Last updated on October 1, 2024
The Barbara Rhodes Children’s Room at the Jamaica Plain Branch Library was officially established after the Trustees of the Boston Public Library unanimously voted in favor of renaming the room in honor of the longtime children’s librarian.
It was also announced at the Sept. 25 BPL Trustees meeting that the Barbara Rhodes Children’s Endowment Fund was fully funded in just four months.
A naming ceremony will be held at the JP Branch in the spring of 2025.
Rhodes was a children’s librarian for more than 40 years at the Boston Public Library, and she spent more than 30 of those years as the beloved children’s librarian at the Jamaica Plain Branch on South Street. Rhodes brought a love of books and stories to children and their families. She built personal relationships with the children and parents who entered the children’s room, making it a fun, engaging, and educational destination for all.
Last year, Rhodes was recognized for her contributions to the city as the recipient of the Shattuck Public Service Award for her four decades of service.
“Earlier this year, when we learned that Barbara had entered hospice care, the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch, along with Barbara’s neighbors and friends in the greater Jamaica Plain community, decided that we wanted to honor her life and carry on her legacy in two ways: first, by naming the children’s room in her honor; and second, by creating an endowment fund to provide a funding source in perpetuity for children’s books, crafts and programming for future generations of neighborhood children,” said Don Haber, co-chair of the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Library group in his presentation to the BPL Trustees.
Haber said that after meeting with Paula Sakay at the BPL Fund, the Friends group found out that there had never been a grassroots, community-funded endowment created within the BPL Fund.
“We discovered that the minimum amount required to create an endowment was $50,000, and that we would have 5 years to reach that goal. $50,000 is a sizeable amount to raise. It’s several times more than the total amount our Friends group raises in an entire year,” said Haber.
In late May a dedicated group of Rhode’ friends and neighbors, along with the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch, began fundraising efforts. Haber said the fund received support and donations from more than 185 donors with gifts ranging from $15 to $5,000.
JP Branch Library, where The Barbara Rhodes Children’s Endowment Fund will fund children’s programs in perpetuity at the library. This follows an unanimous vote in favor of the Friends proposal by the full Boston City Council and a letter of support from Mayor Michelle Wu.
