Library Fundraisers Woo Wealthy Prospects while Awaiting ‘Shovels in the Ground’

Trustee President Reports Building Project Sub-contractor Bids Under Budget
At the April 22 Jones Library Board of Trustees meeting, President Austin Sarat reported on behalf of the Jones Library Building Committee (JLBC) which last met on January 4. He noted that sub-bids from sub-contractors vying to work on the library renovation-expansion project had been received and came in “slightly under budget.”

“Some of the items attracted two or three sub-contractors, some attracted only one, so we are waiting for the bids on the 26^th [of April] from the general contractors and we’ll see how they come in,” Sarat said.

The Town of Amherst had invited sub-bids for 15 different trades ranging from masonry to electrical work to roofing, with the sub-bid period closing on April 9. On April 26, project Addendum #24 on the electronic bidding site biddocs.com announced that the sub-bids for electrical work were being thrown out and that new electrical sub-contractor bids would be solicited with a due date of May 16 at 2pm.  The General Contractor will need to carry an allowance of $3.3 million for electrical work, the addendum stated.

Library Tours Target Significant Donors
Jones library Capital Campaign (JLCC) Co-chair Lee Edwards reported that she has been busy leading tours of the library to nearly 100 people.

“I have not been pitching the capitol campaign [but] say I’m taking you on a tour to let the building speak to you about its need to be renovated and expanded,” Edwards said.

“In addition, we’ve taken some special people on special tours. These are people who we know have the capacity to give significant gifts — obviously I’m not going to tell you who they are.  They have made oral commitments,” added Edwards.

Edwards acknowledged that JLCC efforts have been hampered by factors such as project delays due to cost escalation.  She expects giving to improve “once we have shovels in the ground and everybody knows that the project is definitely going forward.”

Some budget watchers and taxpayers have been less than appreciative of JLCC fundraising, as it has been used to leverage the commitment of $25 million, including interest charges, from town tax revenues.  Residents have argued that this cost is unaffordable and unjustifiable when considering other town priorities.

Director Announces Plan to Spread Interim Library Services Over Four Locations
Should shovels break ground, Jones Library contents and programming will move to interim locations for approximately two years while construction is in progress.  Director Sharon Sharry explained that four temporary locations have been lined up to accommodate library services.

The Slobody Building at 101 University Drive would serve as the library’s public facing location.  Plans are for the Children’s Department to occupy the first floor with Reference, Special Collections and other spaces on the second floor.

Because the building is not large enough to contain all Jones holdings, Sharry explained that the pageable collection, i.e. those items that can be requested by patrons, would be housed down the road at 65 University Drive. This retail block is the current location of Athena’s Pizza and Hampshire Bicycle Exchange.

The two University Drive sites lack room for about 8000 items in the Adult Collection.  Sharry reported that she had just received word that Amherst College has offered to house these items at no charge for two years.  

ESL lessons would be moved to classrooms in the St. Brigid’s Church Pastoral Center at 43 North Prospect St. in Amherst.

Some non-essential items such as rugs and a doll collection are being de-acquisitioned.  The library’s Fine Arts Collection curator is working with experts to roll up and store a large mural by artist John Grillo that has hung in the library for 30 years.

Capital Campaign Announces March Results
The JLCC report for April 1 shows that $44,204 were raised in March.  This figure represents a corporate donation of $30,000 and community gifts and pledges of $14,204.

Campaign personnel expenses totaled $23,066 for the month.  Other expenses were $3807.

Apparently unannounced at a public meeting, another $50,000 was reported as remitted to the town toward the library share of the building project, bringing the total remittance to $1,650,000.

A cash flow model presented to the Town Council in November projected that the JLCC would have reimbursed the town $2,500,000 by January 1, 2024.