Woburn Library Leadership Resigns, Citing 'Political Takeover'

WOBURN, MA — Woburn Public Library Director Bonnie Roalsen submitted her resignation Tuesday amid a battle for control of the library between the Board of Trustees and Mayor Scott Galvin.

Roalsen's resignation was submitted to the trustees and is effective March 24, according to the letter she provided to Patch. Assistant Director Rebecca Meehan also submitted her resignation Tuesday, effective Friday. Both letters are available at the end of this article.

Roalsen cited the "political takeover" of the library in her letter.

The resignations come hours before a City Council meeting with Roalsen's job at issue. Galvin has proposed special legislation to give the mayor the power to appoint and remove the library director, an authority currently held by the trustees. Galvin's bill would also end the Board's unusual lifetime trustee structure.

"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. "It reduces this library to nothing more than a political tool, which is not what I signed up for when I accepted my position. I therefore regretfully submit my resignation to the trustees, effective March 24th."

The proposed legislation would likely take months to come into effect — it requires state approval — but the council showed support the first time they discussed it, Feb. 2. And a battle for control of the Board of Trustees is already well underway.

Galvin already moved to remove the Board's president, Jan Rabbitt, in January, although she is fighting her removal. That was followed by the resignation of Trustee Judith Kelley and the nomination of replacements for two trustees serving expired three-year terms.

While the recent action around the library was sparked by a Jan. 19 meeting where it emerged that two trustees had been excluded from a recent meeting, it traces back to a conflict over the summer over potential layoffs. 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. The trustees received, and attempted to fight, a series of Open Meetings Law complaints and Public Records Requests.

Roalsen has argued that her critics are taking a short-sighted view and that she is trying to adapt the library to a changing world.

City officials said they had no authority to intervene in the conflict until the Jan. 19 meeting. With Rabbitt's removal, Kelley's resignation and the two replacements, the director's faction, previously seven of the board's nine members, would have only four remaining.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.

The following letter was provided by Woburn Public Library Director Bonnie Roalsen:

February 16, 2021

Dear Woburn Library Trustees,

Woburn should be proud of its new $31.5 million addition. With the new building came the opportunity to do great things, to bring library services into the 21st Ce along the way, serve every part of the Woburn community. But a modern building without modern ideas is just four walls and rooms full of shelves. 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.

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. Successful public libraries will be the ones that change to help people and communities meet the challenges and opportunities of post-pandemic America. Libraries are sources of knowledge and information, the foundation for launching explorations of the unknown, for individuals and for entire communities.

I truly love this library. However, 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. It goes against our innate desire for intellectual curiosity, exploration and experimentation. It reduces this library to nothing more than a political tool, which is not what I signed up for when I accepted my position. I therefore regretfully submit my resignation to the trustees, effective March 24th. I wish the library and those committed to its future as a vibrant place for growth and change all the best.

Warmly,
Bonnie L. Roalsen
Library Director Woburn Public Library

The above letter was produced by Bonnie Roalsen. The views expressed are the author's own.

The following letter was provided by Woburn Public Library Assistant Director Rebecca Meehan:

Dear Director Roalsen:

For the past several years, the Woburn Public Library has worked toward your vision of what a library should be (this is in line with some of the great libraries of the world). Once you see that vision for the library, you can’t unsee it. You’ll never look at a library the same way.

Most, but not all, of the trustees understood that vision. It is clear Mayor Galvin and the city council either did not understand that vision or choose not to believe it. Their plan for the future of the library looks more like 1950s America than the impending, radically different post-pandemic world. For this, and for the small-mindedness of the political takeover of the Woburn Public Library, I am deeply saddened.

This library came so very close to being put on the map. Now it’s being set back decades by local politics, during the most challenging time of the past hundred years. So many dedicated trustees fought so hard to build the library’s $31.5 million addition. They could have just settled for their names on a plaque on the wall. But they understood that a library that isn’t actively engaging the community in all its corners was just another pretty bit of architecture, a historical footnote.

Watching them become so engaged was amazing. They became a team and put even more effort into achieving the next goal because it would be an even bigger gift to the community: A library that would help prepare Woburnites for a rapidly changing future.

It’s painfully clear that neither the mayor nor the city council understand the role of a modern library and how the world is changing. A library isn’t just supposed to serve middle-class white mothers of seven-year-olds. We are supposed to offer something for everyone, from toddlers to seniors. We are supposed to serve new Americans. We are supposed to be a gathering space for everyone, regardless of race, national origin, sexual orientation or religion. We are supposed to welcome all people that make up the fabric of this city.

These necessary changes are far more than cosmetic. They are urgently needed to help the community face the unprecedented pace of technological change, for people to remain relevant in the face of automation, and to find a place in the inevitable societal restructuring now taking place. All of these will affect and influence programming and services of a modern library, from toddlers who will one day join a vastly different workforce, to the elderly navigating a digital world, and everybody in between. Defiant ignorance of the future, coupled with naked political agendas and cronyism, will never serve the library or the community well. For that reason, I regretfully tender my resignation, effective at the end of business on February 19th.

Rebecca Meehan

The above letter was produced by Assistant Director Rebecca Meehan. The views expressed are the author's own.