GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Public Library Foundation is entering its final stages of fundraising for a new library, and Channing “Joe” Bete Jr. and Marie Bete are booked to be honorary chairs for the last push to $2 million before construction begins.
Owners of the former Channing Bete Co. in South Deerfield, the Betes were involved in publishing and information dissemination for decades, and are staunch advocates for modern libraries, including the one that will be built on Main Street in Greenfield.
“The life of a library is just like our journey as citizens in terms of facts: times change, and so have libraries,” Joe Bete explained.
The city has been talking about building a new library for at least a decade, and late in 2019, it became a reality, with 61 percent of voters agreeing the city should move ahead with plans for the $19.5 million project.
The state has promised $9.4 million, leaving the city to pay about $10.1 million. The Greenfield Public Library Foundation promised to contribute about $2 million to reduce the amount the city has to pay to $8.1 million.
The foundation announced last summer that it has received a $500,000 donation from artist Hale Johnson. When his wife Lorraine died in 2016 after 55 years of marriage, Johnson said he sought a way to acknowledge her contribution to his career and her volunteer work as a member of the Friends of the Greenfield Public Library.
The foundation has also received many other pledges and bequests totaling $1.7 million, leaving it to raise another $300,000 in this last push to reach its goal. Greenfield Public Library Foundation Coordinator Rachel Roberts said many pledges are in their second year of payments, while some are one-time monetary gifts and others are bequests.
“We want to support the new library because it is vital for a healthy community,” Marie Bete said. “We want the best for the community where we both grew up. Having a vibrant library is important to both of us.”
The couple said as they raised their children, they pointed them toward the Greenfield Public Library for information, education and entertainment. Their kids had library cards from an early age. One of their primary interests in the new library is an area designated for teens.
“The knowledge that teens are making great suggestions for their own space to the architect is wonderful,” Joe Bete said. “It should truly be a welcoming teen area.”
“(When we were) in high school, the library wasn’t a particularly welcoming place for teens,” Marie Bete said. “We would have loved if we’d had a place meant for us.”
Greenfield Public Library Foundation member Terry Ruggles said if you look back, you’ll find the Betes’ interest in libraries runs deep.
“Channing Bete Sr., Joe Bete’s father and founder of the Channing Bete Co., was appointed to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners by Gov. Christian Herter in 1955,” Ruggles noted.
The board’s primary responsibility is the oversight of library services throughout the state. Channing Bete Sr., who recognized needs that went far beyond Massachusetts, suggested in 1957 a national White House conference on libraries and information. It eventually became a reality after he died.
In 1979, Joe Bete (Channing Bete Jr.) was invited to chair the Massachusetts delegation to the White House’s library conference. The Betes said that reinforced their strong feelings about the importance of libraries in communities of all sizes.
Greenfield Public Library Building Committee Co-Chair Ed Berlin said the library will begin site work as soon as it can. Its current plans are to break ground on or around July 1. The project will see the current Fire Station razed — the Fire Department plans to move into its new, temporary station on Hope Street in mid- to late August.
“Everything is on track,” Berlin said. “The foundation is doing a great job.”
The Greenfield Public Library Foundation has relaunched its website as part of April’s National Library Month. To donate or to learn more, visit bit.ly/3rTy2ai.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.