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Main Library Building Project

Montague has been awarded $11.3 million dollars through the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program. 

During the planning phase, a committee of residents and town staff determined that constructing a new main library, located at 38 Avenue A, rather than adding onto the Carnegie Library, would be the most advantageous use of taxpayer dollars.

The total cost of the new library is estimated at $23.7 million dollars. The town will appropriate its share, $12.4 million dollars, through a debt exclusion. The town's share will be offset by fundraising and grant writing efforts.

The appropriation of these funds was approved, 81 to 3, at the Annual Town Meeting and the community voted 56% to 44% to move forward with the project via a special election on Wednesday, June 24th.

Now, the Library Building Steering Committee will work with Schwartz/Silver Architects and Downes Construction to finalize the buiding design. This is expected to take around 10 months. 

After that, the project will get put out to bid with a ground breaking expected in Summer/Fall 2027.

Fundraising:
It is the intention of the Library Trustees, Friends of the Montague Public Libraries, and library staff to hit the ground running with our fundraising efforts. The more money we raise over the next three years, the smaller the amount the town will need to bond for to cover Montague’s share of the new library's building costs, and the smaller the impact on taxpayers. 

Want to help?  The Trustees and Friends are forming a fundraising committee and would love to invite other members of the public—especially those with fundraising experience!—to join. We’re also looking for volunteers to help with things like stuffing envelopes, assisting at fundraising events, and much more. Learn more and indicate your interest in volunteering here: https://forms.gle/VhSfUx6ZGsih1Qfy6

Want to donate? The Friends will be collecting donations on behalf of the libraries. You can find more information here: https://montaguepubliclibraries.org/support/donate

More information:
Want to read three years of building project press coverage? Visit this page.
Want to explore designs and plans for the new library building? Visit this library webpage.
Want to learn more about the project's architects, Schwartz/Silver? Visit their webpage.
Have questions? Check out our FAQ below. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Post-Award Timeline

January 2025: Library Commissioners voted to approve immediately funded and waitlisted grant recipients; MBLC contracts executed with grant recipients

Montague was one of just seven towns across the Commonwealth to receive immediate project funding.

January 2025 - December 2025: Planning & Design for Standard Grant recipients

Soon after receiving award notification, the Library Building Steering Committee (LBSC) was formed and approved by the Selectboard to oversee the library building project. 

Per state recommendations, the committee is made up of a combination of Library Trustees, town staff, and Montague residents and includes: Will Quale, Lydia ievans, Tricia Perham, Chris Nolan-Zeller, Caitlin Kelley, David Dempsey, Ariel Elan, Dorinda Bell-Upp, and Josh Lively.

After town admin executed the grant contract with the Commonwealth, the Library Building Steering Committee put together a request for qualifications for an Owners Project Manager (OPM).

Our selected firm, Downes Construction, assisted the Library Building Steering Committee with searching for and selecting an architectural firm to design the project.

The LBSC hired Schwartz/Silver as our design firm. Our project leads investigated the Carnegie Library, its grounds, and adjacent properties as well as the site at 38 Avenue A to determine the cost and feasibility of building on each site. Their findings and recommendations were presented to the trustees and the community. 

Ultimately, the Library Building Steering Committee chose to build new based on that site's ability to support the size of a building that we need and the fact that it's much more financially viable for the taxpayers.  They made that recommendation to the Library Trustees, who unanimously voted to approve the site. 

Next, the architects put together several designs for the community to review. There was ample opportunity for residents to weigh in on the project and feedback was incorporated into the the final design.

After the designs were completed, we sent it off to the state for review.

December 2025 - January 2026: Independent review of MPLCP Level of Design

The state reviewed and ultimately approved our designs by their guidelines.

February 2026: Estimates based on MPLCP Level of Design; Construction phase grant awards calculated

March 2026: Commissioners voted to approve Construction phase grant awards

March - June 2026: Certified votes for local approvals and appropriations for Construction phase local funding

After the town learned how much the library building project will cost and how much of that cost the state will cover, then town administration  estimated the amount of money that the town is responsible for and needs to appropriate. 

May 2026: The town put a debt exclusion ballot initiative article before town meeting members. Since winning that vote 81 to 3, the project moved to a special election to be voted on by all Montague voters on Wednesday, June 24th. This vote passed 56% to 44%.

 

June 2026 - June 2027: Design work from completion of schematic design through construction documents

July 2027: Bidding

August 2027: Construction contracts for projects (usually 16 to 24 months)

You can find all the grant application materials on the Library Building Steering Committee Page on the town's website: https://montague-ma.gov/g/80/Library-Building-Steering-Committee

Additional documents:

Strategic Plan, 2022

Strategic Plan Survey Results, 2022

Carnegie Library Survey Responses for Grant, 2023

Survey Responses Infographic, 2023

Mid-Design Survey, 2025

Schematic Design Cost Breakdown, 2026

We’ve had some folks ask us why we don’t just make the Carnegie Library accessible.  Wouldn’t that be cheaper?  It’s a fair question.  And it was the first thing we looked at when we began this process.  It quickly became apparent that simply adding an accessible bathroom solves one problem, but opens up several more. 
 
A Property Condition Assessment of the Carnegie building commissioned by the Town of Montague in 2020 estimated that the cost of adding an accessible bathroom would be $80,000.  This sounds good until you read on and find that this doesn’t include design (add at least 15% for a project of this scale); it doesn’t include project management costs (add another 15% for supervision, temporary facilities, clean up and dumpsters, and other costs not specifically covered in the materials and labor for the actual construction); and it doesn’t include the contractor’s overhead and profit (probably also 15% for a project of this size.) 
 
Do the math and that’s $121,670 in 2021 dollars.  With the price increases caused by supply chain disruptions and labor issues during Covid, general inflation, and price increases from tariffs, those 2021 dollars have now increased by as much as 35%, putting our new estimated total at $164,254.50.   
 
This is still cheaper than a new building, but we’ve only just begun.  Where are we going to put it?  It has to be on the main floor because that’s the only space you can get to in a wheelchair.  The accessible ramp gives you access to the children’s area, the adult reading/computer area, the Local History Room and no place else.  Even the gateway leading to the stacks is not accessible.  This leaves us two corners of the main floor – the staff entrance and back stairs to the second floor, or the Local History Room. Code allows a grandfathered nonconforming condition to remain but you can’t make it worse, so the back stairs, treacherous as they are, have to stay.  They are the second means of egress for the second floor.  The only possible space is in the Local History Room. 
 
Aside from being the only limited space we have for display and access to local history books and artifacts, this is also the only private meeting space available in the library.  Since reopening in 2025 this room has been in nearly constant use for quiet work or study, small meetings (it seats up to 6 people), and a convenient location for open office hours for elected officials.  
 
But let’s say we decide that a bathroom is more important.  This is the space we have, this is what we use.  This room is in the southeast corner of the building.  The existing bathroom and the location where the sewer exits the building is in the northwest corner.  Add a currently unknown amount to the figure above to get the plumbing across the basement ceiling  and tied in to the old cast iron sewer pipe.  Since this is a Town owned building the DPW will be responsible if there are problems with the old pipe, so we won’t add anything to this cost for that, but if problems are discovered it will be a cost borne by the Town.  
 
With this one simple bathroom we have easily exceeded the $100,000 cap set by Massachusetts 521 CMR, which triggers other accessibility improvements required by the Architectural Access Board.  The 2021 Property Condition Assessment notes that the existing desk has no accessible transaction area.  This would have to be corrected, adding at least another $10,000.00.   
 
The adult stacks themselves are not accessible.  The current stacks were designed for 1906, when patrons brought a card to the desk and the librarian went to the shelf to retrieve the book.  They were not designed for public browsing.  The rows are about 30” apart and the books are stacked 6 shelves high.  Bringing this area up to code would mean eliminating nearly every other row, and reducing the height to 3 rows of shelves.  Half as many rows and half as many shelves on each row reduces our available stacks to 25% of our current capacity.  We don’t have an estimated cost for this, but we should allow at least $50,000 - $60,000 to remove the books, remove the old shelves, fix the floor where the old shelves were attached, and purchase and install new shelves. 
 
At this point we’re at about $225,000.00.  We haven’t even addressed the crumbling asbestos tile in the entryway, the replacement of the old, undersized HVAC system, the new roofing, the flooding in the west end of the basement every time we have a heavy rain or the repointing of the masonry on the exterior of the building – all things that were identified as necessary upcoming repairs in the Property Condition Assessment. 
 
Imagine you’re on the Capital Improvement Committee, or the Finance Committee, or the Selectboard.  Are you going to approve a warrant article for $225,000.00 to add a bathroom and lose 75% of the book storage space and the only private meeting room we have in our main library?  Are you going to approve the additional $500,000.00 to $750,000.00 for the other anticipated repairs?   
 
None of this even addresses the basement or second floor.  To get to the second floor we need an elevator, and as has been demonstrated, there is no place for one in the existing footprint.  This means an addition, and the only place we can go is to the south, into the driveway, cutting off access to the ramp.  If we extend the existing rear gable the addition would be 30’ wide by about 12’ deep.  360 square feet times 2 floors is 720 square feet.  Using prevailing wage and new construction cost estimates for FY27 of about $1,100/ sq ft as a guide we’re looking at an estimated price tag of at least $800,000.00.  Taking into account prevailing wage, a difficult site, cutting into the existing building and the small scale of the project it may be more.  On top of this add another $400,000.00 to $500,000.00 for the elevator itself.   
 
Before we can use the second floor we need an engineering assessment, as there’s a question about whether the 1906 construction can handle 2026 requirements.  Repairs to the floor system would likely impact the ceiling below.  This cost is unknown without an engineer’s report.  The second floor space is dark, with only 4 tiny windows, and because of the building’s construction and Historic Preservation restrictions we can’t add any more natural light.  But it is space, and could become the new children’s room.   
 
This increase in potential occupancy will require a second public restroom.  The good news is we can probably fit a bathroom on each floor in the addition, along with the elevator and new stairs.  The bad news is we don’t reclaim much of the lost shelf capacity on the first floor because the stacks area now has to accommodate a walkway to the front desk.  People have requested more quiet work and reading space so the old children’s area would likely mirror the existing adult reading area, with books around the perimeter and a worktable in the middle. 
 
An elevator and new stairs may or may not get us to the basement.  The floor level of the basement is about 6 feet below grade so we’d have to go down a minimum of 7-8’ to prep for the concrete slab.  The depth depends on the conditions underground.  If there’s ledge under the driveway we can’t blast safely, and even the vibration of a rock hammer might endanger the library or other buildings in the neighborhood.  There are already cracks in the southwest corner on the 2nd floor of unknown origin.  One crack has moved 5’ since a benchmark was noted in 2021.  Even the masonry steeple on the church on the next block up the hill might be affected depending on the nature and orientation of the ledge. 
Lack of an accessible route to the basement means the Friends’ booksale can’t be held there.  It could also be a problem if we had a qualified job applicant who couldn’t manage the existing stairs.  Are we going to risk a lawsuit by not hiring them because the office they’d need to access is down a steep flight of stairs?  This is actually already a risk but we’ve been lucky so far… 
 
Finally, let’s talk about parking.  I am thankfully perfectly capable right now of parking across the street and crossing at the light, or parking on the street and climbing the granite steps to the heavy front door.  Mass.gov statistics say that at least 20% of people middle age or older don’t share that outlook, and the percentage increases with age.  Libraries are a haven for parents with little kids, but not if you have to unload your toddlers right beside the travel lane or maneuver a stroller up the sidewalk around the building to get to the ramp or the elevator in the back.  No amount of money solves that problem as there is nowhere to go.  A previous plan included a few spaces to the west of the building, but that was before the Veterans’ Park was built. 
 
We looked at all of these questions and ultimately reached the conclusion that, as much as we love the Carnegie, there is no good way to solve all of the problems that the building and the site present.  Even 3 or 4 million dollars is not going to add the book capacity, study rooms, light and airy children’s space, computer stations, or any of the other things that existing  library users and people who would like to be able to use the library have requested.  I’ve been to enough Town Meetings to know that even a $225,000 request for basic accessibility upgrades would be a hard sell once people understood that we’d be paying all that money just to make fewer library services more accessible. 
If you want to see for yourself the challenges facing this building or ask additional questions, join me at the Carnegie Library next Thursday, 6/11 at 5:00PM or next Friday 6/12 at 11:00AM for a tour.
 
Tricia Perham, Vice President of Renaissance Builders, Co Chair of the Library Building Steering Committee, Library Trustee, Chair of the Library Building Committee, and Town Meeting Member

In 1915 the Trustees of the Carnegie Library realized their new building wasn’t big enough to serve the community. Since then, plans for expansion have been unsuccessful. We have been making do with a too-small, inaccessible space for over 100 years.

Through the state‘s library construction program, we have the chance to construct a new library to meet the evolving needs of the patrons we serve. If we do not act now, it will be 20 to 30 years before the town's interest in applying for grant funds again will be taken seriously.

Specific building issues include:

Inaccessibility: 

  • Though there is a wheelchair ramp, many portions of the library are not accessible to those using a wheelchair or walker, including the whole second floor, the basement where the Friends of the Library hold their book sales, the public restroom, as well as the fiction, non-fiction, DVD, audiobook, or local history collections. 

Lack of adequate collection space:

  • For every item that is purchased for the Carnegie Library, one must be removed.
  • Though library staff take pride in purchasing a diverse and varied collection of materials to suit the many interests and needs of the community, we are regularly forced to get rid of items that are only a few years old to make room for new items.
  • A lack of room also means that we do not have space for collections that the community has expressed much interest in, including more graphic novels, manga, indigenous history, etc.

Lack of quiet or comfortable study space:

  • With room for only two armchairs in Carnegie’s reading room, there’s little space for patrons to sit and read or work.
  • The reading room must also fit the libraries’ public computers, fax/copy machine, non-fiction collections, magazines, and newspapers in a space under 300sq/ft.
  • It is difficult, if not impossible, to navigate that space in a walker, wheelchair, or with a stroller.
  • The space is so cramped that it is physically difficult and/or uncomfortable for library staff to assist patrons with computer questions.

Lack of effective staff space: 

  • There is no non-public staff space on the first floor, so books and other materials must be carried either up or down a flight of stairs to be processed for circulation.
  • Staff work in cramped conditions behind the circulation desk, and most do not have workstations of their own.
  • There’s a disconnect between those working with the public on the first floor and those on the other floors. The Library Director, Library Technician, and Youth Services Librarian can’t see or hear if there’s a line at the desk, if a patron needs in-depth assistance, or if a patron is hassling a staff member. This could potentially lead to dangerous situations.

Inadequate children’s and teen spaces:

  • The children’s room is very small. There is no space for adult chairs, which would allow caregivers to read to their children.
  • There is no space for children’s computers.
  • There is also limited space for children to meet other children to foster play and healthy socialization skills nor is there space for parents to meet other parents and build community.
  • The teen collection is very small and located close to the children’s picture books, making for a patently uncool teen hang spot.

Inadequate programming and meeting space: 

  • Though the second floor of the library previously provided program space, we are no longer allowed to use it, by law, because it is inaccessible.
  • There is limited space and inadequate technology to support small meetings or large programs.

Inefficient and non-resilient systems: 

  • While the quality of the air at the Carnegie was improved by the installation of an ERV some years ago, the building’s systems are not efficient.
  • The building is heated and cooled with costly oil and electric systems that leave parts of the library boiling and other parts freezing. This makes for a space that is uncomfortable to work or spend time in.
  • Inefficient systems also use more energy than they should and cost extra tax-payer dollars to run.
  • As the library is relied upon more and more heavily to serve as a cooling or warming center during periods of extreme weather, the ability of the building to respond to these weather extremes becomes more important. 

In the April 23rd edition of the Montague Reporter, local disability rights advocate, Betty Tegel, asked 66 questions about the Main Library Building Project and its impact on members of the community with disabilities. Since there wasn't enough room in the paper, we've answered all her questions here: https://montaguepubliclibraries.org/betty

Programs include, but are certainly not limited to: Technology talks, database instruction, job seeker workshops, author events, local history lectures, craft programs, game nights, puzzle competitions, gardening programs, genealogy research instruction, concerts, gallery openings, string jams, book clubs, cookbook clubs, art classes, movie screenings, card making, tai chi, yoga, bike repair instruction, fix-it/repair cafes, language learning circles, writing groups, fiber arts clubs, bilingual music and movement, playgroup, storytimes, STEM workshops, astronomy programs, animal programs (reptiles, bunnies, and birds of prey-oh my!), Whale Mobile, Dino Man, Youth AstroNet program, Life-Sized Candyland, nature workshops, maker activities, and much much more.

Your Library, Your Voice Presentations and Recordings:

 

Want to read three years of building project press coverage? Visit this page.

The Library Trustees and the Library Building Steering Committee (LBSC) have voted on several measures to keep building costs low.

First, $5 million dollars were saved by deciding to building new, rather than renovating and adding onto the Carnegie Library. A renovation/addition would have required moving the existing building within the lot, purchasing and demolishing the adjacent multi-family house, dealing with asbestos, and re-digging the foundation.

Design decisions that would lead to significant cost savings on the new building include:

  • Decreasing the height of the building. Instead of matching the height of the adjacent Crocker building, the height of the new library building will be several feet lower. A higher roof on the building's second floor community room will ensure that that space feels proportional, but other parts of the building will feature a lower roof. This will save materials costs during the construction phase and energy costs over the long term. A 3-4 foot tall parapet will surround the roof, maintaining the historic character of Avenue A and hiding the rooftop mechanical systems from view.
  • Opting not to include a basement. Instead of incorporating a basement, which would cost roughly $2 million dollars, the Trustees and the LBSC instead opted to incorporate sufficient storage space on the first and second floors and to locate the majority of the building's mechanical systems on the roof.
  • Using a steel structure rather than mass timber. The Trustees and LBSC opted to use traditional steel structures at a 20-25% cost savings over mass timber.
  • Opting for an air to water heat pump hydronic system instead of geothermal. By opting for an air to water hydronic system, the building will be all electric and meet specialized stretch code, allowing for Montague to access additional funds through the Green Library Incentive, but without spending tens of thousands of dollars on a geothermal system.

Yes. While the operating cost per square foot will decrease, the overall operating costs are estimated to increase by $27,126 to $48,230 annually, depending on the size of the solar array that could be installed on the roof and how much energy the building would use. 
This range amounts to a 5% to 8% increase in the libraries’ budget, a 0.01% increase in the town’s FY25 budget, and would cost less than $10 per year for the average taxpayer. 
Included in this range are all heating and cooling costs as well as a 12 hr/wk Library Assistant, to cover the children’s desk on nights and Saturdays, and 8 additional hours of custodial work per week.
These operating costs may be offset by renting the community room for private events, such as birthday parties, corporate events, and weddings.

  • The LBSC intends to meet the state's Green Library Incentive by opting for specialized stretch code. Resilient building practices will be incorporated whenever possible.
  • The new building will be all-electric and be heated and cooled by and air to water hydronic heat pump with an electric boiler back up.
  • A solar array will be incorporated on the building's roof and infrastructure for a generator has been included so that the building can be used as a heating or cooling center, even when the power goes out.
  • Low carbon concrete will be used throughout.
  • Triple-pane windows will be incorporated throughout to reduce energy costs.

  • The total project is going to cost $23.70 million. Montague will be responsible for $12,417,613. Adjusted for inflation, the cost to the town will be less than the cost of the DPW facility.

     

$11,286,440 or 47.6% of the projected total project cost of $23.70 million. This figure includes $328,731 for the Green Library Incentive program.

Since other town debt will be paid off around the same time that this project would need town funding, there will be a more limited impact on taxes. For the average taxpayer, the project will cost about $3 per week.

Here's a breakdown of annual costs by property type:

Residential​

$49 per $100,000 of value​

$159 per year for the average single family home ($325,699)​

​Commercial​
$81 per $100,000 of value

  • The Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP) is a grant program managed by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). It was first funded by a state bond authorization in 1987. Since then, the MPLCP has helped build 62 new library buildings and 169 addition, renovation, and conversion projects.
  • Grants are awarded based on the needs of the community, the current state of the library being added to or replaced, and the local economy. 

  • One of the many reasons that the Library Building Steering Committee hired Schwartz/Silver Architects is because of their ability to design a new building that looks like it's been a part of the neighborhood for a century.
  • Our team of architects crafted a design that fits in seamlessly with the Avenue A streetscape. The building will be two stories, about as tall as the neighboring Crocker building, and features a brick facade with granite banding, granite details, brick parapet,and windows inspired by those of 113 Avenue A.
  • On the back of the building, a large second floor roof garden will look out over the Connecticut River.
  • You can find the new building's floorplans and renderings here: https://montaguepubliclibraries.org/about/library-building-project/library-building-project-building-renderings-and-floor-plans

A new library would be fully accessible and include:

  • A large community room for library programs that community groups can book (even after hours).
  • A second-floor garden terrace that can be used for programs, reading, working, and relaxing.
  • A children's room with space for play, reading with caregivers, and collections for children of all ages.
  • A tween nook within the children's room with separate collections and computers.
  • A children's program room for early literacy programming and activities of all kinds. This room will also be used for craft programs for teens and adults.
  • A separate teen area that teens actually want to hang out in that is connected by a window to the children's room for supervision
  • Three quiet study rooms for solo or small group work with all the technology needed to take video calls, etc.
  • A cozy reading room with comfortable chairs, tables, and plenty of outlets
  • An accessible local history room, where photos, documents and artifacts can be safely preserved and displayed and that can also serve as a meeting or program space
  • Staff workspaces are centralized to improve efficiency and ease of patron access to various different kinds of services, from in-depth research help, technology assistance, reader’s advisory, circulation assistance, and more!

  • If the project passes in spring 2026, the new building will be located at 38 Avenue A, which is the lot across from town hall, next to the Discovery Center, and across from Country Creemee. A Cumberland Farms previously occupied the lot but was closed decades ago and demolished in the summer of 2023. Between 1872 and 1968, it was the site of the Grand Trunk Hotel.
  • 38 Avenue A is owned by the town and overseen by the town’s Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC). The EDIC is charged with selecting a project to build on 38 Ave A and agreed to transfer the property back to the town if the library project passes.

  • No. Our library construction grant requires that we either build an addition onto our current building OR construct a new library building on the site specified in our grant proposal: 38 Avenue A.
  • Years ago, at the beginning of this process, Steve Ellis and Walter Ramsey identified three town-owned sites that might be suitable for a new library building. They included 11 Power St (AKA the old Railroad Salvage building), the First Street municipal parking lot, and 38 Avenue A. At the time, we identified 38 Avenue A as the most advantageous site out of the three for a library building project. Since then, both of the other options have been set aside to address the community's housing needs.

  • On Wednesday, August 13th, both the Library Building Steering Committee and the Library Trustees unanimously voted to move forward with constructing a new main library at 38 Avenue A. 

    During Schwartz/Silver's site feasibility investigation, they found that in order to meet the Massachusetts Historic Commission's preservation requirements, which disallow an addition to the side of the building, and to gain enough square footage for our project goals, the Carnegie Library would need to be picked up off of its foundation and moved two dozen feet closer to Avenue A and the adjacent multi-family home would need to be demolished. That option would cost $5 million dollars more than constructing a new library building and still wouldn't include any additional parking. These factors made the decision to construct a new building much easier. You can view Schwartz/Silver's presentation, including the selection matrix that shows the pros and cons of each option.

  • No. The Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program is completely state-funded and has already been bonded. The money for our project is in the bank.
  • There haven't been any announcements on the future of this program.

From town consultant, Ann Burke:

Keeping municipal buildings downtown is important because:

  • They are destination drivers - frequently bringing people downtown to conduct business with the city, attend meetings, participate on committees and boards, get information etc.  If you move these important functions out of the downtown, it has a direct impact on businesses that serve these people and employees.
  • Citizens and visitors frequently purchase other things while in the downtown.  They may shop, have a coffee or a meal, meet friends and socialize.
  • Government buildings employ people who are in the downtown every day and provide that customer base to support shops restaurants and businesses.
  • Municipal services activate buildings and sometimes are tenants to private property owners and important economic contributors to sustain real estate.
  • They create foot traffic.

  • Montague has already been approved for state funding. In May of 2026, after most of the design work has been completed, town meeting members voted 81 to 3 to move the project forward to a special election on Wednesday, June 24. All Montague voters will have an opportunity to vote in the special election and a simple majority will allow the project to proceed. 

  • The architects and the Library Buildings Steering Committee held three community input events last summer and one, focused on project financing this spring. There will be several, smaller community events in as many Montague neighborhoods as we can muster between now and June 24th. Check our calendar for future events. 

  • While the future of the Carnegie is unknown at this time, the building itself will never be in jeopardy because it has a historic preservation restriction on it. This means that its facade cannot be altered and the building cannot be torn down. If we can't find a non-profit or cultural institution to purchase the building, then the town would submit a request for purchase, with rules for what the building can or cannot be used for.

Nothing will change with the branches. A requirement of the MPLCP application was a “Comprehensive Service Plan,” which details how a new or improved building would affect multi-branch libraries. In our plan, we noted that there would be no changes to branch operations, hours, or services, which the Selectboard approved of.

The Montague Center Branch and the Millers Falls Branch cost very little to operate--just $12.51 annually for the average homeowner--but they make an outsized impact on their communities. In FY25 the Millers Falls Branch cost $27,620 to operate and the Montague Center Branch cost $32,142 or a total of $59,763 for both locations. (These operating costs include staff wages, utilities, circulating materials, and supplies, but not custodial/DPW services.) That total is 11.53% of the FY25 Libraries’ Operating Budget, just 0.48% of the FY25 Town Operating Budget, and merely 0.19% of the FY25 Annual Town Meeting Appropriations.

And community members are using these facilities. Since FY2019, the year before the pandemic, Montague Center program attendance has increased by 45% and circulation has increased by 14%. Visits to the Millers Falls Branch increased by 35% during that same period and, since the pantry opened in May of 2023, 33,516 pounds of food have been distributed to the community. Indeed, 159 people use the Millers Falls Branch Food Pantry, which is more than 10% of the village’s population. 

Yes, there will be additional operating costs associated with a new library building. The town’s administrators and I are working on calculating those costs and will provide them as soon as we can. Both these branch libraries are serving their communities well. Closing them, so that we can provide a full-service library in downtown Turners Falls, would be a disservice. This is why, in 2023, the Selectboard unanimously agreed to maintain the branches at their current level of operation.

  • Talk to your friends, neighbors, community leaders, and town meeting members about the Carnegie Library, the unmet needs of the community, and the opportunity we have to fund a good portion of the project with state monies. Talk about the ways that an expanded or new library building could fill these needs. Montague deserves a library facility that fully serves the community.
  • The Friends of the Libraries of the Montague Public Libraries will start fundraising for this project in the next few months. Please consider joining the Friends group and/or attending future fundraising events.

Learn what your neighbors are saying about the new main library project:

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