North Adams Library May Open Doors to Common Folk
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The library trustees are considering housing local artist collective Common Folk and other programs to increase the usability of the library.
Rich Remsberg told his fellow trustees Monday that he met with the Common Folk director briefly about the possibility of holding its meetings and performances at the public library.
"Common Folk lost their space down town and they are looking for a new place to have acoustic concerts and generally hang out and drink coffee," Remsberg said.
Common Folk spent the summer on Main Street and hosted a plethora of free live shows and gallery exhibits.
Remsberg said the collective with more than 50 members would also increase library use and many Common Folk members may get library cards.
He added that the collective noted that Thursday nights work best; the library is open later on Thursday night.
Although not totally opposed to the idea, Library Director Mindy Hackner said there would be schedule conflicts to work through.
"The Mineral Club wanted to meet here on a fairly consistent basis, and we had to tell them no because we can't guarantee a slot every week," Hackner said.
She added that staffing would also be difficult because the library cannot hire anymore employees and can only hire people for specific jobs. The library could shift hours around and stay open later more, however, she was concerned staff would have a problem that.
Remsberg suggested making a list of all the programs and events the library could do if it had more staff and was open more hours and make the case to the city. At the moment, the library is open 43 hours a week, which is the minimum needed to keep certification.
Remsberg had more ideas that could increase use of the library such as a seed library for gardeners and a basket of reading glasses for those who forgot theirs. He also suggested hosting higher level genealogy courses.
Hackner said the library has had low attendance with genealogy courses but attributed this to the daytime scheduling.
Trustee Hulda Jowett suggested waiting because of changes in genealogy programs such as ancestry.com.
Remsberg added that he would like to see the library host a film series that could perhaps replace the outdoor concerts during the summer, which have been discontinued.
He also suggested possible revenue sources such as renting out the library for weddings.
"New York Public Library and some other pretty townie libraries do this," he said. "It could be a good way to bring in some money, and I know it world require more staffing but if we are taking in $1,000 a day it may work out."
Lenox Library, for example, has hosted its high school's prom.
Hackner was hesitant to endorse the idea because of the staff's reluctance toward change.
"I have staff that have been here for a long time they have been through a lot of change," she said. "When you talk about making substantial changes like opening the library for a wedding, you immediately hit resistance."
Remsberg suggested using some of the money they would charge to incentivize the staff or hire outside help.
Jowett said the trustees should explore all options and logistical challenges they may present.
"I think they are good ideas that need to be explored, and I think we should basically think about them and the logistics," she said. "I understand that you can't ask the people to do more than they are already doing, but there are other people.”
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