Yesterday, in light of the, uh… let’s say somewhat dramatic happenings at the library, the Board of Trustees agreed to have a big zoom call with all of them with comments from the public.
The governance of the Free Library is really weird. It’s half-run by a City agency’s Board of Directors. It’s half-run by the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation. The Board of Trustees I’m referring to in this story answer to the Board of Directors… I think. But they’re all like, big donors, so you’d think they’d be part of the Foundation? Maybe they are and I’m wrong.
Don’t worry if it confuses you. It confuses the boards, too. I saw one quote of one of the board members saying something like, “Do we answer to the Mayor? We ask that question all the time.” (But I can’t seem to find the source of that quote right now- if you happen to know where it came from, email me!)
So we’re on this Zoom call, right? And one of the first things we notice is how none of the Board seems to care while staff members are passionately making their arguments. Something else we notice is how one of the board members, Robert Heim, appears to maybe put his phone down on a table and then leave? We didn’t see him for a vast majority of the stream, just his ceiling. It wasn’t that great of a ceiling.
One guy (whose name I have since forgotten) even took a phone call! And left his camera on!
It’s not looking great for the Trustees.
After the members of Concerned Black Workers spoke, they opened up for comments to the public. I was actually surprised they chose my submission, though I don’t know how many they received.
I don’t remember exactly what I said, and if they’ve posted the video anywhere I haven’t yet seen it. But it went something like this:
“The consulting firm, DiverseForce, claimed that you guys ‘didn’t know’ about the culture here at the Free Library. But it’s a library. We’re information professionals. Siobhan Reardon often bragged about one time she won Librarian of the Year. Disseminating information is the whole purpose of this organization- and you ‘didn’t know’? I don’t believe it. Come on, it’s not that complicated.”
Which received a polite nod and a “thank you”. Maybe this is my perception, but it felt like that level of acknowledgment was more than most of the other speakers got. And that feels wrong as hell, especially since all I did was figure out a roundabout way to call them ignorant.
More details on the call here.
I just… there isn’t much hope inspired here. At the end, they said it was a “listening session” and they didn’t really acknowledge anyone’s points.
I mean, how hard is it to say “I am anti-racist”? I’ve met Drumpf supporters willing to at least say that much.
Come on, it’s not that complicated.
That’s so INCREDIBLY disappointing. I hope things get better soon.