Submitted by Marleen Nienhuis
The renovation process of Library Park on Tremont Street began with a public hearing last week at the South End Library. A new layout of the park was proposed and received numerous comments and suggestions. Details have not been firmed up but the broken bluestone center will be replaced with a meandering path of shaded concrete; the patio between the library and the park will be expanded and opened up by eliminating the existing gates and columns; rain gardens are planned with curved seating; and numerous long-overdue infrastructure improvements will be made. The budget is limited ($115,000) so private fundraising will likely ensue.
We, the Friends of the South End Library (FOSEL), are ready: Are you? A hearing before South End Landmark District Commission (SELDC) is currently scheduled for January 2, 2018. Construction work should start in March and be competed by late summer. Details will be made available on our website, www.friendsofsouthendlibrary.org, as they become available.
The South End library fundraising campaign, WRITING THE NEXT CHAPTER, has now embarked on the second and final phase of its proposed interior renovation plan to raise $200,000. The first phase, to raise $50,000 to add to a BPL allocation of $132,000, was concluded within a short amount of time when the FOSEL board contributed $30,000 (with a 100 percent participation rate) and you, generous neighbors, friends and Eversource Energy, donated the $20,000 in amounts ranging from $25 to $2,500.
Donations over the $50,000 have been applied to the second phase. It will buy us 21st-century electric and digital systems, a teen space, new carpeting and paint, and a reconfigured seating area that is open and bright and has clear sight lines for library staff. The second phase will pay for a relocation of the circulation desk to open up additional spaces for, among other things, a SouthEnd display for local history and authors, a small conference room, a new Children's Room and renovated staff quarters. The proposed design is on our banner on top.
Please donate as generously as you can by clicking on SUPPORT US to the best institution in our neighborhood, our local public library branch of the Boston Public Library. The funds we ask you to contribute will be augmented by another appropriation of capital funding that will be requested for the FY 2019 budget, for which we, the Friends of the South End Library, will be lobbying our local elected representatives in the very near future. We believe they are on our side. Some of our representatives have contributed to this campaign personally. We need you to step up, if you haven't already. For all of you who have, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. Details about construction dates will be made available soon as we find out.
More info at www.friendsofsouthendlibrary.org.
South End Branch of the Boston Public Library, 685 Tremont St, Boston