Tag Archives: Maxine Bleiweis

Breaking News — Maxine Bleiweis To Retire

Posted on January 7, 2015 | 15 comments

Maxine Bleiweis — the innovative, energetic and much-admired director who over the past 17 years propelled the Westport Library into the forefront of institutions nationwide — has announced her retirement. She moves into a new career as a consultant on July 1.

The decision was difficult. But, she says, “with the Westport Library solidly set on its future path, I hope I will have the opportunity to help other libraries achieve similar goals.”

Board president Michael Guthman said that because of Bleiweis’ “imagination, visionary thinking and ability to motivate others, our library is now recognized as one of the most innovative libraries in the world.”

Maxine Bleiweis

Maxine Bleiweis

She came to Westport in 1998, after serving as library director in upstate Newington for 18 years. She made her mark here in many areas, from personal interactions and customer service to programming, community involvement and technology.

She is passionate about new ways of learning, intergenerational collaboration, support for the business community and independent entrepreneurs.

Bleiweis also championed the adoption and implementation of new technologies. Under her leadership the Westport library instituted automated circulation systems, provided internet access and wireless computing, introduced 3D printing, taught programming with robotics and maintained a MakerSpace.

Her library was also one of the 1st in the nation to maintain a MakerSpace.

In 2013, the Westport Library earned a 5-star rating from The Library Journal. That year Bleiweis was asked by the State Department to host a conference of librarians visiting from Moscow. She was later invited to Russia with staff members from The Smithsonian Institute.

Bleiweis has worked in libraries for over 40 years. She says:

It has been an honor to serve the town of Westport, a place where individuals are truly committed to learning, culture, and coming together for the betterment of the community.

It is this commitment, the generosity of donors and volunteers, and our gifted  staff that have made the success we achieved possible. I am confident that this team and this community will continue to expand and grow the Westport Library into the extraordinary place it will be in the future.

For nearly 2 decades Maxine Bleiweis has been the library director that most towns only dream of. She has made our library into a true community jewel, for Westporters (and others) of all ages. We will miss her greatly.

Fortunately, in her new consultant role, we can call on her whenever we need to. As the Westport Library heads into its next era — with physical expansion in the works — this gifted librarian will continue to help us stay informed, connected, and proud.

Maxine Bleiweis' impact extends to hiring innovative people. She and Bill Derry share a love of using technology in a variety of community-minded ways.

Maxine Bleiweis’ impact extends to hiring innovative, creative people. She and Bill Derry share a love of using technology in a variety of community-minded ways.

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Westport Library Serves All Types

Posted on December 14, 2014 | 16 comments

Westporters take pride in our cutting-edge library. The Maker Space, 3-D printer — if it’s creative and new, Maxine Bleiweis and her staff are all over it.

But sometimes you just need a typewriter.

Again, the library rides to the rescue.

An old IBM Selectric sits all alone in a cubicle overlooking Jesup Green, just waiting for someone to peck away.

Kids: Do you know what this is?

Kids: Do you know what this is?

Still, the library draws the line somewhere. Long ago, the wooden card catalog went to that great reading room in the sky.

(Hat tip to Fred Cantor)

 

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Check Out These Robots!

Posted on September 29, 2014 | 5 comments

The Westport Library long ago branched out from books, newspapers and magazines.

From a fantastic art collection to DVDs, CDs and Blu-rays, to a cutting-edge Maker space and 3D printer, our li’l ol’ library has served a broad range of interests, tastes and technologies.

Get ready now for robots.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that library officials have acquired a pair of humanoid NAO Evolution robots. The main object is to teach “the kind of coding and computer programming skills required to animate such machines.”

One of the Westport library's new robots. (Photo/Danny Ghitis for the Wall Street Journal)

One of the Westport library’s new robots. (Photo/Danny Ghitis for the Wall Street Journal)

Westport, the WSJ says, is the first public library in the nation to offer instruction using “sophisticated humanoid bots made by the French robotics firm Aldebaran.”

According to library director Maxine Bleiweis, robotics is the next big technology — so it should be made accessible to everyone, to learn about it.

Bleiweis adds that from economic and job development perspectives, this is an important step.

The library will debut the robots October 11, with programs and workshops to follow.

Unless the robots have other ideas.

(Click on the full Wall Street Journal story.)

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Honoring Joan Hume

Posted on June 18, 2013 | 5 comments

When Joan Hume earned her master’s degree in English, the commencement speaker said the usual stuff. Joan remembers one line: “Your new life is just beginning.”

She wasn’t sure how true that would be. Graduation Day was also her 50th birthday.

Now, she realizes, “going back to school in the middle of my life gave me new energy. It gave me a very different way of thinking.”

Joan Hume

Joan Hume

She got a part-time job at the Ridgefield Library, near where she lived. “The director told me I could do whatever I wanted, so long as I didn’t offend more than 70% of the people in town,” she recalls.

Joan wrote newsletters, planned programs, and never crossed that 70% threshold.

After 5 years, she heard that Maxine Bleiweis — director of the Westport Public Library — was looking for a full-time program and community relations head. One qualification: a master’s in library science.

Joan didn’t have it. But she got the job. She started on January 2, 2000 — exactly 2 years after Maxine’s 1st day.

Joan dove into creating programs, designing newsletters and planning development. “It was a very busy job,” she says. “I loved the people. And I learned something new every day.”

This month marks the end of Joan’s Westport Library career. She and her husband are moving to Cincinnati — an interesting city where she has relatives, can make an impact, and spend less than she does in Connecticut.

But leaving will be hard. Westport, she says, “is like a village. I didn’t live here, but people I hardly knew supported me through rough times. They treated me like they’d known me all my life. They gave me wings to fly.” She also loves her colleagues.

In return, the town and library appreciate Joan’s work. They’ve flocked to her programs. One of the most memorable was when Westporter Phil Donahue talked about his documentary on the Afghan war.

“There were veterans in the audience, and things got testy,” Joan remembers. “But Phil made a joke, people laughed, Maxine thanked everyone for coming, and that was the end.”

If there's been a panel, presentation or discussion in the McManus Room over the past 13 years, odds are that Joan Hume arranged it.

If there’s been a panel, presentation or discussion in the McManus Room over the past 13 years, odds are that Joan Hume arranged it.

Another tense moment: When Deirdre Imus appeared just days after her husband Don — Phil Donahue’s neighbors, coincidentally — made vulgar remarks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team. Both Imuses arrived with bodyguards. Joan had the Westport police on alert, “just in case.”

Most of her programs are far more mellow — but no less interesting. Her most recent project is the Mini-Maker Faire. “It’s easy to say, ‘Why do something like that?'” she says. “But then you see how it all works, and you know it’s the right thing to do.”

This Friday (6:30 p.m.), the public is invited to say goodbye and thank you to Joan Hume.

But, she says, “I’m the one who should be giving a party for people. They’ve got a contagious energy that has benefited me so much. I’m very lucky to have been able to work here.”

That grad school commencement speaker knew what he was talking about after all.

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Save The Pequot Library!

Posted on April 10, 2013 | 63 comments

Sure, this is “06880” — not “06890.” But that doesn’t mean I can’t write about non-Westport places — particularly if they are beloved by Westporters.

Like Stew Leonard’s, which I’ve commented on before.

And the Pequot Library, which I haven’t.

The iconic building — listed on the National Register of Historic Places — is a perfect counterpoint to the Westport Public Library.

The Pequot Library.

The Pequot Library.

Where our downtown Westport building all hustle and bustle — a hands-on workshop in the Great Hall! language discussion groups! a 3-D printer! Blu-Rays to rent! a cafe! — the tucked-away-in-sleepy Southport Pequot is everything a library used to be. It’s quiet (shhhhh!). Its rooms are cool and musty. Mostly, there are books and (to use a very quaint word) journals.

Westport Library pulses in the image of energetic, innovative director Maxine Bleiweis.

Pequot Library always reminds me of the longtime, legendary Stanley Crane, whose looks, demeanor — even literary-sounding name — came right out of Library Central Casting.

Westport’s library was founded in 1908. Located since 1986 on the river near Jesup Green, it is bright, airy and modern.

Pequot Library signPequot has been around since 1889. It looks like something you’d see on a 19th century New England college campus — or in an old European town — right down to its original Tiffany windows.

There is a place in the world for both the Westport and Pequot Libraries.

But the Pequot Library is in grave danger of closing. Fairfield’s Board of Finance cut all of its funding — $350,000. That’s 1/3 of the total budget. Library officials say there is no way they can raise the entire amount privately. If the cut is not reversed by the RTM on April 22, Pequot will close in July.

In years past, the library has been helped by donations (average gift: $150). In just a few years though, its endowment has declined from $3.2 million to $2.6 million. And $1 million of that is restricted to the rare books collection, not available to fund most operating costs.

Westporters cannot (in good conscience, anyway) plead with Fairfield RTM members to restore funding. But Fairfield residents — some of whom are former Westporters who read “0688o” — can.

Pequot Library logoLike many non-Fairfielders, I have fond memories of the Pequot Library. I discovered it as a Staples student, writing my junior research paper. I spent hours in the stacks, and went back often in the years after.

If the Fairfield RTM does not restore the $350,000 cut on April 22, I can’t afford to save the Pequot Library. But maybe a few angels in Westport — men and women with similar wonderful experiences there, or who understand its importance to this entire region — have an idea or two.

(Click here for a News12 video on the Pequot Library issue.)

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Posted in Library, People, Places, Staples HS

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Tracy Sugarman: Amen!

Posted on December 10, 2012 | 4 comments

You may hear that old adage “You’re never too old to try something new,” and scoff. Or shuffle off to play shuffleboard.

Tracy Sugarman takes it to heart.

The Westport icon — a famous illustrator for 40 years, who published 3 non-fiction books about his experiences as a Freedom Rider during the civil rights movement, and 1 based on his service as an officer in World War II (including storming the beach on D-Day) — has just written his 1st novel.

He’s 91 years old.

Tracy Sugarman

Tracy Sugarman

Nobody Said Amen is the fictionalized tale of 2 families — one white, one black — as they navigate the challenges of social change in the Mississippi Delta.

It’s a story of fighting for the right to vote, the Ku Klux Klan, and love. They’re not easy topics to write about — but Tracy Sugarman was there.

He was already in his 40s when he traveled to Ruleville, Mississippi in 1964 and ’65. His training group included 3 young men named Goodman, Schwerner and Chaney. On Tracy’s 2nd day in Mississippi, they disappeared.

He’d headed south as an artist, intending to draw the scenes he saw. “I was an observer for about 2 hours,” he says. “Then I become a participant. This was way too important to be a voyeur.”

Tracy’s involvement in the civil rights era changed his life. He developed a deep friendship with Fannie Lou Hamer. She and many other movement leaders visited his Westport home.

Tracy Sugarman was grand marshal at Westport's 2011 Memorial Day ceremony.

Tracy Sugarman was grand marshal at Westport’s 2011 Memorial Day ceremony.

Two of Tracy’s books — Stranger at the Gates and We Had Sneakers, They Had Guns — chronicled the civil rights era. My War was a collection of letters and drawings he’d sent to his young wife, June, during the harrowing days of World War II. Drawing Conclusions was his rendition, in words and pictures, of the biggest historical, societal and cultural stories of his time.

For nearly 90 years, he never imagined writing fiction.

But as he worked on Drawing Conclusions — it was published 5 years ago, when he was “just” 86 — he figured it might be fun to try a novel.

It took 2 years (though, he points out, “I did other things too”).

“I was charmed by this world I was inventing,” Tracy says of the writing process. “People just showed up, and insisted on being in it. They were characters I’d never met!”

He had no idea how the story would end. But — as with everything he’s done — Tracy made it all work out.

His publisher — Syracuse University Press — liked Amen. But after a change of editors, they decided fiction was not right for an academic publisher.

Tracy asked Maxine Bleiweis about self-publishing. The Westport Library director put Tracy in touch with David Wilk, a Westonite and expert in the field.

Nobody Said AmenThat’s how Nobody Said Amen became a book. (Officially, it’s “a Morris Jesup book, in association with the Westport Library.”)

More importantly, it’s on Amazon — in paperback and Kindle.

If it’s surprising to learn that a 91-year-old has self-published a book available on e-readers, you don’t know Tracy Sugarman. He looks, sounds — and thinks — like the young people he so admires.

“All these young kids put themselves in harm’s way,” he says of the Freedom Riders. “They thrived, survived, and changed Mississippi.”

That experienced reinforced an idea he’d had since World War II, 2 decades earlier: “Only young people can change the country. They’re wonderfully inspiring. They certainly changed my life.”

So, as he closes in on a century of living, what’s next?

“Everyone says you’re very old to write a novel,” Tracy says.  “Well, I don’t feel it!” He’s ready for plenty of new challenges.

“You’re as young as you feel” is one adage Tracy Sugarman proves true.

Here’s another: “You’re never too old to try something new.”

(Tracy Sugarman will discuss Nobody Said Amen at the Westport Library this Saturday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m. Books will be available for purchase and signing.)

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Speed Dating, Westport-Style

Posted on July 10, 2011 | 3 comments

Speed dating is a big-city thing.  Singles (hopefully) spend a few minutes chatting with a random stranger.  A bell rings; then it’s off to the next table, and a few more after that.  If both parties like each other, organizers provide them with contact info.

But this is Westport.  Our “speed dating” event needs an intellectual — and environmental — bent.

Also, no hooking up allowed.

“Expert Minds” is this Thursday’s (July 14, 7 p.m.) Westport Arts Center speed dating-inspired event.

Futurist Watts Wacker definitely looks like an expert.

Working with Green Village Initiative, the WAC has assembled 10, um, expert minds.  Each hosts a table with 4 seats.  For 15 minutes, everyone chats — presumably about the expert’s area of expertise.

Then it’s on to the next randomly selected table.

There’s a break after the 1st 2 sessions, for food and wine; then 2 more tables.

After the 4th table, everyone is invited to mingle (and, I guess, drink a bit more).

The experts include:

  • Michael Aitkenhead, Staples High School environmental teacher and Wakeman Town Farm steward
  • Julie Belaga, former state representative, gubernatorial candidate, and New England director of the Environmental Protection Agency
  • Maxine Bleiweis, Westport Library director
  • David Brown, public health toxicologist
  • John Fifield, architect and innovator
  • Deepika Saksena, “zero waste manager” whose weekly household waste fills just one plastic newspaper sleeve
  • John Solder, member of the world champion Staples High School robotics team
  • Bill Taibe, chef/owner of Le Farm
  • Watts Wacker, futurist
  • Eden Werring, arts and education advocate

As the experts and their guests talk, they’ll be surrounded by Christo.  The environmental artist’s stunning works may inspire some of the discussions, says Deanne Foster, the WAC’s interim executive director.

“Art can take you to another place,” she says.  “There’s always lots of conversation here, as people look at the exhibitions on the walls.  This event is one more way to get people thinking, and engaged.”

“Expert Minds” — speed dating, arts-style — is something the 92nd Street Y might do, Foster says.

“But it’s here in Westport.  We’re lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing people.”

(Tickets for “Expert Minds” are $25.  They’re available by phone at 203-222-7070, and online by clicking here.)

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Digital Immigrants

Posted on July 7, 2011 | 2 comments

In early 20th century America, youngsters in the new country had an advantage over their immigrant parents:  the kids learned English.  They translated for their parents, some of whom clung to their native tongues and never assimilated.

In the early 21st century, young people again have an edge:  They’ve mastered tech-speak.  This time though, the old folks have no choice.  To live in today’s world, they have to learn the language.

“It’s not like just a few years ago, when you could wait for some 12-year-old to program your VCR,” says Westport Library director Maxine Bleiweis.  “Now, every day, there are technological problems people have to solve.”

And — for more and more people — the library is the place to solve them.

What's on Maxine Bleiweis and Bill Derry's iPads? The library's website, of course.

Libraries have always been a center for learning, Bleiweis says.  But many Westporters don’t realize it’s a hub for not only books, periodicals and author talks, but  technological knowledge too.

The Westport Library offers 3 types of technology education.  One is through regularly scheduled events.

“Tech Tuesdays,” for example, are held from 2-4 p.m. through August 3.  Bring a tablet — or a question, like how to download music.  Staff members are on hand to help.

“Jobseekers” programs — held Wednesdays throughout the summer — highlight topics like using LinkedIn and Twitter.  “If you’re out of a job, you might have missed out on hearing about things like this,” Bleiweis says.  “The workplace changes quickly, and this is a great way to keep up.”

The 2nd type of education takes place every day.  “We’re not a repair shop,” Bleiweis cautions.  “But if you’ve got a new eReader and don’t know the features, or you’re having problems attaching a photo file to send to your grandchildren, we can help.”

Reference librarians — best known for answering questions about obscure Mongolian dynasties, or pointing people to perfect online databases — are a tremendous technological resource.  If you’re searching for printers, say, or software or synching programs, reference librarians are happy to help.

The 3rd type of education involves teaching people things they didn’t know they needed to know.

In case you wondered: These are tags. The library explains how to use them.

“Tags” are an example.  They’re those words of various sizes you see on various websites — the library’s, for instance.  They’re an entree to more information on a particular topic; their size indicates relative popularity — but you have to click them to use them.  If you didn’t know that, you’d likely overlook them.  Mentioning them in the library’s newsletter — a friendly, familiar format — is a good way to teach non-native tech speakers about them.

The same with podcasts.  At every library lecture, someone announces it’s also available as a podcast.  You may have heard the term, but ignored it as just another newfangled word.  By explaining what a podcast is — and how you can download it — the library provides an important, but subtle, education in tech-talk.

The Westport Library also provides hardware.  They’ve got 30 computers, with color printing; scanners; a MacBook Pro; Kindles for a 7-day loan (loaded with titles); an iPad, plus Nook and Sony e-readers for sampling, and wireless printing from laptops.

Library cardholders can also download music from Freegal.  What’s that?  Just ask!

The library’s tech cred got a big boost recently.  Bill Derry – formerly coordinator of info and technology literacy for the Westport school district — joined Bleiweis’ staff as assistant director for innovation and user experience.

Children instinctively know the language of 21st-century technology. The rest of us have to be taught.

He knows what students know — and what adults don’t.  Bleiweis uses the analogy of parents who get frustrated when they can’t help kids with their “new math” homework.

Derry has the skills — and patience, and energy — to teach the older generation the language the younger one instinctively knows.

And the Westport Library is the place to do it.

“It’s intimidating to ask a 20-year-old geek at a store some question you’re embarrassed you don’t know the answer to,” Bleiweis says.

“It’s much easier to do it in the familiar setting of the library.”

A library, she says, is “a place to learn — no matter what you need to know.”

(In the works:  an iPad users group.  Got another idea for a a tech service that will serve and support the Westport community at the library?  Email Bill Derry at bderry@westportlibrary.org, or call him:  203-291-4846.)

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Maxine Bleiweis Honored As The Best

Posted on April 28, 2011 | 4 comments

For over a decade, Westporters have known Maxine Bleiweis is the best librarian in the world.

Now it’s official.

Maxine Bleiweis

Okay, it’s not a global title.  But the Westport Library‘s long-serving director has just been named Outstanding Librarian by the Connecticut Library Association.  She’ll be honored next Tuesday, at their 120th annual convention in Stamford.

In announcing the honor, the CLA said:

Throughout her career, a hallmark of her philosophy has been keeping libraries at the forefront of meeting community needs; she is known for predicting trends and finding ways to meet needs as they emerge.  One of her earliest initiatives in Westport continues successfully today—specifically addressing the needs of the business community.  She continues to be a pioneer, now by exploring what libraries can do best in the digital age.

Others cite her infectious energy and enthusiasm, her wonderful people skills, prudent fiscal management, the innovative public service model she has developed, and her leadership both within and outside the Library.

During her 13-year tenure in Westport, a community of 26,000, Library program attendance has doubled and circulation has grown to the point the Library is the 8th busiest in all of New England.  She has also been instrumental in securing new community-based financial support through an event that honors luminaries including Tom Brokaw, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Martin Scorsese among others.

“06880” has given plenty of shout-outs to our library.  In part that’s because today’s library is a vibrant, exciting — sometimes even raucous — cog of our community.  It’s no longer the don’t-say-a-word, just-borrow-a-book place of yore.  It now hums with activity and life.

Much of that is Maxine Bleiweis’ doing.  Today, “06880” proudly joins all of Westport — and the Connecticut Library Association — in a roar of applause for our peerless, fearless Outstanding Librarian.

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Friday In The Library With George

Posted on January 18, 2011 | 7 comments

For 23 years he’s been an “amazingly steady, careful, considerate” — and friendly — face at the Westport Library.

Now, George Wagner is retiring.

George Wagner

The assistant director heads south — to Asheville, North Carolina — leaving behind one building, and thousands of library users.  He served both with tremendous devotion.

As staff liaison to building projects, George helped open the “new” library, then saw it through a renovation.

As a technology person he assisted with website designs and  renovation, and a transformation of the catalog.

In many ways, says director Maxine Bleiweis, George helped the staff make the move from a 20th century library, into the 21st.

Always, she notes, he made everyone — colleagues and clients — “feel very, very comfortable.”

Maxine is only 1 of George’s countless fans.  A staff member says that during the annual Book Sale, he does “everything from stringing hundreds of feet of phone wire across Jesup Green for the credit card machines, to making multiple trips to the bank to be sure there is plenty of change available.”

That’s one small part of George’s greatness.  The staffer continues:

He’s always the last one to leave an event liked Booked for the Evening to get the Library back in shape for the next day.  Sometimes he works late into the night, waiting for trucks to come and pick up the rented chairs and tables, or moving the piano back down to the McManus Room.

He fixes telephones, websites, email problems, book drop boxes, invoice issues, vendor problems, and budgets!

And the best thing about George is he doesn’t complain.   He must have a special place where he goes to let off steam, but we never see it.  He is steady at the helm, imparting confidence in the rest of us.

The library is not letting George go without a celebration.  This Friday (Jan. 21, 6-8 p.m.), there’s a reception in the McManus Room.

That’s very fitting.  The event will be the 1st in the renovated space — it’s got new paint, new carpets, and the black-and-white drawings by Westport artists have been re-hung.  The project is the last George supervised at the library.

The renovation was underwritten by the Friends of the Library.  That’s fitting too, Maxine notes:  George oversaw all the Friends’ book sales.

The public is invited to say “goodbye” to George on Friday.

And, of course, a very heartfelt “thanks.”

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