Lenox Selectmen Encourage Historical Appreciation, Library Support
 The Lenox Library, celebrating the 200th anniversary of its building, has made thousands of digital images available and is considering expanding hours. |
LENOX, Mass. — The library is hoping to expand its hours based on 119 responses from a recent survey.
Executive Director Sharon Hawkes outlined some new changes to library scheduling and services to the Selectmen last week.
"[People] understand that the library is not a 'whisper-quiet' institution as in generations past, but they'd like to see one area reserved for quiet study," Hawkes said. "The respondents also expressed an interest in returning to a 10 a.m. opening, so the library board and staff are discussing how to accomplish this."
Selectman David Roche, also a library trustee, asked about the practicality of an early opening and how many residents use the library.
"Would the same people just come earlier, or would it attract new library users?" he asked.
Hawkes said some of the reasoning ranged from early scheduling of children's programs so they can participate in other activities later in the day, to "giving some people the chance to get in earlier to get some things done before lunch, or settle in and read the paper all the way through, perhaps."
"We may be attracting people we hadn't before," she said. "For some, it's just their preferential hours."
Hawkes cited the percentage or residents using the library at "72 percent, going on 75 percent — a very good number."
The reasoning behind Roche's questioning was that the town may be able to support the funding for those few extra hours — simply because the library is a cornerstone of the community.
"If it's to the benefit of the town residents, maybe in a future year we could accommodate [and] help supplement that as a town," he suggested.
Roche and Selectman Ed Lane both grew up in Lenox, and could recall happy times spent in the library and community center.
"It was a huge part of our life," Roche said. "[Sharon], you've done a great job of trying to reinvent the library into the 21st century. It's nice to see the library being used — and I hate to see it, because of budgetary concerns, continue to shrink, shrink, shrink services."
Five years ago, when the library reduced hours, the shift was strictly economical, according to Hawkes. And everyone seemed to understand that.
"But the people have spoken, so I'm more than willing to revisit [the schedule]," she said.
The trustees are thinking of starting the new hours in September, after the busy summer season, to get acclimated during a time of "lighter traffic."
"It's just one more thing that makes Lenox attractive," agreed Roche, talking about the appeal of the library to both tourists and regular patrons.
Hawkes also announced that the library staff was able to get the word out about the digital image collection at DigitalCommonwealth.org. Both the library and the Lenox Historical Society have uploaded thousands of images on the site.
She advised anyone interested in town history to "check Lenox Historical Society's collection ... try searching on any topic of interest to see what other Massachusetts organizations have contributed so far."
 Library Executive Director Sharon Hawkes reads from an 1854 broadsheet from the library's collection. |
"We will be sharing the images on many different ways — hint: 'Like' us on Facebook," she said, thanking the Boston Public Library, Digital Commonwealth, library staff and volunteers who helped make it a reality.
Chairman Channing Gibson agreed with Hawkes' suggestion of following library happenings on social media sites. "I love seeing the old photos of a Lenox that is still here in some ways, and not here in others."
The Selectmen abandoned decorum for a minute to reminisce about the stories of old Lenox — what they personally remembered as well as history passed down through generations. Hawkes even brought a broadsheet from Nov. 8, 1854, exhorting the town not to let Pittsfield capture the county seat away from Lenox, and dramatically read portions of the yellowed paper aloud.
"Eventually, we did lose the county seat to Pittsfield in 1868, so they didn't let up," she concluded.
Roche and Hawkes will be meeting soon to discuss the financial implications of an earlier opening for the library, and ways to keep the library a strong presence in the town.
The Lenox Library is also "getting closer to the 200th anniversary of the Courthouse building," said Hawkes. "Our celebration [will include] food, wine, music, history, an art auction, and a limited edition book about the library in this amazing building."
She said the bell in the former county courthouse will be rung on May 30 from 5:30 to 7:30.
In other business, the Selectmen discussed which member would head up which article of the warrant for the town meeting, as well as openings on the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority committee, the Finance Committee, and the Historical Commission.
"We need more people doing more things in the town," encouraged Gibson.
Tags: anniversary, public library,
