Boston Lawyer/Politician a Finalist To Head Boston Public Library

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 8/6/2008

• Former President Margolis had clashed with Mayor Menino
• Ex-State Senate president an ally of Menino, friend of Board chair
• Besides Hennepin’s Ryan, other finalists to be named soon

Former Massachusetts State Senate president Thomas Birmingham, a lawyer and political ally of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, is among six finalists to head the Boston Public Library (BPL), where veteran President Bernard Margolis saw his contract not renewed after clashing with the mayor. Menino claimed Margolis neglected the branches; the library called Menino authoritarian.  

The Boston Globe reported that Birmingham, a Rhodes scholar and friend of fellow Rhodes Scholar Jeffrey Rudman, the library board chair, “has been less than secretive about his desire for the library post, touring many of the library's 27 neighborhood branches in the past several months and speaking with employees.”

Margolis had argued that his successor have a library degree, though it’s not required, and Birmingham doesn’t have one. Among the other tensions surrounding the library include news that three of the library’s nine trustees failed to file disclosure forms indicating that they do business with the city; two said they would do so in the future. 

Finalists to be named soon
The Boston press has reported that finalists include the leaders of five major libraries and Birmingham. One of those librarians is Amy Ryan, who heads the Hennepin County Library in Minnesota, according to the Star-Tribune. The other candidates' names are not expected to be released until after interviews late next week.

 “None of them applied for the job; these are all people where we've gone to them,” search committee head John McArthur told the Globe.