Letter: Library Demolition Undermines Sustainability

The following letter was sent to the Amherst Town Council, Amherst Town Manager, and Jones Library Board of Trustees on April 8, 2025.

I am writing to you on the heels of having just read Ken Rosenthal’s letter to you all which was sent today.  I agree with Ken on all of his points. Today Mothers Out Front of Massachusetts had their monthly Zoom climate call which I attended. The presenter was talking to us about libraries. Trump is trying to gut the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Let’s fight this.  Let’s also ask our libraries to become Climate Resilience Hubs  and join the 10 Massachusetts libraries who are members of the organization of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative. All this can be done with a commitment from the staff and the board of trustees instead of going through with a plan that damages our environment through demolition and disposal of the construction debris for the proposed addition, using and transporting newly manufactured materials and transporting workers and materials during the building process, expanding the footprint of the library, transporting library materials to alternative spaces, using fossil fuels to power the construction and renovation and on and on. I am not a climate or building expert but I am a climate activist who has been watching this process for perhaps 8 years with a broken heart that a community with so many caring smart people could let this continue.  Please say “STOP”.  

Please see my previous letter on embodied carbon in demolition debris here.

Lydia Vernon-Jones

Lydia Vernon-Jones is a resident of Amherst