Letter: Councilors Should Reject Library Expansion

Editor’s note:  The following letter was sent to Amherst Town Councilors on February 14.

Please vote No against the library renovation project. There are many reasons to support a “no” vote. 

1. This extremely large expense must be considered in the context of other imminent town expenses. I doubt many voters will vote to raise our already high property taxes with an override vote for this project and also for the upcoming elementary school projects. (Personally, I’d like to see the town put in a sewer line for all South Amherst homes. That is my priority.) 

2. Isn’t it more prudent to first decide what funds are necessary to renovate the library before voting to accept a state grant? Accepting the grant first is putting the cart before the horse. 

3. I think the entire library renovation project should be massively scaled down. Some of us recall the 1988 sale of the Bierstadt painting urged by the Jones Library trustees. Would anyone of us have predicted that just 30 years later the Jones trustees would be recommending destruction of that very project? Let’s not make another poor decision now. 

4. Much is unknown—how will libraries even be used by kids and adults because of possible waves of viral epidemics? Emphasis should be on online access, not old-fashioned stacks of books. Citizens in small towns like Amherst now have great access to periodicals and books via the internet making the old-style library redundant. 

5. Make greater use of current town-owned facilities such as our school libraries, Boys and Girls Club and the Senior Center. This town is too small to afford duplication of services. 

David Nielsen

David Nielsen is a 40-year resident of Amherst.