Thomas Jefferson said “knowledge is the common property of all [humanity]”; if we “enlighten the people generally, tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn.” Naïve perhaps but a worthy ideal. He saw libraries as vital community institutions; his personal library became the foundation of the Library of Congress.
Two hundred years later my father—smart son of poor immigrants, living behind his father’s watch repair shop—spent countless hours in Waterbury, Connecticut, public libraries. When the family moved to the Bronx, he discovered the wonders of the New York Public Library. He dropped out of college during the Great Depression, spent two years there reading, and then finished college. The library work he did launched his career; we never lived behind a store.
The Harvard Public Library is healthy and much loved, a center of the community and of town intellectual life. Its next five-year plan must ensure that it can face future challenges and leverage future opportunities. The library must continue to serve multiple constituencies: little kids and their parents, students from Hildreth and Bromfield, seniors, and all the rest of us, across a wide variety of interests and with a wide range of media. It must keep technologies up to date yet avoid expensive mistakes. It must maintain and grow the skills of its dedicated staff and ensure that they are and remain adequately compensated. The library must keep developing and delivering innovative programs, both with other town institutions and groups and on its own. And the trustees must maintain its magnificent building and be responsible stewards of available funds.
I’ve been an avid reader all my life and an enthusiastic patron of the Harvard Public Library over 30 years in town. I’ve worked in high tech for decades, designing and managing complex systems (and people). I’ve been a member of multiple task forces and committees and know many people in town. I think I’m good at understanding complex situations and articulating key issues clearly, both near-term and long-range. And I try to use humor to soften the edges of challenging ideas.
Please vote for me for Harvard Public Library Trustee. I want to apply my skills and experiences to give back to my community, to help set up our library for decades of continued success, and to ensure that it, and libraries in general, maintain a vital role in fostering Jefferson’s ideals.
Billy Salter
Elm Street
