Letter: Renovate Without Expanding The Jones Library

by David P. Schmidt

Editor’s note:  This letter appeared previously in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Terry Johnson’s letter in the Gazette on December 8 made a strong case for funding the library renovation without expanding the Jones Library. I concur and offer two supporting points.

First, if the future of libraries is to offer more electronic lending, then the library could function well without expanding.

Second, many proponents of expansion list intended activities, such as expanded ESL instruction, that are not library-specific. Any number of public spaces could suffice.

Let’s focus our ambition on the core mission of the library in acknowledgement of our limited resources and impending capital obligations.

David P. Schmidt

David P. Schmidt is a resident of Amherst.