Ex-Boston Director Bernard Margolis Named New York State Librarian
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 10/23/2008
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- After clash with mayor, a welcoming new home
- Only state library within ARL
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Bernard Margolis, whose term as president of the Boston Public Library ended earlier this year after clashing with Mayor Thomas Menino, has been named the New York state librarian and assistant commissioner of education. He will start the job in January.
State education commissioner Richard Mills said, “I am thrilled that the Regents have appointed a dynamic and innovative person like Mr. Margolis to serve in the critically important position of state librarian.” Margolis was equally effusive, telling the Boston Globe, “I am thrilled about this wonderful opportunity to lead New York’s State Library.
In Boston, Margolis led an expansion of library services even as funding grew slowly. Menino charged that Margolis neglected the branches to focus on the central library, but Margolis pointed to examples of the mayor’s heavy-handedness.
The New York job
In New York, Margolis will oversee a $13.4 million operating budget, 180 employees, over 20 million collection items, and nearly $100 million in state and federal aid to libraries. The only state library that is a member of the Association of Research Libraries, the New York State Research Library contains a significant manuscript and rare books collection, plus holdings in a wide variety of formats.
It also serves as a Federal Depository and Patent Library; is a regional library for the blind and visually impaired, and oversees the acquisition, distribution and maintenance of New York State documents. The Division of Library Development assists New York’s 73 library systems with state aid and staff expertise and also helps libraries with private funding programs like E-rate telecommunications discounts and Gates Library Foundation grants.
Margolis replaces Janet Welch, who retired this spring. The first woman to serve in the post, Welch oversaw a major renovation of the Research Library, enhanced of the Talking Book and Braille Library, and helped build the state library’s Manuscripts and Special Collections, among other achievements.
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