As of 12 noon on Thursday, February 12, the MA Board of Library Commissioners voted to deny certification to the Hubbardston Public Library. The reasons are outlined in their letter and the full text appears here.
The Library is still maintaining its current hours.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Board of Library Commissioners
98 North Washington Street • Boston, Massachusetts 02114
(800) 952-7403 in state • (617) 725-1860 • (617) 725-0140 fax
February 12, 2009
Mr. Paul Hale
Chairman, Board of Selectmen
Office of the Selectboard
P.O. Box 106
Hubbardston, MA 01452
Dear Mr. Hale,
On behalf of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, I deeply regret that the board has been placed in the position of denying a waiver of the FY2009 Municipal Appropriation Requirement (MAR) not certifying the Town of Hubbardston in the State Aid to Public Libraries program for FY2009.
This is a difficult position for the Board of Library Commissioners and the decisions made at the local level to inadequately fund the Hubbardston Public Library coupled with a disproportionate cut to the local library budget places the citizens of Hubbardston in an unenviable position of being one of only 17 libraries in the Commonwealth unable to achieve certification. While we recognize that all communities are facing extremely difficult fiscal climates, the Hubbardston Public Library has been placed in great risk by gross cuts that may lead to disastrous effect.
Libraries are the center of our communities and provide all residents regardless of age, race or economic status, access to services that improve their lives and their communities. Libraries will be needed more than ever as we recover from one of the most significant economic downturns our nation has ever faced. It must be recognized that the public library deserves proportionate funding and is equal to all other local services. When a library is singled out for such a significant disproportionate cut, the entire community suffers.
The Board could not, in good conscience, grant Hubbardston’s request for a waiver with a 69% cut in financial support for its library. I urge the local government officials and citizens of Hubbardston to become more aware of the value of their library and more cognizant in making sure that the library meets the minimum standards to gain state certification in the future.
To that end, I pledge the full support of the Commissioners and staff to work with the Hubbardston Public Library as the community and the library endeavor to build a way back into the State Aid to Public Libraries program and rejoin the 334 cities and towns that enjoy healthy and vibrant library services.
Sincerely,
George T. Comeau
Chair, Board of Library Commissioners
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
We must wait and see if this town desires to fund the library or intends to vacate any semblance of desiring culture.
I am so sorry for all of us!
Sue Motta
I think someone needs to explain what this means for patrons. I am assuming we no longer have CWMARS catalog access, but will we still be able to check books out from Hubbardston? Will you keep the books in library use only? How long can the library actually stay open? I wonder how many people will head to Gardner assuming they can check books out or use their computer system only to be denied. It's very sad.
I admire the trustees for doing all in their power to keep library services alive this long, in a town that has shown repeatedly that it just doesn't care. What a loss this is for us as a community! And what kind of an example about our real values are we giving our children by allowing this to happen? I am just so sorry that it has come to this.
This is bad. I can't afford to go to bookstores, so I go to libraries. Now I can't even do that anywhere but Hubbardston, and as we know, their book selection is less than desirable. How do things go so wrong? I'm really disgusted.
Post a Comment