SF writer Michael Burstein is finishing his second three-year term as a Brookline (MA) library trustee and would like to be re-elected. But there are five candidates pursuing the four open seats — so somebody is going to be left standing when the music stops. Trying to make sure it’s not him, Burstein is running an active campaign.
I missed publicizing last weekend’s Burstein for Brookline $5 Baked-Good Fundraiser, where for a minimum donation of $5 people were able to meet with the candidate and sample Nomi S. Burstein’s award-winning chocolate chip cookie bars. But it’s not too late to contribute to the campaign, just use the form on the website.
Burstein might be the greatest friend libraries have had among sf writers since Ray Bradbury.
In his pitch to the electorate of Brookline he says:
As a new parent with twin daughters born last July, I have become even more attuned to the need for an excellent public library system in our community. In these difficult financial times, I have fought to keep our library on the cutting edge of technology.
The voters go to the polls on May 4.
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I’m impressed at his commitment. He speaks of keeping the library on the cutting edge of technology. RFID circulation is the current thing in that area, but somebody needs to push for it, and I see he did so.
Mike, thanks for posting this item about my Library Trustee race. Given the lack of controversy on library issues in Brookline this year, the three of us who are incumbents were surprised when the race became contested. But we’re seeing it as an opportunity to remind the residents of the town how much the library does for the community.
DB, I was pushing for the RFID circulation system back in 2005 or so, when the library director placed it on the Capital Improvement Plan to be implemented in 2010. We ended up having to fight for it, though, because when the recession hit, there was a movement among many members of Town Meeting to postpone or kill the implementation due to the cost. I, along with my colleagues on the Board, pointed out that the system would save money in the long run, and we managed to convince Town Meeting to keep the implementation on track. (In fact, we had to fight for it twice!)
As of today, the system has been implemented in the Putterham branch library, and plans are for it to be implemented in the Coolidge Corner branch by the end of May and then in the main library soon after. So far, the system has gotten good reviews from the patrons at Putterham.