Excitement-craving library nerds like myself are riveted by yesterday’s ousting of Boston Public Library president Bernard Margolis, whose successful 10-year tenure brought an increase in book circulation and improvement in local branch programs despite marginal increases in funding from the city.
Supporters of Margolis contend that Boston Mayor Tom Menino influenced the Board of Trustee’s 7-2 decision not to renew his contract. Apparently, Margolis and Menino have been feuding for years. Margolis was told by mayoral confidants that Menino was fixated on forcing Margolis out because “he hates you”. Margolis further charged that Menino is an “anti-intellectual” who runs the city as if it were an authoritarian state. “I didn’t think this was Venezuela,” Margolis said. Zing!
I’m sure likening Menino to Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez will resonant deeply with anyone who knows who Chavez is, and who is hysterical enough to see any resemblance between a South American Socialist president and the mayor of Boston. And as for the anti-intellectual charge… well, Menino is a profound supporter of academic and intellectual accomplishment, so long as it helps the Red Sox win the World Series.
Menino declined to comment on Margolis, saying, “I’m not getting involved in ‘he said, she said.'” Wait, which one’s the “she”? This keeps getting juicier and juicier!
