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Garrett Bergen has been working in operations management for nearly 20 years and currently serves as senior director of facilities management and operations at The New York Public Library. Before overseeing a library portfolio that serves 18 million people, Bergen’s career journey started with an aspiration to work in public service.
Bergen hadn’t considered a career in facilities or building services, but he decided to give it a try during a temporary job at Columbia University after graduating college. He went on to become assistant director for building services and stayed with the department for a decade. Along the way, he earned master’s degrees in public and construction administration.
His experience with Columbia helped him develop his coalition-building skills.
“In every role I’ve had, I’ve been able to navigate the bureaucracy of an organization in a way that has achieved the outcomes I’d like to see,” he says. “Getting to that point requires developing strong relationships with departments or individuals well in advance of needing their support. Every day, you’re tested on your relationships, so you have to work at it consistently and focus on communication, which is one of the most effective skills you can have.”
In 2015, Bergen decided to take his leadership to The New York Public Library, which maintains a portfolio of 92 locations across four boroughs, totaling approximately 2.6 million square feet. Since 2015, a lot has changed. To keep up with the pace of technological advancements, the library has adapted the way it engages with its patrons by bolstering access to e-books, digitizing special collections, offering community-responsive programming, and more. In addition to inspiring more people to read, the goal has been to turn more community members into lifelong learners.
That mandate has required Bergen’s team to partner with their colleagues to create spaces that enable those goals.
Garrett Bergen on the Ingredients to Building Coalitions
“You have to deliver on your promises and be consistent in doing so. If you commit to doing something, you figure out how to do it for the group you’re serving. At the end of the day, we’re service providers. With that responsibility comes great opportunity: we’re providing something people need. How you leverage that influence can create a roadmap for successful coalition building.”
“We’ve been focused on allowing people to have access to materials they need and to be in spaces where they can be inspired. That’s easy to do in the main library on 42nd street but it’s a little bit harder in some of the branch libraries, which are a mixed bag in terms of age and aesthetic. In each one, we want to really elevate the experiences that people have when they go into those spaces.”
Bergen and his colleagues have done that through several initiatives, many of which place energy and sustainability considerations at the forefront. Since 2018, the library has completed 66 building-wide LED upgrades, installed 29 HVAC automation systems, and opened the first net-zero energy library in the city in 2022. To date, the library has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by over 40 percent compared to a 2005 baseline. That’s equivalent to removing 2,600 gasoline-powered vehicles from the road.
The library is well on its goal to reduce annual emissions by 49 percent by 2025 and 86 percent by 2030.
Despite the many strides the library has made to improve and enhance its spaces, Bergen says: “The available funding never meets the need.” That will be especially true in 2024 as New York City navigates budget cuts, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the many improvements the library would like to make. However, due to the nature of the library’s portfolio, Bergen is no stranger to such constraints.
Garrett Bergen on Lessons from Columbia
“Working at a university allows you to deal with different types of populations from student to staff and faculty. And you can’t approach each group in the same way. Managing expectations for each group and figuring out how to communicate effectively with each one were some of my biggest takeaways from my tenure at Columbia.”
“Even in years when there aren’t as severe funding challenges, there’s always uncertainty because of the wide range of building types we have. The buildings range in age from around 140 years old to 1 year old. The systems are different because of the way public construction work is managed and administered. As a result, there’s a wide variety of building management systems we encounter and need to be proficient in maintaining all at the same time.” There is no shortage of opportunities to learn.
As a leader, Bergen navigates such a dynamic landscape by being comfortable with uncertainty.
“You have to understand the challenges that exist and really take a cautious approach to spending the funding you have.”
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