Good morning, neighbor!
I received my Friends of the Greenfield Public Library newsletter the other day and found a lot of interesting information in it. The Friends are hoping to publish your answers to the question, “What role does our public library play in the life of our city?”
With the library breaking ground on a new building later in the spring, the Friends and others are wondering about a 21st-century library and what your vision is for the new one. The Friends are asking what your hopes and dreams are and what the new library will represent for you. What services should it provide? What should it feel like to you when you’re in the building?
Think about your response, ponder and dream, the Friends ask. Your answer can be one sentence or more, depending on what you have to say, but since the group wants to publish all appropriate responses, if possible, try to keep your thoughts under 150 words. You should include your name, city or town and age, if under the age of 18. When you’re finished answering the questions, email them to newsfgpl@gmail.com.
The last time I spoke with Library Building Committee Co-Chair Ed Berlin, he said everything was on track — timewise, financially, etc. — so if it stays that way, groundbreaking will happen April 21 and the project will move forward as planned.
“We’re really looking forward to this,” Ed told me. “We don’t anticipate any delays. The fundraising is going well and we’re ready.”
The Greenfield Public Library Foundation has promised to raise $2 million for the project. Though I haven’t had a chance to talk to anyone for this column about how much has been raised so far, Ed told me that pledges are still coming in.
Ed has also told me about what the library will look like, how it is designed and what it will include, and the Friends wrote in the group’s newsletter that the library, very similar to what he said, “synthesizes an open, modern design and the solidity of a traditional public edifice.”
Those who have been involved in the project say it will be a living monument to the years-long collaboration of the 21-member committee, owner project manager, designer and architect, consultant and more.
Looking at the new building from Main Street, people will see large windows allowing lots of sunlight to enter the building. The building will have a red brick segment that pays homage to the traditional Post Office and courthouse facades nearby. That part will include offices, meeting spaces and other closed spaces.
Another segment will be lighter in color with larger windows, acknowledging the federalist architecture of the Leavitt-Hovey estate. That section will include more open spaces where patrons can read, study and collaborate.
The central section, or spine, will draw visitors and light to the middle of the building. Patrons will be able to interact with library staff there.
The members of the building committee, especially those with architectural expertise, agree that the building fulfills the goal of balance and “fits comfortably” into the varied and historical architecture of the city while being an “energy efficient and inviting 21st-century structure.”
The Friends’ 30th annual Poet’s Seat Poetry Contest may have to be held virtually this year if the pandemic hasn’t ended by the time the awards ceremony rolls around. The contest is open to Franklin County residents, as well as students attending Franklin County schools.
There should be no identifying information on the front of the poem, but the reverse side of each poem entry should include name, address, telephone number and email address, if you have one.
Poems will not be returned, so make sure you have a copy. Poems should be printed or typed on an 8.5-by-11-inch piece of paper in plain type print. Notification of receipt of your poem (by email or include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your submission) will happen on or after the March 17 deadline.
Send poems to: Poet’s Seat Poetry Contest, Greenfield Public Library, 402 Main St., Greenfield, MA 01301. The time and place of the awards ceremony will be announced at a later date.
For more information about categories, rules and prizes, visit friendsofgpl.org.
Besides beginning construction of a new library, I reported recently that the city is bidding “farewell” to its longtime children’s librarian Kay Lyons and welcoming Francesca Passiglia, who left her position as assistant head of borrower services to take the role of teen librarian.
“I cannot imagine a person better suited for the library’s teen librarian position than Francesca,” Library Director Ellen Boyer said. “Our new library will feature a ‘Teen Zone’ of approximately 1,500 square feet. It will include eight computers and two dozen seats in addition to the ones at computer stations.”
“One of my plans is to collaborate with organizations and businesses as we move forward with teen programming,” Francesca told me. Examples would be open mic sessions at the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, movies at the Garden Cinemas and events at the Franklin County YMCA. “We want to make this a big draw for youths in Greenfield and across the county.”
And although Kay is retiring from her position, I’m sure we’ll see her around, and we might even see her at the library now and then, not only as a patron, but helping out here and there, she told me.
Kay took the job as children’s librarian almost three decades ago because she found she had a way with children. Anyone who knows Kay will not debate that; she definitely does have a way with them and she will be sorely missed. Everyone I’ve talked to so far has said her retirement is a huge loss for the library. But, of course, we all wish Kay and her husband, Rick Roy, the very best.
I’ve talked with Kay for stories over the years and found her to be an absolutely delightful woman. I’ve known Rick for many years and have nothing but good things to say about him, too. I hope they both get everything out of retirement that they’re hoping.
So there you have it — our library has so many wonderful things going on and I’m sure, like me, you can’t wait to walk through the doors of the new library, walk into the Teen Zone and see Francesca working with the youths, or maybe you’ll submit a poem for the contest. At the very least, make plans to listen to the local poets read their work. It’s always such a pleasure.
Senior Reporter Anita Fritz grew up in Franklin County after moving from Spokane, Wash., when she was just a few weeks old. She covers Greenfield and does regional and COVID-19 reporting for the Greenfield Recorder.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated which entity is committed to raising $2 million for the new library project. It is the Greenfield Public Library Foundation.