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WHEREAS, Mary Frances Cooper has been, over the last thirteen years, a guiding star for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; and,
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WHEREAS, through her leadership, the library system has seen substantive improvements in its operations and in its built environment - all of those advances mission driven by Mary Frances’ mantra: “The Library is something we all do together;” and,
WHEREAS, by working to strengthen relationships with key community partners, including patrons, volunteers, donors, public officials, foundations, corporations, nonprofit organizations and their leaders, and the broader library community, she made one of our most invaluable resources for equitable change even more significant; and,
WHEREAS, to name a few flagship projects - the Library completed the renovation, replacement or relocation of 11 CLP library branches, including:
CLP-Beechview,
CLP-Carrick,
CLP-Downtown,
CLP-Hazelwood,
CLP-Knoxville,
CLP-Lawrenceville,
CLP-Mt. Washington,
CLP-Sheraden,
CLP-South Side,
CLP-West End,
and CLP-Library of Accessible Media for Pennsylvanians (LAMP); and,
WHEREAS, In 2011 she collaborated with community advocates to help propel the special Library voter initiative, Our Library, Our Future, to success, resulting in a new dedicated source of operating funding for CLP, and, in 2016, helped launch the annual Love Your Library fundraising campaign, which has raised almost $5.34 million for all libraries in Allegheny County;
WHEREAS, along with leadership at the Allegheny County Library Association (ACLA), Mary Frances initiated a county-wide process in 2014 to consider the structure and funding of 21st century library services in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, which has led to additional collaborative efforts among all libraries in Allegheny County; and,
WHEREAS, she has led various service innovations at CLP, including the creation of the Office of Programs & Partnerships and the Office of Digital Strategy & Technology Integration; and,
WHEREAS, while the last few years have been some of the most difficult we have all faced, marred by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mary Frances didn’t shy away from the mounting challenges our community faced; and,
WHEREAS, rising to the occasion, she collaboratively worked to ensure that while the library was temporarily forced to close, the public had continued and expanded access to library services, including curbside services, expansion of CLP’s virtual programming and electronic offerings, and lending of wi-fi hotspots and laptops; and,
WHEREAS, both City and County residents are infinitely better served because of Mary Frances’ legacy of compassion and caring; and,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the City of Pittsburgh expresses its sincere admiration and gratitude to Mary Frances Cooper for her dedication and tireless work to improve the public library system; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby declares Monday, December 13th to be “Mary Frances Cooper Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.