On Wednesday April 22 at 6:30 p.m., the Board of Library Trustees will meet at the South Branch Library at 1901 Russell St. to review its naming policy and to hear requests to rename the South Branch to honor Tarea Hall Pittman. The Berkeley Public Library’s Naming Policy strongly favors naming branch libraries only for their geographical location — north, south etc. The Policy sets stringent requirements for naming any of the libraries after any person except “the rare individual” whose contribution to the Library or a facility is “extraordinary, unique and of highest quality.” The policy also requires that there must be a strong consensus among library users and residents of the surrounding neighborhood to change the name of the library facility. The request to change the Library’s name does come from a neighborhood, grassroots effort led by local resident Charles Austen and the Convening Committee who report that 2000 neighbors and supporters signed the petition urging this name change. The Berkeley City Council unanimously approved the request on February 10, 2015 and referred the request to the Trustees. The Library could and should apply a much larger and more generous view in its naming policy for its buildings […]
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