Why do you want to serve on the Board of Library Trustees?
I love the library, of course! I’ve spent the past few decades building my skills in effective communication and helping organizations accomplish their goals, and I’d like to use these skills in service of my community and public library. With our country turning away from art, science, and education, it feels urgent to take action.
Tell voters about your background and qualifications for being a Library Trustee.
During the 20+ years that my family has lived in Watertown, I’ve been deeply involved in our community — as a tutor for Project Literacy, member of the Library Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee, WPS parent, board member of the Watertown Community Foundation and Mosesian Center for the Arts, and dialogue facilitator with Watertown Community Conversations. I am a practicing lawyer with expertise in technology-related matters like artificial intelligence and data privacy. And I am a trained negotiator and mediator who writes and teaches workshops about conflict resolution. Understanding law and technology, communication and conflict, and how local organizations work will make me an effective Trustee.
How can the Watertown Library better serve residents of Watertown?
I would love to have the library open for additional weekend hours. For so many of us, the library is a home away from home — a place where we can encounter new books and ideas, entertain small children, or simply have a place to be that doesn’t require payment. And the library is heavily used at any hour. Friday evening and Sunday morning hours would be valuable to add.
The Library may face funding issues in coming months and years. How can the library maintain and even add services in difficult economic times?
The library already stretches its budget to provide a wide range of services to Watertown residents and beyond. In difficult economic times, we rely on our libraries even more — so rather than cutting library budgets, we should be investing in public libraries. I’ll advocate with the city and state to maintain or increase library funding. Seeking grants and outside sources of funding is time-consuming but may be worthwhile for specific projects that need funding. And expanding partnerships with community groups and city commissions and agencies can help maintain or expand existing services without adding costs.
Looking at recent events when a group of residents had a disagreement about the Watertown Summer Reading list, and said they did not feel like there was a way to be heard by the Library — do you think the Library administration and Board of Trustees handled the issue appropriately, and would you like to see similar issues handled differently if they arise in the future?
I think it’s wise for the Library administration and Trustees to resist challenges to specific materials. The Trustees did hold a public forum in this case where people with a wide range of views were able to speak. However, as we’ve seen, having a chance to speak does not mean you feel truly heard. In the future I’d like to have a standard process for addressing challenges and complaints where the Trustees, not the Director, are explicitly responsible for addressing these issues. The Trustees are directly accountable to the public, and should ideally reach out to the person complaining and try to have an open dialogue with them.
During your campaign, what was the biggest issue or concern for voters when you spoke to them about the Library?
The biggest concern was the possibility of censorship, book bans, and the library losing funding because of its dedication to inclusivity and intellectual freedom. I share this concern, and am ready to advocate for the library if (or when) we face any of these challenges.