An Open Letter: Dear Ms. Siobhan Reardon -- President of the
Free Library of Philadelphia:
I am a constant and mostly satisfied patron of the Free
Library System in Philadelphia. Most people seem to have a hard time realizing
the real value of a library card for the Free Library of Philadelphia. I have a
severely limited income at the present time -- as far as I know. Because of
this I take out movies and books for entertainment, not just knowledge.
Sometimes I get into a situation where I think I have returned a book of video
and it gets lost or is returned and not found to be returned properly. I think
one Way of repairing this problem is to make sure people like me, who do a
great deal of research, writing, referencing and so forth and use the library
sources quite frequently, maybe we need to have a receipt for every return.
Because I have such a severely limited income, losing a book or video can
actually take food right out of my mouth or mean a utility bill or rent is
late. This can be a real problem. Is
there anything you can do? also: I think the ``homeless'' [I prefer the word
``home-challenged'' because this
includes people like me who have been unjustly foreclosed on and other people
who are in a housing crisis such as being a victim of gentrification], such
people congregating at the library -- the main library in particular have
become a real problem and one I would like to help the City of Philadelphia
find solutions for. My close friend and business partner and personal assistant
actually doesn't like to go to the main library because of the smells of some
of the people there and the extraordinary bad smells and unclean conditions in
the men's room in the basement. One can use the bathrooms on the fourth floor,
but many people of greater ilk don't know they are available. I think it would
be wise to close the men's room in the basement and totally refurbish it as
soon as possible. I am disgusted when I
use it and plan to go to the fourth floor from now on in hopes that it will be
open there. I know there are monitory
constraints on any city agency in Philadelphia including the Free Library. I
have work on this by getting some friends of mine who have large incomes and
are philanthropist to give large donations. I have asked for a $Billion dollars especially for the Free
Library of Philadelphia. For all the
nice things like the fabulous kitchen on the fourth floor equipped with cameras
and state-of-the-art stoves and so forth.
There are also some great meeting spaces on the fourth floor. I think
the library is run pretty well, even though I have these gripes. I do also
think you need to hire some more Black men. I know this is hard because there
are not so many Black men, like myself, majoring in Library Science in college
-- -- it is becoming a lost art.
**However, the Free
Library of Philadelphia needs to talk with administration officials at the
Board of Education and Community College and other area schools and
universities and make sure there are some Black men majoring in library science
who want jobs in the Free Library of Philadelphia. I am sure something can be worked out. Not
all Black men want to be basketball players; rap stars; or engineers. Library Science is a more than adequate field
for a young Black man and one that includes promise and generates respect from
responsible people in our Black community.
I look forward to hearing from you about that bathroom. I have complained about it more than once
right there to the gentleman named Paul I think who works outside the hallway
leading to the senior section.
**I do not mean to
be mean or cruel in my message here. As I said, I LOVe the Free Library of
Philadelphia and sped too much time there according to my mate. I am putting this letter on my personal blog
and sending it to my city council members in hopes that something will be done.
I hope this is not inappropriate, but I want to see some action. I do get
frustrated.
**The general staff
and librarians at the branches and at the main branch are really professional
and helpful. I have almost never had a problem.
**By the Way I find the guards very nice, well-groomed and
pleasant in the Way in which they treat people. Even those who fall asleep when
they are not supposed to. There are some people who use the Free Library of
Philadelphia who just got up on the wrong side of the bed and would have done
better to have stayed home that day. It is not to make an example of you or any
of your policies, which I think are good, but could use some improvements. It
would also be nice if you could put a Black benefactor's picture or two and
some Latin or Native American benefactors on the wall as well as some more
women in these ethnic groups on the wall with all those White men and that lone
White women on the second floor near the Social Science Library. Surely you get
large donations or have had Black men and Black women who are benefactors. If not, I hope to be one, one day very, very
soon.
Peace & Blessings,
Brother Tracy Gibson,
President, Chief Executive Officer, & Founder of
Bro. Tracy Gibson & Assoc., Inc.
Building Better tomorrows for Black youth & Black
Families through good ethics & the building of bridges of hope & good
behavior.
Post Script: I plan on reading the article on you in the
August 2015 edition of Grid Philly as soon as I get time (as you can tell, I'm
behind on my reading). A big thanks to you and the entire staff at the Library
from a published author.
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