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Overdue, Returned, and Missing: the Changing Stories of Boston’S Chinatown Branch Library

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Overdue, Returned, and Missing: the Changing Stories of Boston’S Chinatown Branch Library Overdue, Returned, and Missing: The Changing Stories of Boston’s Chinatown Branch Library By: Aditi Mehta Thesis Supervisor: Lawrence J. Vale Ford Professor of Urban Design and Planning Thesis Reader: Tunney Lee Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies and Planning, Emeritus 4 Overdue, Returned, and Missing: The Changing Stories of Boston’s Chinatown Branch Library by Aditi Mehta Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning on May 20, 2010 in !"#$%"&'()&*&&+,-$'.('$/,'#,0)%#,+,-$1'(.#'$/,'2,3#,,'.( '4"1$,#'%-'5%$6'7&"--%-3 ABSTRACT In 1896, the Boston Public Library (BPL) opened a reading room on Tyler Street in between the South End and Chinatown. Since then, the library has disappeared and reappeared in various forms in Chinatown for different reasons. In 1956, the City of Boston demolished the Tyler Street Branch Library and since 2000, community groups in Chinatown have been advocating for their own branch of the BPL. This thesis explores why the Chinatown community does not have a library in 2010 and why the movement to reclaim one has gained momentum in the past ten years. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate that the public library is a diagnostic window into society; $/,'8)%&2%-39'%$1'.!,#"$%.-19'"-2'$/,'1,#:%;,1'%$'!#.:%2,1'#,<,;$'$/,'1.;%"&9',;.-.+%;9'"-2'!.&%$%;"&' contexts of time and place. This research demonstrates that the story of Boston’s Chinatown Branch Library is more than just a historical account of a building or concept; it is actually a story about the development of a neighborhood, the preservation of culture and identity, as well as the 3#.=$/'.( ';."&%$%.-1'"-2'2%:%1%.-1>''?$'*#1$9'$/,'"22%$%.-'.#'#,+.:"&'.( '$/,'&%8#"#6'%-'5/%-"$.=-' was largely an extension of city policy, and eventually the presence of a library in the neighborhood became an extension of grassroots community movements. The history of the Chinatown Library mirrors the changing attitudes towards community development in the United States. ' @/%&,' #,<,;$%-3' .-' $/%1' ;/#.-.&.369' $/%1' $/,1%1' "%+1' $.' "-1=,#' $/,' (.&&.=%-3' 0),1$%.-1A' What does the library mean to the Chinatown community? What do these meanings tell about the -,,21'.( '$/%1'-,%3/8.#/..2B'?-29'=/"$'%1'$/,'#.&,'.( '"'8#"-;/'&%8#"#6'%-'()&*&&%-3'$/,1,'-,,21'%-'$/,' contemporary context? The Chinatown Library means different things to its various providers and )1,#1>'C/#.)3/'"#;/%:"&'#,1,"#;/'"-2'%-$,#:%,=1'=%$/';%$6'.(*;%"&19'&%8#"#6'"2+%-%1$#"$.#19';.++)-%$6' members, and other stakeholders, this thesis theorizes that Boston’s Chinatown Library has six meanings: 1) Assimilation Processing Center; 2) Gathering Place; 3) Economic Training Ground; 4) Ethnic Identity Assertion; 5) Turf Defense; and 6) Political Clout Building. This research analyzes the decision-making processes of the BPL in 2010 and discusses how and why stakeholders should incorporate library meanings into these processes. Lastly, this thesis provides recommendations and insights for moving forward to all the major players of the Chinatown Library movement. Thesis Supervisor: Lawrence J. Vale, Ford Professor of Urban Design and Planning Thesis Reader: Tunney Lee, Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies and Planning, Emeritus 5 6 ACKNOWLEDEGMENTS Thank you to my advisor Professor Larry Vale for his guidance and for teaching me how to (#"+,9'%-$,#!#,$9'"-2'$,&&'+,"-%-3()&'1$.#%,1>''D:,-'=/,-'E'="1'=#%$%-3'+6'*#1$'$/,1%1'"1'"-')-2,#3#"2)"$,' at Cornell, he provided me with invaluable insights via email, and little did I know I would have the wonderful opportunity to learn from him in person four years later. Thank you to Professor Tunney Lee for sharing his knowledge and experiences with me, and for his support throughout this process. Because Professor Lee is highly respected and loved in Chinatown, as his student, I was welcomed into the community and forged important connections for this research. I would also like to express gratitude to Professor Lorlene Hoyt for helping me initially articulate this idea. Her enthusiasm got me excited to write this thesis. I have relied upon numerous people in Chinatown for information and direction. I am extremely grateful to those I interviewed. Their generosity of time and candor made my research possible. I would especially like to thank Leslie Davol, Marrikka Trotter, and Lisette Le for meeting with me on numerous occasions and for providing me with needed resources for this project. Your commitments to Chinatown and the work that you do are admirable. My parents have been my greatest teachers. They are the root and foundation of all my accomplishments. Thank you to my Mom for always being there and for always understanding me. Thank you to my Dad, who loves libraries and checks out more books and movies than anyone I know. Thank you to Aseem, an excellent little brother, who keeps me in check and who I hope will enjoy reading this thesis. I am grateful to Alexa Mills for her amazing copy-editing skills and to Haley Heard for sharing her fancy layout tricks with me. I am also grateful to Rebecca Liu for reading chapter one of this thesis and for always being such a good friend, even from so far away. I appreciate my roommate, Celia Gomez for her encouraging emails throughout the day and her baked goods late at night. Thank you to my thesis group for the interesting conversations we have had this semester about public spaces and beyond. The past two years at DUSP have been an enriching experience. I have been lucky to get to know so many talented and sincere people. Thank you to the close friends I have made here for their inspiration, support, and good company. Lastly, I would like to express thanks to all the librarians who have helped me complete my research along the way. Libraries have meaning because of the people inside of them. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ________________________________________________________________ 11 Recession: The Librarians’ Axiom _______________________________________________14 Methodology _______________________________________________________________15 Aim of Thesis ______________________________________________________________16 CHAPTER 1: THE HISTORY AND CHANGING ROLE OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY __________________19 The Founding of the Public Library and its Evolution ________________________________20 Maintaining a Mission; Finding New Purposes ______________________________________25 Historical Sketch of Immigrants and the Library ____________________________________29 The Take-Away: The Library Today ______________________________________________32 CHAPTER 2: THE CHINATOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY _______________________________________35 The Setting: An Overview of Boston’s Chinatown ___________________________________37 The Library as an Assimilation Processing Center ___________________________________41 The Library Revisited as an Extension of City Policy _________________________________50 The Library Lost: Reversing the Decision-Making Model in Chinatown ___________________60 The Library Reborn as an Extension of Community Movements _______________________65 The Storefront Library and Closings _____________________________________________71 CHAPTER 3: REFLECTIONS - WHAT DOES THE LIBRARY MEAN TO THE CHINATOWN COMMUNITY? 79 Assimilation Processing Center _________________________________________________81 Gathering Place _____________________________________________________________82 Economic Training Ground ____________________________________________________84 Ethnic Identity Assertion ______________________________________________________86 Turf Defense _______________________________________________________________88 Political Clout Building ________________________________________________________90 The Importance of Meanings __________________________________________________91 CHAPTER 4: BRANCH LIBRARIES IN CHINATOWNS AND OTHER BOSTON NEIGHBORHOODS _______93 Asian Branches ______________________________________________________________94 Boston Branches ___________________________________________________________100 8 CHAPTER 5: THE BPL FISCAL CRISIS & REDEFINING THE BRANCH _______________________ 107 Current Crisis ______________________________________________________________108 Public Input over the Years ___________________________________________________115 F,2,*-%-3'G#"-;/,1'86'H%-2%-3'4,"-%-31 ________________________________________117 Recommendations for Key Players ______________________________________________119 APPENDIX: THE BUSINESS OF A LIBRARY ___________________________________________ 123 Library Finance ____________________________________________________________125 Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners ___________________________________126 BPL Board of Trustees ______________________________________________________126 The Role of City Council and the Mayor _________________________________________127 BPL Library Scenarios _______________________________________________________129 Public Use Measures ________________________________________________________132 REFERENCES ________________________________________________________________ 135 9 10 Introduction How It All Began 11 INTRODUCTION ' E'*#1$'&,"#-,2'"8.)$'$/,'+.:,+,-$'(.#'"'5/%-"$.=-'G#"-;/'.( '$/,'G.1$.-'7)8&%;'I%8#"#6' (BPL) during the Spring 2009 semester in graduate school when I was participating in the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) Affordable Housing Competition. My team partnered with the Asian 5.++)-%$6' J,:,&.!+,-$' 5.#!.#"$%.-' K?5J5L9' "' -.-M!#.*$' .#3"-%N"$%.-' %-' 5/%-"$.=->' ' @/%&,' researching
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