Letter: Supporting Our Library Means Walking Away from Unaffordable Expansion

As a librarian, I am always happy to see support for our public libraries. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has made this project untenable. Broadly speaking, there are three major considerations in any such project and all three now make this project unworkable. 

In no particular order, the three major considerations include (1) the costs of the project itself; (2) the fundraising for the project; and (3) the larger fiscal environment. The Trump administration has lit each of these on fire. The costs of the project are absolutely going to increase, due to tariffs on materials, the increase in interest rates, the reduction in the labor force, and the increasing likelihood of a recession. Any one of these factors would add significant pressure to this project; taking all of them into account, and one could see this project ballooning to 150% or more of its current predicted price. 

The fundraising for the project is also going to suffer. Federal funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the IMLS, is being decimated. We haven’t heard about the offer for a $1 million grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, but even awarded grants have been canceled if not yet paid out – for instance a grant to the Five Colleges for local museums. Those institutions also fund our state library system, so those hardships will trickle down to the local library’s operating costs. 

The Jones has pledged their entire endowment, but even the entire endowment’s pre-Trump valuations will not be enough to cover even the current estimated costs. More importantly, it is absurdly short-sighted to wipe out the endowment, which supports the annual operating budget. 

Finally, the larger fiscal environment, as we all know, is disastrous. The Department of Education is under attack, which will greatly affect our schools. Every part of our town will be affected by a recession, from tax revenues to state revenue. 

In this time of attacks on our libraries, we absolutely must stand firm in supporting our library. But the building is the least important part of our library. Our library staff, their programming, and the materials budget are all under threat. At this moment, moving ahead with this project goes beyond imprudence; it is a breach of fiduciary duty both to the town and to the library itself. 

With great dismay, I therefore urge all parties – Town Council, Town Manager, and Jones Board of Trustees – to exercise their best judgment on behalf of the library and the town, and withdraw from this building project.

Laura Quilter

Laura Quilter is an attoreny, librarian, and resident of Amherst