Library Trustees Focus on Move, Federal Cuts

At their May 22 meeting the Jones Library Board of Trustees discussed the upcoming move of the library to temporary quarters while a renovated and expanded building is undergoing construction.

For the estimated 18 months of construction, most library operations will be moving to 101 University Drive, with programming offered downtown at the Bangs Center and St Brigid’s Parish.  Special Collections will be moved to a climate-controlled space in Hadley.

Included in the meeting packet was an updated financial summary for the renovation-expansion project.  It shows anticipated total costs for the project coming in under the Town Council appropriation of $46,139,800 with a contingency for unforeseen expenses of $3,070,050 or 8.55%.  The total cost estimate has risen by $225,500 since a financial summary was released in November 2024.  That report showed the project contingency at 10%.

Dates for moving into the temporary quarters and groundbreaking have not yet been determined.

Following a couple of flat months of fundraising, the Jones Library Capital Campaign reported $52,648 in community donations received in April.

Federal Cuts Impact Libraries Statewide
Director Sharon Sharry reported on cuts in federal aid to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) that will affect libraries across the state.  A March 14 Executive Order by President Donald Trump eliminates “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) which provides $3.6 million to the MBLC through its Grants to States Program.

The MBLC uses this money for a variety of services, notably statewide research databases and support of ebooks and audiobooks.  As a result of the anticipated loss of funding, the MBLC is canceling 21 of its 27 research databases effective July 1, 2025.

Despite the loss of five out of six databases offered by the Jones Library, Sharry said that the situation could be worse.  She described the terminated database subscriptions which include the Boston Globe Article Archive and several Gale reference resources as “not a large part of our circulation and usage.”  A much bigger hit, she said, will be to school libraries that rely on access to databases from Gale, Peterson’s, and the Boston Globe.

Free access to Libby ebooks and audiobooks is not yet reduced, nor is funding of the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program that supports the Jones Library renovation-expansion.  Sharry will continue monitoring the situation and has been invited to join litigation against the federal government to restore IMLS funding. 

Litigation in Rhode Island has resulted in federal judge John James McConnell calling a halt to the dismantling of the IMLS, describing the order as unconstitutional and a violation of the separation of powers.  The federal government is appealing the decision and Congressman Andrew Clyde (R-GA) is sponsoring a bill to impeach Judge McConnell.