details. Get Bonnie Roalsen's contact information, phone numbers, home addresses, age, background check, white pages, resumes and CV, places of employment, public records, social media profiles, arrest records, publications, work history, news and related names. As Paul Reynolds, founder of the Dedham Library Innovation Team, a local, non-profit library advocacy group, notes, While we understand that Bonnie was offered a tremendous professional opportunity, we cant help feeling wistful after witnessing the astounding revolution in services, programming, and community engagement that she brought to Dedham. Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin sent Rabbitt a letter Jan. 27 removing her from the Board after an acrimonious recent meeting where it emerged that two members had not been informed of a meeting. This letter is in response to the email sent by the Woburn Public Library on September 4, 2020 which introduced the new community-run program called "Zoom Pods". "The political takeover of this library-of any library-is incredibly dangerous, and goes against our core values as Americans, a treasured legacy since Ben Franklin founded our nation's first library," Roalsen wrote. Bonnie Zeldin Rosen #68105 License Status: Active Address: Rosen & Rosen LLP, 18301 Von Karman Ave, Ste 410, Irvine, CA 92612-0111 Phone: 714-939-0111 | Fax: 714-978-7347 Email: jcrin@eotfm. Roalsen integrated technology to expand the publics access to content and foster digital literacies needed in the modern world with a passionate focus on equitable access, no group went untouched or unhelped by the Directors new initiatives. The views expressed here are the author's own. Libraries were ALWAYS meant to be places of knowledge, curiosity, pushing boundaries, and sometimes some really crazy experiments. Bonnie Rosen Consulting. Skip to main content Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. The Friends have become invisible to the library administration, Trustees and Foundation. "Unfortunately, many skills of library staff do not translate to the digital world of a pandemic," Roalsen said. Karte laden. "The pandemic has accelerated that timeline and forced us to do things in new ways.". The library not only updated its book collections, but also added objects that can be checked out to expand opportunities for experiential learning across a wide variety of topic areas - including a telescope, sewing machine, robots, and more. It goes against our innate desire for intellectual curiosity, exploration and experimentation. Paracetamol capsule tablets, 16s: 0.35. Before coming to Dedham, she was working as Head of Youth Services at Dover Public Library, where her hard work over her 15-year tenure helped the library earn recognition by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as one of the best small libraries in North America in 2012. The ongoing dissolution of the Friends of the Woburn Public Library is a cruel attack on the city's residents, particularly its children. The volley of Open Meeting Law complaints kept coming one after the other through the summer and the fall, but it seems like the final straw was the disastrous trustees meeting on January 19. Before coming to Woburn, Bonnie Roalsen, a 2007 LibraryJournal Mover & Shaker, was director at another Boston-area library, Dedham. Rabbitt called her removal illegal and a lawyer for the trustees sent Galvin a letter saying the mayor lacked the authority to remove her and she remains on the board. No member of the administration attended either event. This isnt about personalities. I am pleased to report that despite all of the obvious challenges, we are open. Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com. "When I took this job less than two years ago, that modernization had already been in the works for years," Roalsen wrote. The following statement was provided by Library Director Bonnie Roalsen: Thank you. These successes have come despite an ugly attempt by politicians to remove our trustees, and then grant the mayor the power to hand-pick new trustees and a new library director. This drives new ideas, new services, and new funding streams. WOBURN, MA Woburn Public Library Director Bonnie Roalsen wrote an op-ed in the Daily Times Chronicle, Wednesday, presenting her version of events surrounding the library over recent weeks. The election of new corporation officers was postponed, keeping Seitz and Clerk Kathryn Thifault in place. <> This is a union position, Local 4928 Mass Library Staff Association. Sen de bir konuda kampanya balatmak ister misin? That changed everything, opened our doors and brought people back to work. b***@oburnpubliclibrary.org. Executive lead and advisor to technology start-up, media, brand agency, and non-profit organizations on business development . The statement above was produced by Woburn Public Library Director Bonnie Roalsen. She cited other libraries that have laid off or furloughed staff, such as Brookline. This is shameful for those who committed these acts, and an embarrassment to Woburn. Home; Products. Marilyn Peirce. Performance & security by Cloudflare. I felt the need to speak the truth, and to face the future with honesty. With financial support from Dedham Library Innovation Team, the library added 5 Raspberry Pi 2 mini-computers, a Flight Lab wind tunnel, supplies to support STEM instruction for library patrons, chalk spinners, deskcycles and Starling literacy devices, as well as funding assistance for other library programs. endobj So what brought us to this moment, and why now? Tel. We felt it was too late to secure an offsite location and that our reservation should have been honored. Bonnie Roalsen is the Library Director at Woburn Public Library based in United States. Without bold new ideas melding with the best of the old, without new ways to explore knowledge, new ways to provide more equitable access, new ways to capture and share the diverse voices and histories of the city, new ways of developing the library as a platform to truly serve all of the city, a public library is merely a static warehouse for books. Click here to review the details. Chrome Extension. "It reduces this library to nothing more than a political tool, which is not what I signed up for when I accepted my position. "The city predicts it could take two years to return to pre-pandemic levels of revenue generation. It is not just about knowledge made available by the library. On Thursday, the Minuteman Library Network's directors said they would reconsider Woburn's membership if the city went forward with cuts. Privacy Policy; Legal Notices; Terms of Use; Children's Online Privacy Policy 2023 pure unhinged ideology, on woburned part 2: people dont actually want the neoliberal library, review: Resolving Liberal vs. Conservative Conflict in the Workplace webinar, 1/14/21. The number of early childhood and youth programs have dramatically increased - all free to the public with much assistance from the Friends of the Dedham Public Library. Roalsen shares, It has been a distinct pleasure to work for the Library Board of Trustees and with the Dedham community as we transformed the Dedham Public Library into the highly utilized community resource that it has become. Despite these challenges, we have been guided by the pillars of our 2017-2020 strategic plan, which included transitioning away from lifetime trustees. Prepare patrons for a future no matter how scary or foreign that it may be: cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, climate change, etc. Galvin's bill would also end the Board's unusual lifetime trustee structure. It will not be difficult for library workers to continue working and contributing to the community if they are given the opportunity to do so,but their jobs must stop being outsourced to volunteers and outside performers.Ms. % Bonnie Roalsen is a Library Director at Woburn Public Library based in Woburn, Massachusetts. Adolf-Ruth-Str. On Thursday, the Minuteman Library Network's directors said they would reconsider Woburn's membership if the city went forward with cuts. Our success in remaining open has come despite enormous pressures: the COVID19 pandemic, social distancing, and moving programming online are the obvious ones. The librarys entire IT infrastructure has been overhauled, resulting in increased utilization of the entire system from computers to WIFI, increasing digital content access and digital utilization of facilities by 717%. "We're all in this together," Roalsen said. Thomas Crary. WOBURN, MA Woburn Public Library Director Bonnie Roalsen wrote an op-ed in the Daily Times Chronicle, Wednesday, presenting her version of events surrounding the library over recent weeks. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. 6a. Roalsen cited the "political takeover" of the library in her letter. This caught the mayors attention in a way we hadnt yet seen. Greatly expanded library hours providing equitable access to public services for working individuals and families. The Dedham Public Librarys makerspace is now recognized as one of the finest in the region with its virtual reality systems, 3D printers and 3D scanner, interactive coding station, digitization area, and immersive learning stations. 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Predicts it could take two years to return to pre-pandemic levels of revenue generation statement above was by... Some really crazy experiments agency and does not verify orevaluate each piece ofdata, and non-profit organizations business! Two years to return to pre-pandemic levels of revenue generation and for entire communities to common... Each piece ofdata, and makes nowarranties orguarantees about any ofthe information offered for working individuals and.! Late last year necessary and defended the library in her editorial, Roalsen noted that due a..., Local 4928 Mass library staff Association committed these acts, and to face the future with honesty and..., trustees and is effective March 24, according to the digital of! An embarrassment to Woburn stop to this plan to lay off the library according! It goes against our innate desire for intellectual curiosity, exploration and experimentation furloughed staff, such As.!, such As Brookline trustees, effective March 24th its children, according to the she! To pre-pandemic levels of revenue generation some services may be impacted therefore submit... Not return to full, normal operation anytime soon do things in new ways. `` effective! Key in the name of the lost family member in the absence of Rabbitt than... Can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker @ patch.com world of a pandemic, making this more possible ever! Other libraries that have transformed Dedhams libraries have wowed the entire community So brought.
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