ROBERT W. EDWARDS JR. was recently named chairman of the Providence Public Library’s board of directors. He had previously served as the board’s vice chairman and as chairman of the library’s pension committee. Before his retirement, Edwards was an attorney at Steiker, Fischer, Edwards & Greenapple PC, serving as a leading adviser to public and private companies regarding employee stock-ownership plans.
What drew you to become involved with the library? The main reason for my interest and involvement with Providence Public Library is my lifelong love affair with books. As a child I spent hours every day with my head buried in a book and my interest in reading and learning never abated. The library is the one place in our community focused on providing a range of meaningful educational experiences for all ages – free and open to everyone.
What goals do you hope to accomplish as board chair? I’m focused on strengthening the board’s governance function while also increasing the library’s fundraising, in light of PPL’s current Think Again project to completely transform our 1950s Empire Street building. We’ve just announced our Building Transformation and Capital Campaign, which we expect to continue for some time. One of my goals is to ensure the success of this campaign by working with our tremendously committed board and the entire community.
How much has the library, and its programs, grown in your time on the board? As the library has always done, we are continually evolving and seeking new opportunities to create and provide the kinds of services our community needs … whether it be working with partners to develop and implement a new citywide Passport to Summer Learning [program] or creating workforce-development programs [such as] our Rhode Coders program, which gives adults and teens skills they need to seek employment in the growing high-tech economy.
Given that digital information is becoming more prevalent, how is the library trying to remain connected with the community? It is true that we now operate in a digital age and this has certainly affected not just PPL, but all libraries, many of which are working on major changes to meet their communities’ evolving needs. One of the broad goals of our strategic plan is to enhance our digital capabilities and incorporate interactive learning into our program offerings. To achieve this goal, we have reached out to the online community by providing more digital assets and also increased access to our collections and resources through our websites at provlib.org and provlibdigital.org.
