Project highlights demand for permanent Chinatown branch

02/12/10Chinatown--A temporary library experiment conducted recently by the non-profit organization Boston Street Lab found that Chinatown residents want a permanent neighborhood library branch that not only circulates books but also functions as a social space with language services.

Data collected over the course of the three-month project ending in January, shows that the small, intimate environment served not only as a provider of library services but also as a sort of "third space," a term meaning a safe, engaging social place between home and work.

"I think of a library as a place where I go to get books or a place where I go to sit and study. This particular library in Chinatown ended up also being a really social environment too," Amy Cheung, program manager of the library project, said.

"People took ownership over using it in a way that was important to them. I didn't know that in three months time people would feel so comfortable. In a small space, you gain something in intimacy," Cheung said.

The ability to help Chinese-speakers in their first language made the environment less intimidating and more effective at providing quality services to patrons, Cheung said.

"We had at our front reception desk people walk up to us and say 'Do you have people who speak Chinese?' and you could see the relief on their face when we said 'yes,'" Cheung said.

A dialogue was made possible, Cheung said, that would otherwise not have existed in English alone, and the library could then serve as a sort of community reference.

"At the Boston Public Library, for instance, it's hard to walk up and feel comfortable asking 'what's a good restaurant in the neighborhood?' or 'where can I find a dry cleaners?'" Cheung said, "Whereas, our front desk served as that reference desk as well and the range of questions we ended up answering was really fascinating."

The Storefront Library, as the project was called, circulated books in both English and Chinese to 540 library cardholders, over half of which read and spoke Chinese.

Most patrons were Asian/Pacific Islanders and all age groups were evenly represented with the exception of teenagers.

Because of the bilingual accessibility, the library served as a sort of gateway, helping monolingual Chinese speakers get information and build literacy skills, Cheung said.

An unexpected consequence of the library's success, Cheung said, was the patrons' voluntary civic engagement.

"I had a lot of patrons come up to me and say 'Can I write a letter to someone?' 'Can I sign a petition?' 'What can I do?" Cheung said.

Handwritten anonymous comments left by patrons expressing enthusiasm, gratitude and hopes for the future were translated and posted on the Storefront Library Web site.

One patron wrote, "I love this place. Thank you so much for doing this...don't stop."

Another patron wrote, "It is the most special library I have ever entered."

Several other patrons conveyed a positive opinion of the library and the desire for a permanent library branch in Chinatown, on the Storefront Library Web site.

The library project operated out of a vacant storefront on Washington Street and was originally formed to help the long-standing advocacy effort to bring a permanent library branch to Chinatown.

The Chinese Progressive Association's organization Friends of the Chinatown Library has campaigned for a permanent library branch in Chinatown for several years.

Leslie Davol, director of Boston Street Lab, proposed the Storefront Library idea to demonstrate new ways for advocacy that could be done quickly on a small privately- funded budget.

In 2008, a feasibility study for how and where to implement a permanent 20,000-square- foot library branch in Chinatown was conducted and sent to the city government, Davol said, but the poor economic climate stalled any further action.

A consequence of the success of the temporary project, Davol said, is that people are becoming aware of alternatives to the large, expensive permanent branch.

"The Storefront Library showed us that having a smaller space is really great and it can be done much sooner, much cheaper," Davol said.

While a project like this could be implemented anywhere, Davol said, it had special meaning in Chinatown where it was tied to a history and to an immigrant culture with unique language needs.

Despite the success of the Storefront Library, Boston Street Lab does not intend to create any more library projects in the near future, Davol said.

"We need to step back and make room," Davol said, "for something more sustainable to take place.