Library Looks To Add New Department. Building Committee To Seek Ideas From Public
Jones Library. Photo: wilkipedia.org
Jones Library News Highlights For The Week Of March 20, 2022
Director Proposes New Young Adult Services Department Head Position
Jones Library Director Sharon Sharry announced at the March 22 meeting of the Personnel, Planning and Policy Committee a proposal to create a Head of Young Adult Services staff position at the department head level. Since 2012 the library has staffed a Young Adult Services Coordinator reporting to Head of Youth Services, Mia Cabana, but explained Sharry, “we’ve got this building project … and I need somebody to help design the young adult space and to involve teens in that.”
Sharry said that she plans to post the open position should it be approved by the Town’s Personnel Board, but that she expects to fill it with current Young Adult Services Coordinator Cecilia Zepek. Zepek, who has worked at the Jones for two-and-a-half years, received praise for her development of teen programming and was described as having a Master of Library Science Degree and being overqualified for her current position.
Sharry plans to minimize impact on the budget by not refilling the Young Adult Services Coordinator position until the renovated library reopens in three to four years.
An attendee identified as Natalie offered a public comment: “When the director went before Town Council, she assured them that no additional positions would be needed in the new building aside from moving a part-time maintenance position to full-time. How do you justify additional positions when other departments like the Fire Department are so short-staffed? Why create a new position rather than upgrading the current position? The costs to the Town in creating another position are so much more than just salary.”
Sharry replied that she had considered upgrading the coordinator position but wanted to keep it open and intact as she foresees a need for a Young Adult Services Coordinator in the future.
Building project subcommittee ponders outreach
The Jones Library Building Committee (JLBC) Outreach Subcommittee has been charged with informing the public, seeking community engagement, and making design recommendations to the Design Subcommittee. The four members, Trustees Alex Lefebvre and Austin Sarat, Town Councilor Anika Lopes and Resident Member Xander Lopez are figuring out how to best put outreach plans into action.
Subcommittee Chair Lefebvre listed four aspects of the Library Building Project that could not change regardless of public input: the building size, building location, planned programming and requirements mandated by the Historical Preservation Restriction that the trustees have agreed to.
For reference Lefebvre presented a survey conducted by the Jones Library in 2015 that represented an example of outreach used to inform the size and building program of the $36.3 million renovation/expansion project now underway. Among the statistics reported in a summary of the 910 responses were:
- 86% of respondents lived in Amherst
- The largest group of respondents (42%) were in the top income bracket, earning $78,000 or more
- 66% of respondents had an education level of master’s degree or better
- 49% used the library no more frequently than monthly
- 75% were extremely satisfied with Jones Library customer service
- 79% would recommend Jones Library
- 4% take advantage of ESL programming; 15% use Special Collections
- Of 12 service offerings, only the General Collection was rated Most Important by the greatest number (80%) of respondents
- 13% had used Teen/Young adult programs
- 48% reported attending Jones Library programs Not at all often
- Of 10 different service wants, only Better Parking was rated Most Important by the greatest number of respondents
Discussing what would be a good target audience for outreach efforts, Lopes and Lopez expressed a desire to reach members of the community who have not been heard from in the past. Sarat emphasized the need to inform the public who the JLBC is and what its role is. At the most recent Board meeting, trustee Farah Ameen suggested that pro-development political action committee Amherst Forward might be a good group to engage in library project outreach.
Building project sees management change
At the March 15 JLBC meeting, OPM Ken Guyette of Colliers announced that his company’s regular project manager Ken Romeo had been replaced by Craig DiCarlo. DiCarlo is a registered architect and LEED Accredited Professional with experience working on a variety of school and civic building projects. He is also a Massachusetts Certified Public Purchasing Official (MCPPO) with expertise in municipal procurement.
Recent JLBC status updates have mentioned that the next step of hiring a project designer awaits the conclusion of discussions with the State Attorney General’s office on the procurement process. Town Manager Paul Bockelman explained at the March 25 Community Chat that the communication with the AG represents due diligence to ensure that the Town is in good shape with respect to state regulations and best practices.
I was the one who gave a public comment at the meeting about the addition of another fulltime position at the library. I am a strong supporter of the library and of teen services. I must strongly object to new positions being added at the library.
When she needed votes, the director assured us that no more positions were needed if the building project were approved. Now she is saying an additional fulltime position is needed. Even if she keeps the coordinator position unfilled until after the building project, she is still adding positions. Can we trust that this is the only new position she will create or will more be needed for the larger library? Where is the transparency? Why didn’t she admit to greater staffing needs before the project was approved?
She is increasing positions at the Jones, but taking away a professional position at the branches. They are now hiring one person to oversee both branches leaving part timers in charge of daily operations.
The library is already better staffed than any other library in western Massachusetts. Chicopee has 2 fulltime positions to handle all of kid and teen services. The Jones has 4 fulltime and 10 partime staff.
The job description for the proposed position is almost identical to the current position. Both positions can’t be needed. If the current person is overqualified for the position, upgrade the position but don’t create a new position for that person.
Most importantly, there are other departments that have a greater need for additional positions. The fire department is chronically understaffed and it’s a public safety issue. If the town can afford more positions, they should be created in that department rather than forcing them to seek grants to pay for additional positions.
I urge the personnel board to deny this request.
Natalie Barber
Thank you, Natalie, for your vigilance and for caring that the Town spend its limited tax dollars where they are needed most. You are not the first person to comment that the Jones Library has made misleading statements to support ambitious expansion plans.