February 14, 2024

Board of Trustees, Langley Adams Library

Select Board, Town of Groveland

Rebecca Oldham, Town Administrator

185 Main Street

Groveland, MA 01834

 

Members of the Board of Library Trustees, Select Board, and Town Administrator Oldham,

Over the course of the last year and a half, the residents of our small town have watched as the Langley Adams Library has grown into a vibrant hub for education and enrichment due to the efforts of our new Youth Services Librarian, Bergen Daley. 

In Bergen’s short time with the Library, our children and community have benefited immensely from her complete overhaul of the program and launching of  the Library’s services to new heights; just a few of her contributions to the town have included:

Collaborating with town leadership to bring unique and highly-attended events to the town
Doubled in-kind donations
Developed at least 12 new ongoing programs and special events for youth of various ages, at no cost to families, including candle-making, STEM club, Chess Club, Dungeons & Dragons club, Crafternoon and many more.
Designed and implemented a summer reading program
Served as grant writer, creator and project director for Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners 2023 Mind In the Making Grant, which was just awarded to The Langley-Adams Story & Play Program to benefit early childhood patrons.  
Quadrupled annual community participation and attendance

And all of that was in the first 18 months of Bergen’s time with Groveland. It should have just been the beginning of a long and amazing tenure with the town Library. 

Maybe it still can be.

Despite Bergen’s dedication to our community and passion for enriching children and families, she felt no choice but to put in her notice last month and give up a job that she loves after exhausting all efforts to seek help resolving a toxic workplace environment within the Library.

It is obvious that where Bergen goes, progress and engagement grows. She is a boat-rocker, an innovator, and her work ethic is unmatched. You will hear many testaments from Groveland parents about how her passion and efforts helped their children, their families and our communities.

It’s no secret that innovators and boat-rockers can be met with resistance. While we all saw the Library flourishing from the outside, tensions with the Library Director built up within the walls of the Library.  Through Bergen’s tenure, she routinely and professionally reached out to the Town Administrator and Trustees with her concerns about Library management. By January 2024, Bergen requested Mediation, which both the Trustees and the Town Administrator supported. 

The Library Director chose not to participate. 

At that point, the Library Trustees, which is the sole authority over the Director and made up of citizen volunteers, declined to take any further action. 

After the Director unilaterally prevented Mediation from moving forward, and with no other avenues to pursue for support, Bergen, one of our town’s highest performers and most passionate contributors, put in her notice in order to preserve her mental health.

It is important to note that Groveland, under the current Library Director, has gone through three Youth Services Librarians in five years. 

There is no system of checks and balances if the Library Director position is exempt from meaningful, professional oversight similar to other department heads in Groveland. Open-ended authority in this position must end, whether through enforcement of the current Bylaws, or a change to the Bylaws. 

Dozens of long-term Groveland residents will attest to the fact that the Children’s library program (and the Library in general) has transformed from a lackluster program into a popular and flourishing one under Bergen. The mismanagement that forced her out is the cherry on top of a situation that has been festering for a long time. 

We request that:

The Library Trustees immediately invite Bergen to return to her position to the Library, with the guarantee that they will enforce Mediation with the Library Director;
Should the Director not exhibit good faith in mediation efforts, the Library Trustees exercise their right to enforce disciplinary action;
The Library Trustees support a proposed amendment to the Bylaws to transfer professional oversight of the Library Director’s role to the Town Administrator and Select Board, in time to be placed on the ballot for Town Meeting on April 22.

Close the loophole, institute a common-sense system of oversight, and extend an offer to return to Bergen, one of the most valuable resources Groveland has. 

Our town, and our children, deserve it.