Myth Busting Library Project Misinformation

Fact: The libraries do not circulate chainsaws. We do, however, circulate an ice cream maker, a power washer, a radon detector, a bicycle maintenance toolkit, a digital film scanner, a metal detector, board games, lawn games, a sewing machine, and much more. 

Why do we do this? Because it saves people money when they can borrow something rather than buy it. Because it allows people to try new things and have fun with their families. Because the items are practical, inspire joy, or both. Once or twice a year someone will lose or damage an item. This is simply the cost of doing business as a library. Thankfully, Library of Things users are required to sign an agreement acknowledging that they will be held responsible for the items they check out. We’re not trying to compete with Taylor Rental any more than we’re trying to compete with local bookstores.

Fact: The new library would contain a program space, referred to as the “community room” that would largely be used for library programs. Since being forced to close the Carnegue’s second floor program space, due to the lack of accessibility, library staff have been forced to hold programs offsite or, during the summer months, in a tent on the Carnegie lawn. This has led to a 10% decrease in children’s circulation. 

The community room in the new building is a little bit smaller than the Discovery Center’s Great Hall. This room was designed to accommodate the programs and program attendance that we already have: the 50-60 children who attend Music and Movement weekly as well as the larger one-off children’s programs that regularly see 75-115 attendees. 

When the community room is not being used, then it would be available for use by community groups hosting programs for the public OR residents looking to rent space for a private event.

Operations for the new main library facility would cost between $27,126 to $48,230 more than operating costs of the Carnegie Library annually. This is an increase of 5% to 8% for 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. 

Suggesting that other departments would be negatively impacted is, frankly, a scare tactic. Remember, the Selectboard, Finance Committee, and Capital Improvements Committee would not have unanimously voted for a Main Library Project that would compromise other town departments or services.

Fact: At no point has anyone suggested that we remove the historic, original shelving and replace it with rolling stacks. Rolling shelving would not make the space more maneuverable and would not solve the accessibility problem of having to store books from the floor to over six feet high, unless our already tiny collection were to be cut dramatically. There is not a furniture solution to the building’s accessibility woes.

Fact: Deerfield does not currently have a solar array and there were several problems in getting Greenfield’s solar array up and running, largely due to the installation of non-standard equipment that could not be connected to by Eversource. This led to higher utility costs for those buildings. Montague has incorporated a solar array as part of our base cost that will offset 30%-50% of energy costs.  We will do our darndest to make sure it’s in operation on the day the library opens.

There are no plans to increase library open hours, which increased in 2022 in response to community requests. The only position that we need to staff the new building during all open hours is a library assistant to cover the children’s desk on nights and Saturdays. We have also accounted for 8 more hours of custodial services. Both the assistant and this custodial service have been incorporated in the projected operating costs.

Finally, since opening, the Greenfield Library has only added one 20 hour/week staff member, despite visitation increasing by 200%. Their Assistant Director did acknowledge that they need to buy more toilet paper now than in their old building. This seems like a small price to pay for a full-service library that meets community needs.

Fact: Modern library buildings are sized to a community’s use and potential use of library programs, services, and collections – not primarily on population. With a 2020 census of 8580 residents, Montague’s circulation of library materials is comparable to circulation in Athol (2020 population 11,945) and Belchertown (pop. 15,350) and our adult circulation exceeds that of those towns by thousands of circs per year. Our collections have been undersized for decades; increasing the number of materials available to the public will help us better meet community needs.

It’s also worth noting that, despite being forced to hold many programs offsite, the libraries’ program attendance is substantial. 9,397 people attended library programs last year, an increase of 26% since before Covid. As previously mentioned, many programs had over 100 attendees. Providing sufficient programming space in the new library building makes sense.

It’s also worth mentioning that much of the square footage in the new library design is for spaces that do not exist at the Carnegie Library -- such as an elevator, stairwells built to code, multiple accessible rest rooms, dedicated, accessible staff workspaces and a break room, code-compliant utilities infrastructure, and adequate storage. 

Too, it is important to remember that accessibility in a library is not confined to an elevator, rest rooms, automatic doors, curb cuts, and a ramp. The stacks of books and other materials were designed to be wide enough for navigation by wheelchairs and scooters and allows for the safe turning of these mobility aids at the end of each row. Books and other materials on the shelves must be reachable by someone in a wheelchair. This building is designed to be truly accessible for everyone and yes, that requires space. 

This approach to accessibility, and the subsequent size of the building, were approved by independent application reviewers, by state library construction consultants, by the independent reviewers who approved the final design, and, finally, by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Indeed, our state consultant stated in a recent email: “Montague would have been unlikely to be awarded a grant if you had proposed something that did not seem as though it would enable the library to provide adequate services now, let alone providing space and flexibility to accommodate needs for the next 30 years.”

Fact: First, Greenfield’s Library is not the county library, as clearly stated by their Library Director at a recent MMA presentation. The county did not vote on the Greenfield Library nor do Montague residents’ tax dollars support that library. 

Many of our library patrons walk. 16.7% of folks living downtown do not have a car, which makes it difficult for many to access Greenfield’s Library. Are there buses? Yes. Have you ever tried to get two excitable toddlers and a stroller on a bus? Are a group of teens leaving the skate park going to hop on a bus to get to the teen room in Greenfield? Requiring public transit to another town to access basic municipal infrastructure creates a barrier, which means that many residents will simply not use those services. 

Please also consider that using Greenfield’s Library means that people are more likely to stop into Greenfield businesses after their visit. If we build a new main library, residents will spend more time in downtown Montague, rather than neighboring towns, and spend their money on local coffee, local ice cream, and local grocery stores. If library visits double when the new library opens, like they did in Greenfield, that will amount to approximately 11 thousand visits to local shops, businesses, and restaurants each year, adding to the tax base. (This number comes from the Urban Libraries Institute stat that 31% of visitors to a central library then go on to visit a local business, multiplied by the likely increase in visits)

Finally, when Montague residents use Montague resources and access Montague programs, it gives them the opportunity to build relationships with their neighbors here, which is crucial for building a strong community.

Fact: For the Carnegie Library to be made accessible, the local history room would have to become a bathroom, removing the only public meeting space. Additionally, two double-sided shelving units would need to be removed from the adult collections area, the length of the existing stacks would need to be cut by 14”, and two shelves of books per existing shelving unit would need to be removed. This would lead to an accessible building with 60% fewer collections than are currently offered and no programming space. This is not a compromise; it’s gutting community infrastructure on the taxpayer’s dime.

Fact: The town of Montague has an excellent track record of selling or leasing properties it no longer needs for its own purposes. The old DPW facility was successfully sold and the Colle Building has had all its maintenance costs covered by a long-term tenant. A business or organization that doesn’t require a large circulation desk or thousands of books would have much less difficulty transforming the Carnegie Library into a useful, accessible space. Indeed, at least half of the Carnegie Libraries constructed across the country are no longer libraries but galleries, cafes, restaurants, museums, offices, shops, condos, or private homes. Personally, I love Tim de Christopher’s idea that someone turn our Carnegie Library into a music venue and call it “Carnegie Hall.” (Okay, this might be difficult logistically, but it makes me chuckle with delight every time I think about it!)

• The Library Director is not getting a raise if this project passes
• Neither the Crocker Building nor the Discovery Center will be demolished or impacted by this project
• We definitely did not already order computers for the building!