Adams Library Needs New Computers

ADAMS, Mass. — The Adams Free Library will seek funding to replace its aging public computers.

Library Director Holli Jayko told the trustees Thursday that the public computers in the adult reading room and the children's reading room are now 9 years old.

"We should replace them before they stop working. They are updated but they are getting slower," she said. "New technology would be better for our patrons."

The library would be looking to replace eight machines at a cost of $500 to $750 a piece. Jayko said there is no money for this built into the budget and if she were to purchase them immediately, she would most likely have to pull from state aid and other accounts.

But she thought the computers could survive another year and she may be able to get the new machines in the fiscal 2020 budget.

Jayko was not looking for a motion but said she just wanted it on the trustees' radar. 

"I don't need an answer now, but I want you to think about it," she said. "I won't order until I have talked to everyone again and figure out how we are going to pay for it."

In other business, the trustees voted to allow Jayko to use up to $700 in state aid to purchase 40 energy-efficient LED light bulbs to replace older lights that are burning out.

"We would like to go ahead and replace the lights with LED when they fail," she said. "It is an improvement to the library and there will be as cost savings in the long run."

Jayko specifically said many of the lights in the children's room are starting to burn out.

She said individually the large LED, or light-emitting diode, bulbs are $21 but by buying in bulk she can get them for $15. Forty bulbs would cost $600 and $50 to ship.

The trustees also voted to make a small change to the mobile hotspot lending policy and instead of lending the hotspots out for a maximum of three days, patrons can take them out for a week at a time with one renewal.

"Since it is in our policy attached to our form I have to bring this to you guys," Jayko said. "People started to borrow them and got used to us having them and we have noticed that people need them a little bit longer."

The library implemented the program a year ago and currently, there are five hotspots in rotation.

Bishop said the library's flagpole has been taken down to be repainted and cleaned up.

"The Fire Department took it down," he said. "Right now we are in the process of stripping p[aint We are going to put a new bulb on it, new paint, new flag — the works. I have no idea the last time it was done."

Trustee Brian Bishop said Ashley Swift will perform boiler maintenance in September. He added that boiler return piping also needs some work.

"It leaks and has patches on it," he said.

He said Ashley Swift offered to make the repair for $3,700, however, Bishop thought this was a little steep. He said he will look at other options and try to negotiate a better price.

Jayko said the library posted a soon-to-be-vacated part-time position and she is currently looking through applications for a library aid cataloger. 

"We have begun the application process and I have been reviewing applications," she said. 

Berkshire County Reflects on a Rainy Memorial Day

Staff WritersiBerkshires
03:28PM / Monday, May 25, 2026

Pittsfield holds its services at Pittsfield Cemetery on Monday. See more photos here.

ADAMS, Mass. — Memorial Day was initially to remember the lives lost in the Civil War, eventually coming to honor all those servicemen and women who sacrificed for their country over more than 250 years.

Sgt. First Class Brian Bergeron, keynote speaker at Adams' observances in the Visitors Center, invoked the county's 21st century losses on Monday: Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel H. Petithory of Cheshire; Army Sgt. Glenn R. Allison of Pittsfield; Army Chief Warrant Officer Stephen M. Wells of North Egremont; Army Spc. Michael R. DeMarsico II of North Adams; Army Spc. Mitchell K. Daehling of Dalton, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher of Pittsfield.

 

"We carry the memory of the Berkshire County residents who gave their lives in Vietnam. Young men like Specialist Kevin Hallam and Lance Corporal David Bory Fitzfield, and so many others from Dalton, Adams, Great Berrington, Lee, and towns across our hills, their names are etched on our local memorials, on our memorial skating rink, and on our hearts," he said. 

 

Bergeron is an 18-year veteran of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, and was deployed multiple times for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He is currently assigned as the regional team leader of the Western Massachusetts Recruiting and Retention Battalion, and serves as the Westover Recruit Sustainment Program drill sergeant.

 

"Those warriors gave everything for the country they loved, for the Constitution they swore to uphold, and for the people of the United States, who bask in the freedom provided them by these brave soldiers. Think of the young soldiers who left a small town much like ours, never to return," he said.

 

"So let us leave here today with more than words. Let us commit to live lives worthy of their sacrifice, to cherish the freedoms they defend, to teach our children a true cost of living, and to ensure that their stories are told, their names are spoken, their legacy endurance."

 

Adams had joined Dalton, North Adams and Williamstown in canceling its parade because of the cold, rainy weather. Instead, dozens of residents and veterans gathered at the Visitors Center to hear Hoosac Valley High students Sophie Wilson and Genevieve Lagess read "In Flanders Fields" and the Gettysburg Address, respectively. The Hoosac Valley band played "The Star-Spangled Banner" and Fred Lora, School Committee chair and retired Army lieutenant colonel, was master of ceremonies.