IMPACT REPORT | 2021
UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITY ACTIVATING DEMOCRACY SHARING TREASURES
A Message from the Boston Public Library President
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IS THE COMMUNITY’S CIVIC HUB Free to all, we offer spaces where everyone has equal opportunities to learn, engage, grow, and prosper. Our role has been tested during the COVID pandemic. But all of us at the Boston Public Library were and are proud to continue connecting to our community — digitally and, when possible, in person — despite the challenges. The Boston Public Library Fund was integral to those efforts. And now, like many of you, we are eager to move ahead in partnership with the Fund to help the Boston community recover, rebuild, and renew safely. Thanks to the generosity of the Boston Public Library Fund, our function as a community connector evolved in new and enhanced ways during the pandemic. We created an online Future Readers Club community for infants, toddlers, and caregivers. Our English as a Second Language classes went fully remote. Through Books for Boston, new physical books were delivered to seniors, those who were homeless or recovering from COVID, and others impacted by the pandemic, including those with limited internet access. Connectivity Kits gave those lacking computers and Wi-Fi access to desperately needed connections for education and jobs. More digital books were offered and accessed more often — including those in our antiracism collection, which was greatly expanded in response to Black Lives Matter. Through all of these programs and more, donors to the Fund in Fiscal Year 2021 made it possible for thousands of individuals in the Boston community to connect, hear new voices, find a job, master a new skill, advance themselves and their communities, and simply experience the joy of learning. In the months ahead, the Boston Public Library aspires to make permanent the best of the new programs developed in response to COVID-19. In parallel, we will identify those programs and services our community needed most when we had to close physical spaces and reinvigorate them. We are committed to equity, accessibility and an enhanced understanding of free to all. We are dedicated to playing a transformational role in our city as we return to what we hope will not be just a “new normal,” but instead a “better and ultimately joyful normal.” Partnering with the Boston Public Library Fund, we imagine an even more vibrant, vital, and dynamic Library in the years ahead — and a brighter future for all who live in Boston because of it.
David Leonard President, Boston Public Library 2
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We are committed to equity, accessibility and an enhanced understanding of free to all. We are dedicated to playing a transformational role in our city as we return to what we hope will not be just a ‘new normal,’ but instead a ‘better and ultimately joyful normal.’
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Thanks to you, thousands have connected, learned, and experienced moments of excitement and joy, despite the dark days of 2020–2021. We have learned through the COVID pandemic that whether the services of the Boston Public Library are delivered in a physical location or digitally, they are not just ‘nice-to-haves.’ They are vital to our community.
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A Message from the Boston Public Library Fund Board Chair and Executive Director
MORE THAN 170 YEARS AGO, a group of Bostonians envisioned a dynamic place of learning where people would enrich their minds and souls, advance the spirit of democracy, and discover a retreat that was free to all. It is unlikely that they imagined all that being delivered largely through WiFi connections projecting content on screens into people’s homes. Yet, that is how hundreds of thousands of people have experienced all that the Boston Public Library offered in much of 2020 and early 2021. What we’ve instead learned through the COVID pandemic is that whether the services of the Boston Public Library are delivered in a physical location or digitally, they’re not just “nice-to-haves.” They are vital to our community. They inspire literacy and create new ways for people to learn new skills, find jobs, immerse themselves in their passions, and encounter new ideas. They connect individuals and spark innovation whether people are physically separated or able to come together in person. With the generous support of friends and neighbors, corporations and foundations, sponsors and supporters from across the Greater Boston area, the Boston Public Library Fund has helped tens of thousands of our fellow community members weather the devastating challenges of COVID-19 and explore the call to greater equity and inclusion posed by the Black Lives Matter movement. Thanks to you, thousands have connected, learned, and experienced moments of excitement and joy, despite the dark days of 2020–21. On behalf of the Boston Public Library Fund and everyone who has benefited from the Library’s programs and services during these most unusual times, we say thank you. As Bostonians emerge from the pandemic, we are committed to partnering with the Library to address the evolving needs of our communities as they recover. We seek to develop a more equitable, inclusive, and connected city. Our goal is no less than to empower the people of Boston to realize an audacious future for themselves and for our entire community.
Jeffrey B. Hawkins Board Chair Boston Public Library Fund Deputy Managing Director Bain Capital Credit
Paula S. Sakey Executive Director Boston Public Library Fund
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UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITY The Boston Public Library is committed to serving all who live in Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and beyond: individuals experiencing homelessness, people making a career change, children and families in search of a great book, students in need of homework help, and seniors who want to learn more about a newfound passion. COVID-19 challenged the Library’s ability to achieve its mission. It also shone a harsh spotlight on the inequities that exist — in vulnerable communities — as so much of everyday life shifted from in-person to online. But generous donors responded. Their gifts to the Boston Public Library Fund enabled the Library to rapidly help those in need by:
• Launching Books for Boston, a revolutionary program to bring brand-new books purchased from local bookstores to high-risk populations, such as elderly living alone, children and families experiencing homelessness, individuals sheltering from domestic violence, and those recovering from COVID-19.
• Increasing Wi-Fi access to the exterior
spaces of branches in underserved areas to meet urgent community needs.
• Expanding access to the Library’s hot-spot
lending program, which had a tremendous backlog, and creating Connectivity Kits with computers and Wi-Fi hotspots that could be borrowed just as one borrows a library book.
• Creating the Future Readers Club, an
online community to encourage parents and caregivers of children from birth to kindergarten to read aloud to their children regularly, thereby introducing new vocabulary, creating moments of connection, and encouraging a love of reading and learning among our youngest residents.
• Transforming the teen-led, in-person
afterschool Homework Assistance Program into an online program helping students in grades K–8 with their studies.
• Adding a workforce development librarian to
provide free, personalized service to patrons, help individuals identify learning opportunities, and create career pathways for jobs with long-term stability.
• Adding a nutrition literacy coordinator to provide
Gifts aided those who experience homelessness, lack internet access, or need help with schoolwork, finding a job, or improving their health. 6
compelling programs for adults and youth around nutrition, health, and wellness in the brand-new Roxbury Branch’s Nutrition Lab. Working in collaboration with strategic partners in the health and wellness space, the coordinator will develop a hub for culinary literacy, providing demonstrations, hands-on classes, and culturally diverse learning opportunities that will build community, improve health, and complement many of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts children and teens learn in school.
HOMEWORK
HELPER “I never had a relationship before with kids younger than me,” says Maya Bock, a teen mentor for the Homework Assistance Program at the Boston Public Library since 2019. “I never imagined I could make a person’s day better just by being a presence.” Yet this high-achieving student at Meridian Academy in Jamaica Plain has been a vital, regular part of the lives of children dropping in to the Boston Public Library Egleston Branch afterschool program for kids in grades K–8 — both in person before COVID and online during the pandemic. For one fourth grader, Natalia,* Maya’s weekly presence on Monday and Wednesday between 3:30 and 5:30p.m. was both an opportunity to work on math and reading, and a chance to connect. “During COVID, the librarians worked really hard to keep the program going and make it fun for the kids,” Maya says. “I would show up online at 3:30 and Natalia would always ask for me. We worked on math and sometimes on reading or writing.” “Afterward, kids could go to the online game room. And she would always ask me to join her,” Maya says with a smile. Maya will be attending Brandeis University in the fall. The aspiring math major hopes to pursue a career on the statistics side of public health. Of her time working with the Library’s homework program, she says, “I learned a lot about how connecting with someone in simple ways can make such a big difference in their lives, and mine.” * Not her real name
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ACTIVATING DEMOCRACY The pandemic could have upended the aspirations of individuals new to the United States, particularly those with limited English-language skills eager to become more engaged members of society, obtain new jobs, and, ultimately, become citizens. But thanks to generous donors to the Boston Public Library Fund, the Boston Public Library transferred its English as a Second Language (ESL) courses online — the first such program available in the state. This rapid transformation enabled more people to participate and ensured that those already learning English through the Library’s free ESL programs would not lose their hard-earned language skills during the pandemic. Similarly, when the murder of George Floyd fueled the Black Lives Matter marches, the Boston Public Library saw a 500 percent increase in checkouts and holds on the most sought after anti-racism and Black Lives Matter titles as patrons wanted to hear new voices. At one point, hold queues reached 1,200 patrons for both White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo, and How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi, with wait times on many titles related to anti-racism and Black Lives Matter reaching more than 12 weeks. But again, thanks in part to Boston Public Library Fund donors, the Library was able to expand this collection by purchasing hundreds of new and additional copies of in-demand digital books, eliminating wait Gifts times for some of the enabled the most popular titles.
Library to bring its ESL courses rapidly online and radically decrease 12-week-long hold queues for in-demand digital books related to antiracism and Black Lives Matter. 8
GROWING
FLUENCY Ironically, the COVID-19 pandemic helped, rather than hindered, Yongxing Wang’s efforts to improve his English-language skills — thanks to the Boston Public Library and the Boston Public Library Fund. A native of China who moved to Boston in 2019, Yongxing had been taking in-person English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in Brighton. But his fluency remained limited because physically he could only get to a few classes per week. When the pandemic forced the Library’s ESL courses to go online, Yongxing took 20 or more classes and tutoring sessions for free per week. His English-speaking and reading skills quickly improved, as did his understanding of American society, culture, and customs. “In class we read and talked about the presidential elections, about vaccines. When there were holidays, we discussed the customs and traditions of those holidays,” he says. More confident with his English skills, Yongxing is now enrolled at Bunker Hill Community College, pursuing a career as a paralegal. He’s studying for his citizenship exam, and has a part-time job as a school crossing guard in Newton. “I came here to pursue a better life. Many people like me may need help with the laws, and so I hope that in the future it will be possible for me to help them.”
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SHARING TREASURES Founded in 1848, the Boston Public Library holds one of the five largest collections in the United States. The Library is often recognized for its extensive holdings in a wide variety of subjects and formats, including renowned rare books, maps, prints, photographs, fine art, music, sculpture, manuscripts, and archives. Among the highlights from the special collections are first-edition folios by Shakespeare; original music scores by Mozart and Prokofiev; prints by Goya and Toulouse-Lautrec; ancient cuneiform tablets; millions of press photographs documenting Boston’s neighborhoods, people, and events over time; and the personal library of President John Adams. Lesser known are the holdings of the Boston Public Library’s Founding Research Collection. Originally envisioned as a body of reference materials, the Founding Research Collection was formed in the 1850s to provide the general public with free access to the kinds of specialized reading materials usually held by privatesubscription libraries or large colleges. The collection evolved into one of the largest public research collections in the country, totaling more than 500,000 non-circulating volumes that provide comprehensive coverage across an exhaustive variety of subjects. Thanks to a $1.6 million commitment by an anonymous donor through the Boston Public Library Fund and donations from the Associates of the Boston Public Library, 400,000 volumes in the Library’s Founding Research Collection will once again become fully discoverable and publicly accessible. This anonymous gift, one of the largest private philanthropic investments in the history of the Boston Public Library’s research collections, along with additional support from the Associates of the Boston Public Library, will enable the Library to clean, catalog, barcode, and preserve Private the collection, making it fully support available to the public for the first time in the digital era. will make
400,000 items in the Library’s Founding Research Collection fully accessible to the public. 10
THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY’S FOUNDING RESEARCH COLLECTION Copies of The Jester, the first comedy magazine printed in Boston. A rare edition the Gospel of Matthew, translated into the Ojibwe language. Hand-colored plates documenting the 18th-century eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. Books titled The Irritability of Plants, Exercises for the Closet, and How to Drain a House. As part of its free to all mission, hundreds of thousands of books, pamphlets and other items were acquired during the Library’s earliest years to form its Founding Research Collection, making freely available to the general public materials that previously only those with access to university libraries or private collections could enjoy. Over the years, this collection became less and less accessible to researchers and the general public. Today, individuals interested in determining if an item is housed in the collection must come to the Library and scan manually through physical microfiche cards containing reproductions of thousands of tiny card catalog images, says Laura Irmscher, Chief of Collections. It is a laborious and time-intensive process for researchers and staff alike. The anonymous $1.6 million gift to the Boston Public Library Fund and support from the Associates of the Boston Public Library will soon change all that. “This remarkable collection spans five centuries,” says Irmscher. “In some cases, the Library holds one of the few remaining copies of certain texts, making the collection invaluable to researchers and scholars in Boston and around the world.” Once everything is cleaned and cataloged, anyone will be able to easily search online or in person and then request to have an item retrieved for viewing at the Library. “This investment,” says Irmscher, “facilitates widespread public discovery and retrieval of hundreds of thousands of volumes from the research collection, preserves these materials for generations to use and explore, and positions the Library to plan for future digitization efforts.” 11
LIVING THE
DREAM Angel M. Dejesus believes the staff and resources of the Kirstein Business Library and Innovation Center at the Boston Public Library played a significant role in his highly successful career shift from the hospitality industry to commercial and residential real estate. And he is giving back. As a child he grew up around the corner from the Roxbury Branch and visited regularly. In some ways it was only natural that as an adult he would look to Kirstein as a place to study and find financial books to read. He took advantage of some of the small-business programming offered there as well, including the SCORE mentorship program, which matches successful business people with aspiring entrepreneurs. “Now I’m living the American Dream,” says Angel, who is in his early 40s and an annual donor to the Fund. “Because of the Boston Public Library’s free business classes and computer workshops, I acquired helpful skills and found many useful books that enabled me to grow my business tremendously. That’s why, when I created my will last year, I chose to earmark a portion of my estate to provide future support for financial literacy programs at the Library as well.”
Having benefited tremendously from the resources of the Kirstein Business Library to start his business, Angel Dejesus is now giving back as both an annual fund and 1848 Society donor. 12
THANK YOU to our
SUPPORTERS The following individuals, foundations, corporations, and organizations made gifts and commitments to the Boston Public Library Fund between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. We deeply appreciate their generosity and support.
“
I was amazed at how rapidly the Library pivoted during COVID
1848 SOCIETY The 1848 Society recognizes, honors, and celebrates individuals who have made a commitment to support the Boston Public Library Fund through a future gift in their will or estate plans. Anonymous (2)
Terence M. Janericco
Jane W. Mead
Angel Dejesus
William McLaughlin
Sally Portle
Mary Alice Howard
to serve its patrons through the channels available to them. This rapid response was not
NAMED ENDOWED FUNDS
part of the Library’s
A named endowment fund is a gift established in perpetuity, with a portion of endowment income used every year to provide support for a particular purpose agreed upon by the donor and the Fund.
annual plan, and no
BPL General Fund
Leonard & Barbara McCue Fund
Diane Martel Fund for Children’s Programs
Louise H. Allen Fund
Dr. Nellie Walent Wilson Fund
William O. Taylor Fund
Fidelity Fund
Lynch Fund
doubt placed a stress on the budget. I made a gift to do my share to support the work of this
FOUNDING INVESTORS Anonymous
LIFETIME DONORS OF $1 MILLION OR MORE
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Anonymous
Barr Foundation
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Liberty Mutual Foundation State Street Foundation The Boston Foundation
wonderful institution. — Karen A. Vagts
Amelia Peabody Charitable Fund
Sherry and Alan Leventhal Family Foundation State Street Foundation Margret and H.A. Rey*
*Deceased | ^Restricted Gift Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list. We apologize for any errors or omissions. Please report any corrections to info@bplfund.org. For a complete list of donors, please visit bplfund.org/donors
”
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INSTITUTIONAL DONORS DONORS OF $100,000 TO $999,999
The Klarman Family Foundation^
Saquish Foundation^
Red Sox Foundation^
State Street Foundation
Sanofi
Delaware North^
DONORS OF $25,000 TO $49,999
The Catered Affair
Shawmut Street Charitable Gift Fund
Eastern Bank Foundation^
Anonymous^
Eric & Jane Nord Family Fund^
Bain Capital Children’s Charity^
Sherry and Alan Leventhal Family Foundation^
Highland Street Foundation^
Anonymous^
Liberty Mutual Foundation^ PDB Foundation^ William Randolph Hearst Foundation^ The Lowell Institute^ DONORS OF $50,000 TO $99,999 Anonymous^ The Boston Foundation
The Lynch Foundation^ DONORS OF $10,000 TO $24,999 Akamai Foundation^ American Tower^ Bank of America Charitable Foundation Cabot Family Charitable Trust^ Ernst & Young^
Tiny Tiger Foundation DONORS OF $1,000 TO $9,999 Argosy Foundation
The Brennan and Cianciolo Family Fund The Newbury Boston
Fife Family Foundation
The Newmann Darrah Family Charitable Fund
Goldman Sachs & Co.
Webster Family Foundation
Google Matching Gifts Program Grayson Family Foundation M & T Charitable Foundation^ New England Patriot’s Charitable Foundation^ Razzaque Family Charitable Fund
INDIVIDUAL DONORS DONORS OF $100,000 OR MORE
Sandra and Paul Edgerley
Jeffrey and Christa Hawkins Karen and Ronald O’Hanley Jeffries Wyman, Jr.
DONORS OF $50,000 TO $99,999
DONORS OF $1,000 TO $2,499
Michael and Martha Keating
Anonymous
Anonymous (7)
Susan Moser and Thomas Evans
Zamawa Arenas and Murray Forman
Nancy S. Adams and John A. Burgess
Laurie and Eric Slifka
Allison and Thomas Campbell
Mary and S. J. Adelstein
Kathy and Martin Fogle
Jenny Baglivo
Robert and Jill Gallery
Gordon Bither
Sarah Hancock
Jacquelyn Borck and Howard Cutler
Anonymous
DONORS OF $5,000 TO $9,999
Anita and Josh Bekenstein
Carlotte N. Berk
Michelle and Henry Nasella^
Deborah H. Bornheimer
DONORS OF $25,000 TO $49,999 Anonymous Lewis and Rinda Burleigh Grace and Ted Fey John and Maureen Hailer Barbara and Amos Hostetter
Jane Brock-Wilson Barry Canton and Reshma Shetty Douglas E. Carney Linda and Daniel Cummings Dawn and Mark Donovan Elizabeth L. Johnson Louis and Cheryl Maiuri
DONORS OF $10,000 TO $24,999
Janet and David Offensend
Anonymous
Greg Shell
Amy and David Abrams Jenna and Aaron Bates 14
Hannah and Jack Grove
DONORS OF $2,500 TO $4,999
Lia and William Poorvu Raymond and Megan Sullivan^ Christian and Sophie Westra
David Leonard and Cuong Hoang Terence M. Janericco Barbara and Leonard McCue James F. and Katherine S. McHugh Sandra Moose Paula and Robert Sakey Emily Schabacker Janet Tiampo and David Parker Meghan Truchan Karen A. Vagts Kate Walsh and Erik Garpestad Katherine G. Welch
Jennifer Chow and John Papandrea Meghan Cooper and Neil Nabar Cheryl and Jack Cronin Claudia Davidoff Sarah Delaney Mary and Alphonse DePalma Marco Di Giacomo Ellen Donaghey Ann William Equitz Thomas Feeley Patrice and Frederick Ficken Ginda and Benji Fisher
BOARD of DIRECTORS
FINANCIAL
Jeffrey B. Hawkins, Chair
IMPACT
Lewis Burleigh, Clerk Grace Fey, Treasurer
Amid the challenges of COVID-19, the Boston Public Library Fund received gifts and commitments totaling $5,288,634, including more than $850,000 from supporters who have named the Fund in their estate plans. These generous gifts from 2,838
donors
Barry Canton Douglas Carney Priscilla H. Douglas Robert Gallery
enable the Fund to provide support to the Library for important
Hannah Grove
strategic priorities immediately; estate gifts help power the organization’s
Michael Keating
capacity to provide future support. The Fund incurred expenses of
David Leonard
$1,121,624 in Fiscal Year 2021, which ended on June 30, 2021.
Louis Maiuri Hon. James F. McHugh Greg Shell Kerry Herlihy Sullivan
Nicole Frahm
John Renner
Malcolm C. Green
Penny and Richard Garver
Val Roberts
Karen and David Gemmett
Michael Roitman
María de los Ángeles Jiménez
Kathleen Gershman Elizabeth and Phillip Gross Kimberly Grzybala Mianne M. Hanley Carolyn and William Kaelin James Knowles Stephen Lable Mimi and Paul La Camera Leo Liu Catherine and David MacKinnon
Aparna and Philip Rolfe Deborah and Allan Roth Alina Roytberg Sydney and Ben Schaefer Becky Silverstein Kerry and Peter Sullivan Catherine Thut and Derek Lessing Emily Wade Dyann Wirth
GIFTS IN MEMORY OF Jeanne Meyer Bird
Colleen McKiernan
Marion Cherson
Theresa Meckel
John P. Condakes
Sara Muspratt
Louis & Louise Corbosiero
Susan O’Connor
Lillian Eid
Emily Procknal
Megan Fleming
Lisa Ragno
Gill Fishman
Agnes T. and Dennis J. Leary James Daniel Mahoney Laura Monti Josephine Murphy William I. O’Connell Kathleen O’Connor Joan Onthank William L. Patton Margaret Paulsen Leonid Roytberg Eleanor H. Spack D. W. Sprague Nadine Troppy Anna B. Wells Hugh Wilks
BPLF Staff Paula Sakey Executive Director Carol Estes-Schwartz Deputy Executive Director Beth Barclay Director of Individual Giving Anna Harris Development Associate Theresa Meckel Director of Finance & Operations Benjamin Wind Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations 15
The mission of the Boston Public Library Fund is to provide financial support to the Boston Public Library, ensuring that it remains viable, engaging, accessible, and free to all. The Fund fulfills this mission by working in partnership with the Library, donors, and other funders in supporting Boston Public Library programs and special initiatives. Support from the Fund supplements, but does not supplant, other Boston Public Library resources, including City of Boston funding. bplfund.org | 7 00 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116 The Boston Public Library Fund is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, and your contribution is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
WRITING Julie Rafferty | DESIGN Joshua Cleaver | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHY Spenser Hasek