Letter: Jones Library Needs Responsible Planning And Respect For Staff, Not A Costly New Building
Children's Room, Jones Library. Photo: Art Keene
Contrary to Nina Mankin’s assertion in her Amherst Bulletin Guest Column (“Wanting a New Library in Amherst,” 1/29/21), no one opposing the Jones Library demolition/expansion project has ever suggested that children’s library programming should take place “on a side street behind the town at the Bangs Center.” This kind of inflammatory rhetoric makes thoughtful discussion difficult.
For years, Save Our Library has advocated for social justice concerns, including more diverse material selection and program offerings, outreach efforts such as mobile services, and the hiring of a more inclusive staff. Such initiatives don’t require a larger building — they need careful planning and financing. Organized outreach to understand the library needs of Amherst’s diverse communities is long overdue.
Those of us in favor of a less destructive, more carefully conceived project also want a library that is refurbished, reorganized, and handicapped accessible, and one that we can afford to sustain and staff. The Jones Trustees have not adequately maintained their building for years, and its current budget is stretched to the limit. For decades, the Library has dealt with budget limitations by employing half of its staff as part-timers (under 20 hours a week). These employees can be fired at will and receive no benefits other than sick leave.
We do want our Town Councilors to discuss how the Town can finance four major capital projects — a new elementary school, fire station, DPW headquarters, and the library — as well as roads and sidewalks, when state and local budgets are in danger of falling off a Covid-19 cliff. A debt exclusion override for the Trustee’s low ball estimate of $35.8 for the Jones project could jeopardize any future school override. We cannot let this happen.
In the interests of full disclosure it should be noted that, for over a dozen years, Ms. Mankin was employed by Financial Development Agency — the PR firm that just received its sixth contract from the Jones Trustees to promote and raise money for their proposed demolition/expansion project.
Christina Platt
Christina Platt is a member of the Steering Committee of Save Our Library
A crucial fact that needs to be emphasized is that the Jones Library 1993 brick addition slated for demolition in the library Trustee’s plan is already ADA compliant, that is, fully accessible! This fact makes the Demolition-Expansion truly unnecessary for accessibility needs. Other areas of the Jones that do require changes for accessibility, such as the lower level stacks that are currently too narrow for wheelchair access, can be widened without demolishing the building.