Chapter 24. At the Helm as Acting Director as the Library’s Centennial Year Begins

The next year or more was to be a time of challenge and destiny for me. It was to be a time of intense activity and hard work, filled with accomplishment and disappointment. It was to be a time of much happiness and satisfaction along with heartache and sadness. In fact it was to be a major turning point in my life and career.

A short time before my appointment as Acting Director, I had the notion that there must be a way to reach the commuting public who passed through downtown Cleveland daily to work, to school, to shop, etc. Believing that a public library must be constantly looking for innovative methods of getting books to people, the idea evolved that it would be wise to establish a circulating outlet for popular reading materials in the Terminal Tower Building to serve those busy commuters who passed through, to and from the Rapid Transit Stations. I found a great spot in the west concourse. I figured that an eight foot by ten foot space along its west wall would be ideal for a booth or kiosk that size which I knew that the Library carpenters could build of wood in our shop. With this information in mind, I then contacted the management of the Cleveland Union Terminals Company. I was able to sell the idea and to get a commitment to lease the space to the Library on a month to month basis at a rental of $100 a month, plus metered cost for light and power.

My next step was to get the approval of the Library Board, which was unanimous. Ralph Malvin, foreman of the Library carpentry shop was able to design and construct a very attractive kiosk to serve as a mini library station in the Terminal Tower to serve all residents of the county who commuted on the trains coming through the terminal. The kiosk was opened for service on November 25, 1968.

The kiosk proved to be another first in library service and became very popular. It received some great publicity in the media, general and library. One of many laudatory articles appeared in “The Tee-Pee, Notes and News of the Toledo Public Library.” It proclaimed, “One nearby large city where rapid mass transit still works effectively is Cleveland, and its Union Terminal is like Grand Central Station at commuting hours. So now the Cleveland Public Library has established a mini branch library in a cottage-like structure inside the west concourse! Stocked with 1800 books (volumes from each of the 12 subject departments) it can lend as well as receive, but primarily it is for the convenience of readers enroute to work, etc. needing to pickup and return library books, tho so far no fine payments may be paid there. It opens at 7:30 A.M. and closes at 7:00 P.M., Monday through Fridays. Wonder if the New York Public Library, Tokyo, and the London libraries will copy?”

Samples of some of the many favorable comments made by those who used the facility over time were as follows: “Oh! I like this,” “What a lovely idea,” “Excellent idea,” “Mini Branch is a great idea,” “I have. heard of the Cleveland Public Library in San Francisco. I think this just great. I must write the San Francisco Public Library and let them know of your new idea. Just, just wonderful!”

Subsequently other libraries did follow suit, and it was not too long afterward that I saw advertisements by some manufacturers showing pictures of kiosks they were building for sale as mini branches! I recall telling Ralph Malvin that he should have secured a patent of the idea and used the kiosk that he and his fellow carpenters built as a model or prototype.

It would be unfair to Ralph Malvin’s memory if I were to neglect to mention that the creation of the kiosk was not the only example of his skill as the library’s chief carpenter at the time. Ralph could have and also should have filed for a patent for another creation that I believe may have been the first of its kind in the way of library furniture and equipment. During my watch as the Library’s Business Manager, when we were renovating and building new branch buildings, Ralph designed and built beautiful oak wood shelving for the storage and display of magazines. Lip until that time libraries were content to shelve and display current periodicals on plain open shelving units. Ralph produced sections of wooden shelving large enough to accommodate magazines of various sizes, with the usual flat shelves for storing the back issues, with sloping shelves with lips at the bottom, on which the most recent or current issues of the magazines could be displayed. The sloping shelves could be raised and slid back over the top of each shelf and held by a magnetic catch so that a reader could also select from the stacks of back issues of the corresponding magazines shelved on the flat shelves underneath.

I honestly believe that readers in the Cleveland Public Library have been privileged to have had the use of this type of innovative magazine shelving long before any other library in the country because of Ralph Malvin’s ingenuity and skill. Again it was not too long after this type of magazine shelving had been installed in many of our buildings that a number of library furniture and equipment supply houses put similar shelving on the market. Some of the early manufacturers came out with comparable magazine shelving made of steel. Yes, I also had advised Ralph to get his idea for this kind of shelving under patent. However, I have not seen shelving like Ralph’s really duplicated in style and quality, especially in wood!

As the year 1968 was drawing to a close, our thoughts had for some time turned to making plans for observing the library’s centennial. The Cleveland Public Library would be celebrating its 100th birthday on February 17, 1969. I had appointed a committee made up of Department Heads and other staff to work with me and the Friends of the Cleveland Public Library. This proved to be a very effective combination. Our combined efforts resulted in a happy, eventful and successful celebration that was to continue through the entire year of 1969, beginning with a parade on February 17 from the location of the first library at West third and Superior Avenue to the present location. Official cars bearing centennial banners carried Board members, civic officials, members of the Friends of the Library and staff on this symbolic trek to the Main Library, where a special ribbon cutting was held at the entrance to the Brett Hall, where proclamations from our Mayor, Governor, and from President-Elect Richard Nixon were read. The centennial banquet followed on the evening of February 18 at the Sheraton Cleveland Hotel. One of our featured speakers that evening was Polykarp Kusch, dean of faculties at Columbia University and the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics, and who also had been a former fellow Cleveland Public Library Page in the 1920’s. Polykarp was the son of immigrant parents. Born in Germany, of a Polish father and a Dutch mother, migrated to the United States and to Cleveland as a child with his parents. Like myself and so many other Cleveland Library Pages, he worked his way through school, earning his degree in Physics at Case Institute of Technology. Over the years I have always felt that Polykarp Kusch and I shared a kindred spirit in that we continued to have an enduring affection for the Cleveland Public Library long after we left to continue our careers elsewhere because it had not only helped us to earn our educations and attain our respective professions, but also because it had enabled us to grow culturally and socially. It was because of that feeling of kinship that Polykarp Kusch was asked to be our key speaker at the centennial banquet. I recall how pleased I was when he lost no time in accepting our call to come back for that evening to participate in one of our kick-off events marking the 100th birthday of the library we loved so much.

During the course of his remarks on that very special evening, he said among other things, “I have a great affection for the Cleveland Public Library. I worked there over a period of five years. It was an absolutely great experience. My fellow pages were energetic, bright people, all from the submerged classes, and we worked for thirty cents an hour!”

With that one sentence, Polykarp Kusch summed up another product of the Cleveland Public Library that may not have been noted by many. Over the years the Library has been lauded for its reputation and for the high esteem for which it has been held among the nation’s public libraries, for its service and its important and unique collections as well as its many firsts and innovations. I don’t believe that much has been said before about the caliber and quality of the Library’s human product. Like our beloved country, the Cleveland Public Library has welcomed many of us as young people, like Polykarp Kusch from poor, immigrant homes, given us work and training that not only helped us realize the American dream in a variety of professions but also benefited us culturally and socially.

I could mention the names of many others who as alumni of the Cleveland Public Library have worked their way through school and on into a variety of professions and careers. I shall not because there would be enough to fill the pages of another book. I will however tell you briefly about a few. There was Doctor David Dugan, who preceded me by a few years as Head Page of the Main Library. He went on to distinguish himself as a thoracic surgeon. There was Doctor George Bidder, who succeeded me as Head Page, and who became a professor of pharmacology in the School of Medicine at Western Reserve University, now Case Western Reserve University. There was my brother Arthur, who became a general surgeon, served as a battle field surgeon in five campaigns in Europe during World War II, served as Chief of Surgery at the Parma General Hospital, which he helped to establish, and then went on to practice his profession for forty years or more. There was Mike Krisko, who became a family doctor and then gynecologist, who also went on to practice medicine for well over forty years. There was Albert Maslow, who became an educator and sociologist. There was Charles Ferraro, who first became a librarian and then a successful psychologist, who taught and also had a long career at NASA.

I was not the only page who went on to a long career in librarianship. I feel that it is appropriate to end this list by mentioning four pages who went on to become librarians in the suburbs of Cleveland. Rachel Wayne Nelson, director of the Cleveland Heights/University Heights Public Library, George Scherma, director of the Rocky River Public Library, Joseph Bana, director of the Euclid Public Library, Daniel Hagelin, Head of Reference Services of the Lakewood Public Library. All four served their constituencies long and well. The foregoing list is more than adequate proof that the Cleveland Public Library has also distinguished itself as a training ground for many who have succeeded in a variety of professions.

A number of other memorable events marked the Library’s centennial year. During the course of the hundred years that had passed countless millions of books had been loaned to the people of greater Cleveland. Most of these books had been returned, however, as is usual there were those books that had not been returned for one reason or another as well as some that may have been taken out without being charged. As a part of the Library’s centennial observances, we gave public notice of an amnesty on fines and a no questions asked on the return of such books no matter how long they had been outstanding. In short we cancelled all past and present fines and fees up through February 17, 1969, so that the people of Greater Cleveland and the Library might have a fresh start on its hundredth birthday. Large containers were placed in the lobbies of all Cleveland Public Library agencies for the return of uncharged books where such books could be placed
anonymously.

3,954 books were returned at the main Library, and 4,723 books were returned in the branches. The longest overdue book returned was at the Union Branch. It was a copy of “The Turmoil” by Booth Tarkington. It should have been returned July 9, 1919. Another was returned at the Collinwood Branch which had not been charged, but was last inventoried and found missing in 1909. It was “The Red Gauntlet” by Sir Walter Scott.

Tours, lectures, luncheons emphasizing centennial themes were happy and notable occasions throughout the year. The Cleveland Transit System agreed to advertise the Library’s centennial by displaying a specially designed poster in all its vehicles all year. The City allowed us to put attractive posters on poles around the Public Square and along Superior Avenue. These posters remained in place for the entire year. A special pictorial brochure was also published and distributed to all library users and visitors. Large, attractive posters calling attention to the 100th Anniversary, were sent to all the branch libraries for display in each building along with copies to be distributed for display in neighborhood store windows. The Friends of the Cleveland Public Library underwrote the cost of two huge dark blue banners or flags with “100” in large figures inscribed in gold, which hung from the facades of the Main Library and Business and Science Building.

During the centennial year, as Chairman of the Ohio Library Development Committee and as a member of the local Council of Library Administrators in the Greater Cleveland area, I saw the Administrators and Library boards of the nine library systems in Cuyahoga County join a teletype network to speed-up communication of the availability of books and other library materials between users of each of the cooperating libraries. As a result, requests for books and other materials could be individually or simultaneously transmitted to all the libraries in the county.

The centennial year also saw the inception of another advance in cooperation among the library systems of Cuyahoga County. In the interest of better service to all county residents it seemed wise that each of the nine libraries should honor or accept one another’s library cards instead of requiring borrowers to be registered in the various libraries and carry several library cards. Since we had had a reciprocal book return system in place for a number of years, each of the library systems began honoring each others library cards early in our centennial year.

Although deeply involved in the many activities connected with the celebration of the centennial at the Main Library and in the branch libraries, work connected with the operation of the library and the library’s other projects continued full steam ahead.

The Library Board had been receiving a lot of calls and heavy demands from the parents and residents in the East 71 and Kinsman area about their need for branch library service in that area. They complained that the Woodland Branch Library located at 5806 Woodland Avenue was difficult for them to reach, that it was especially dangerous for their children who they contended had to cope with the heavy traffic conditions faced between their homes and that branch. I had asked Adeline Corrigan, Supervisor of Branches and Kenneth Eynon, Head of the Buildings Department to investigate the need and to survey the area for possible space that might be rented for the installation of a small branch library and report back. They found that there was a large concentration of children in the area, especially in the Garden Valley Housing Project located at 7100 Kinsman Avenue and although as the crow flies, the distance from the project to the Woodland Branch was not too far, it would be difficult and dangerous for children to deal with the traffic conditions that existed on Kinsman Avenue, especially at the east 55th Street intersection that they would have to pass through before they could get to the Woodland Branch.

So along with all the activity connected with the centennial celebration we found ourselves engaged in negotiations with John Ward, representative of the Metropolitan Housing Authority for space in one of the Project Housing Units for a small branch outlet there.

At the same time the bids that had been received from the contractors for the building of the University Circle Regional Branch Library were too high and had been rejected. Since a sizable portion of the funds for the building was coming through the Ohio State Library in the form of a Federal grant under the Library Services and Construction Act, we not only had to revise our construction drawings to Cut the costs to fall within the funds available but also had to resubmit our revised plans and specifications to the State Library and the state Architect for approval before re-advertising. Once again I found myself working long hours, working with the staff involved and David Ward who was the architect for the project, making revisions we could agree on.

The changes we made did not effect the exterior of the building, thus the need for re-submitting the plans for approval again to the University Circle Development Foundation and to the Fine Arts and the City Planning Commission was not necessary. The changes we were able to make in the interior of the building did not affect the comfort, aesthetics or the efficiency of the building in any way. The overall interior space was only reduced about 8 percent in size, however, the changes made enabled us to cut the total cost of building by $136,850.00, which brought us within our budget.

Fortunately the Library Board, the State Library and the State Architect approved what we had done and gave speedy approval of our new plans and permission to re-advertise for bids. So we were on our way once again in this regard. The Library Board was especially pleased with the way this building problem had been solved. They all made a point of calling me to offer me their commendations. I made clear to them that it had been a joint effort, that it could not have been possible without the cooperation and help of the architect and capable members of the involved administrative team, Adeline Corrigan, Fern Long, Dorothy Fechter, and Valentine Sopko.

Some time before the Library’s 100th Birthday, Mrs. Florence Graham, chairperson of the Personnel Committee paid me a visit in my office, and spent well over an hour trying to convince me to apply for the directorship of the library. I recall telling her that while I was pleased and honored to have been considered worthy, I felt that I had to be frank and honest about my feelings about the job, that not only was I not interested, but also that I would not touch it with a ten foot pole. I remember that I apologized for my frankness and choice of words. She asked why I felt that way about the position. I told her that I preferred not to say anything more than that I chose to continue serving the library as Acting Director until the Board could appoint a new director, and that I would rather finish my career as the library’s Deputy Director. Being the gracious and understanding lady that she was, Mrs. Graham accepted my refusal. As she left my office, she said that she would convey my feelings on the matter to the rest of the Board.

I thought that I had laid the matter of the directorship to rest. I was wrong. Around the first of February, 1969, I was visited by Mr. Lockwood Thompson, President of the Board, Mr. Stanley Klonowski, member of the Finance Committee and Mrs. Graham. As the old saying goes, you could have knocked me over with a feather! I had never had three board members descend on me all at once.

They had come to beard me in .my den as it were and to get me to change my mind about the directorship, To this day, I wish they had not come in force as it were. It put me at a distinct disadvantage. I had had a long and respectful relationship with the two men since they had been on the Board longer than Mrs. Graham. This would make it more difficult for me to say no to them!

I had known Mr. Klonowski even longer than I had known Mr. Thompson. My relationship with Mr. Klonowski dated back to 1946 when I had become Branch Librarian at the Fleet Branch Library, well before he had become a member of the Library Board. The Fleet Branch was his neighborhood library. His home and the Bank of Cleveland of which he was President and CEO were on nearby Broadway Avenue. He, his wife Stella and children were regular users of the Branch Library. I as their neighborhood librarian had developed a very close relationship with the Klonowski family just as I had with the many other families who used the library. As I have mentioned earlier in this narrative, the Fleet Branch Library community was unique in the way it looked upon its library and librarian. The people of that community had the same singular respect for their library and librarian as they had for their schools and teachers, and for their church and priests. My years in that community had brought Mr. Klonowski and me together in community and civics activities as well. I had worked with him when he chaired the area’s Community Fund Campaigns and during the time that I served as President of the Southeast Community Council. As a result it was natural that we should have developed a great respect for one another.

You can see what I was up against when Mrs. Graham brought those two top guns with her to reopen the question of the directorship with me to my home on that evening. I was able to hold to my original position about the directorship for well over an hour, however, when Mr. Klonowski and Mr. Thompson told me that they had been talking to staff in the Main Library and the branches and had found as Mr. Thompson put it, “a well-spring of support for Mr. D’Alessandro,” and that he could guarantee full support of the Library Board for me, I finally reluctantly gave in and agreed to throw my hat in the ring. As I look back on it now, I realize, that it was the great esteem and respect that I had for those two men that had caused me to change my mind.

Grace who had supported me in my original position to resist the appointment was silent that evening. I thought of father and how he might have advised me and how he would have reacted to this complete about face on my part. I recalled that he used to be very critical of my brothers and me when we had second thoughts or began to second guess ourselves after we had made a decision. He used to tell us it is alright to change your mind, however, once you have made a decision and have committed yourselves, you must follow through.

In honor of the centennial, the Library Board had decided that it would be appropriate to schedule its February meeting on the 17th, the library’s birthday, at 4:00 P.M. I had no idea of what was in store for me and the library on that day. Although the Board had as was customary, previously approved the printed agenda for the meeting, certain events that I had had no previous knowledge or warning intruded that made headlines.

Before getting into the printed agenda, President Thompson presented two surprise items The first one was a resolution that he said that he had received from the Board of Education urging the Library Board to delay its appointment of a Director until additional candidates had been sought out and interviewed because it as the parent body felt that the Library Board’s nationwide search had not been as wide or as thorough as it should have been. He then spoke of a telegram he had received from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, asking for the opportunity to present a statement to the Library Board. Mr. Thompson then invited Mr. Rodney Coleman, Co-Chairman of the NAACP Labor and Industry Committee to give his statement.

Before Mr. Coleman had a chance to speak, Mr. George Livingston, Chairman of the Library Board’s Extension Committee asked that the Board allow him to explain that he had been approached by certain people, who were concerned, not only about the appointment of a new Director for the Library, but that the Library should be concerned about its future progress and growth in the community. He reported that a number of representatives of various community organizations were with Mr. Coleman, including representatives from the Glenville Area Council, the Pace Association, the Leadership Development and the Near West-Side groups, the Kinsman Project and several Head Start Mothers’ groups. He said that all these people had a real concern for the Library System.