Fichman announces write-in campaign for library trustee

By Guest

Submitted by Rob Fichman

I am running a write-in campaign for the Library Board of Trustees. I am a firm believer in intellectual freedom and open, equitable access to information. I look forward to adding my energy and skills to Canton’s excellent library board.

I have called Canton home for 29 years, together with my wife, Sue Harrington, a local veterinarian and Canton Select Board member. We raised three children here, all graduates of Canton public schools.

This would be my first foray into public service in Canton, not counting my years as volunteer photographer for the many Canton school drama productions that my wife costumed! However, I have been deeply service-oriented throughout my professional life, and the skills I have developed — collaborative decision-making, strategic planning, a commitment to excellence in education and learning — translate naturally to the library trustee role.

For nearly three decades, I have been a professor at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. I served as chair of the Information Systems Department for 11 years and received the Carroll School’s Distinguished Service Award in 2020. I’m a 16-year veteran of the Carroll School Teaching Committee, where I am exploring options for building students’ fluency in artificial intelligence.

I know firsthand that a love of reading can arrive unexpectedly, at any age. My own journey to becoming an avid lifelong reader began at age 16 after picking up a volume from my dad’s collection of James Bond books. That experience shapes how I think about libraries: At their best, they are not just repositories of books, but places where people can discover and expand their worlds — through books (of course), but also through technology, programs, community connection, and simply being somewhere that welcomes everyone.

That is exactly what I see when I look at the Canton Public Library. I am proud of what this community has built: a beautiful and historic building, with a skilled and dedicated staff, a rich collection of physical and digital resources, vibrant programs for all ages, and a location right in downtown Canton, close to schools and neighborhoods where access to library resources matters most. I have toured the library, met with the director, attended a board meeting, and studied the Strategic Plan. I am impressed with how the board operates and its collaborative relationship with the library staff, and I am enthusiastic about the library’s vision for its future.

My most immediate priority as a trustee would be to support the $1.4 million interior renovation request at Annual Town Meeting — restoring the library’s historic spaces and redesigning other spaces to better serve all of its diverse community members. This investment is the next chapter in the library’s long story of growth and renewal, and I want to help make it happen.

I was also pleased to learn about some new initiatives spearheaded by our new children’s librarian, as I’m a strong supporter of enhancing children’s programs going forward.

I would be honored to help the Canton Public Library reach its full potential to be — in the words of its own Strategic Plan — a true “hub of the community.”

To vote for me, please clearly write “Rob Fichman, 45 Spruce Ln” on the write-in line in the Library Board of Trustees area of your April 7 ballot, then fill in the oval on the same line. Thank you!

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