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North Adams Public Library in Need of Youth Services Librarian

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams Public Library is in need of a youth services librarian now that Sara Russell-Scholl has left for the Berkshire Athenaeum.
 
Library Director Sarah Sanfilippo told the trustees on Wednesday that she has received applications for the open position.
 
"We posted the job shortly after she left, and we received a whole bunch of resumes," Sanfilippo said. "We are working through those and figuring out who we want to interview."
 
Russell-Scholl left her post in late January after seven years at the North Adams library, the first three as youth services assistant. She took a similar position at the Pittsfield library.
 
Otherwise, Sanfilippo told the trustees that things were quiet at the library with services greatly reduced during the pandemic.
 
"There is not a whole lot going on and it has been business as usual," she said.
 
She said curbside pickups continue to be popular, and patrons are continuing to sign up to use library computers.
 
"I think the word is getting out and we are getting regulars," she said. "We have had a few no-shows. I think people are learning about our services but just not following through. I am not sure what to do about that."
 
She said staff is also taking the time to inventory the library's collection 
 
"We are starting to clean up the catalog," she said. "We are marking things that are missing ... it is just some cleanup that we normally don't have time to do when we are open."
 
She said they are also getting rid of books that are no longer in good condition and giving away materials that are no longer in circulation.
 
"We pack them into bags by genre and put them outside for curbside pickup," she said. "It's like a grab bag, like 'here grab this bag of romance novels or thrillers.' People are excited about them."
 
She said she has also asked employees to think about their own duties so she can update job descriptions.
 
"We want to streamline and move things around so we are ready when we can finally open and do the things that we used to do," she said.
 

 


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Q&A with State Representative Challenger Andrew Fitch

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — On Sept. 1, voters in the First Berkshire District will decide whether they want to send a new representative to Beacon Hill in Boston.
 
Andrew Fitch, currently a city councilor in the district's largest municipality — and the commonwealth's smallest city — is challenging former North Adams Mayor John Barrett III, who won the First Berkshire seat in a 2017 special election, in the Democratic Party primary.
 
There is no Republican on the primary ballot for the First Berkshire seat so the primary will effectively be the election for the seat. 
 
The two candidates met for their only debate on Aug. 13 at Williams College. iBerkshires.com reached out to both candidates to follow up on some of the points raised in the debate and get their thoughts on some other issues facing the district.
 
Below are excerpts from a conversation with challenger Andrew Fitch:
 
Question: From the very beginning, you talked about the campaign as a listening experience, and this week you're continuing that with the bike tour …
 
Andrew Fitch: Knocking on doors that have never been knocked on before. … I was riding through, I believe it was Hinsdale coming into Windsor, and they started to yell at me, 'No!' And then the guy was like, 'Wait a second. That's Andrew Fitch.' They actually knew who I was, and they were actually wanting to chat with me.
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