To the editor:
We have been asked to consider a new building for the library. The first proposal failed but, never fear, a new one is coming! The rationale for wanting more space is to accommodate functions usually associated with a community center. But before we decide that we need another building, shouldn’t we find out how efficiently we use the available space? After all, the groups using space do not own the buildings, the community does!
When I was president of the Lynnfield Art Guild, we had some events at the Senior Center. I observed that the center operates less than 34 hours a week, so surely parts of the building could become a “community center” during the off hours. That idea and other similar ones were met with a list of obstacles — all the reasons “why not.”
Interestingly, having had to vacate the Town Hall for a couple of years of reconstruction, we found available space to redistribute every function of town management. Where there is a will, there is a way!
One way to increase program space at the library would be to reduce the space occupied by the stacks. We could have some virtual stacks — housed elsewhere — accessible by the same software that links all the North Shore libraries. We could also install movable stacks that require much less room. We should also make sure that the Meeting House and the Commons are available and usable as indoor and outdoor spaces. We should also have library-led children’s activities and other after-hours programs in the school buildings.
Integration of resources is not easy but it pays. I hope that others, including the Library Strategic Planning Committee, come up with alternative ideas that foster cooperation and efficiency for the good of the whole community
Dan Abenaim
