Storefront library exposes gap
(Globe Editorial, Sept. 25, 2009)

This recent coverage is part of a long-standing discussion about how to bring library services to Chinatown.

The Storefront Library aims to demonstrate that there are ways—right now—that residents, property owners, cultural institutions, and the city can work together to explore that question, while activating a vacant commerical storefront. A spirit of cooperation and experimentation has been a hallmark of the project, and we’ve seen key contributions from property owners, the Boston Public Library, the City of Boston, and many others.

By adding the Storefront Library to the mix, Boston Street Lab hopes to generate new ideas about how to bring cultural and civic space to downtown Boston, whether in a vacant storefront, a permanent library branch, or other ways yet to be imagined.

Leslie Davol
Sam Davol
Boston Street Lab

The Site Manager will be supervised by Boston Street Lab and will be responsible for day-to-day operation of the Storefront Library during its period of operation (October 1 through December 31, 2009) with the support of interns and volunteers. We are seeking a remarkable person with outstanding communication skills who can take command of any situation on the ground, and help the community make the most of the Storefront Library’s inaugural run.

Site Manager job description and application instructions posted here. For questions, contact Leslie Davol at leslie@bostonstreetlab.org or (617) 275-8117.

Boston Street Lab is looking for nonprofit organizations and groups who provide educational and community programs consistent with a public library, such as ESL and computer classes, reading groups, screenings, talks, meetings, and events. The Chinatown Storefront Library will launch in Fall 2009 and will showcase some of Boston’s civic and cultural resources in a highly visible, street-level space. During the summer of 2009, some of the library’s program will be previewed at outdoor events in downtown Boston.

Contact Leslie Davol to explore a partnership with the Storefront Library. By putting your program or event on display, you can show support for the idea of a permanent library branch in the neighborhood and also draw attention to your organization’s work.

Actually, these particular chairs are temporary. Purchased for $10.74 each at a local hardware store, many of the original 350 are already starting to sag and show signs of overuse. But before anybody invests in more durable or attractive seats, the city’s traffic experts want to make sure the idea works. Even the joys of a large sitting area in Times Square are not an adequate trade-off for permanent gridlock.

If traffic is merely bad, as usual, the next step is to make the area a little more glamorous. By August, the seating areas are scheduled to be resurfaced. There are plans for sturdier chairs and planters are expected to replace the orange plastic barrels now being used to warn cars away.

Times Square’s experimental park is primitive, but for anyone who loves the lights of Broadway, it is the new best view in town.

(New York Times, 8 June 2009, A18, New York Edition)

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