I have loved the library since the day I got my first library card and checked out “Make way for Ducklings" at the wonderful, round Framingham Public library.
Libraries are free candy stores for the mind.
UNESCO’s Manifesto calls the library “a living force for education, culture and information…an essential agent for the fostering of peace and spiritual welfare through the minds of men and women..”
The first libraries were temples where people gathered to share, to learn and to grow. My Library is more than a place to borrow books, cd's, dvd's, and fishing poles. It is a place to meet with friends, to learn how to knit or touch a live wolf, to fall in love and to escape.
Shutesbury is a small rural community in Western Mass 30 minutes from anywhere. Electricity was welcomed by a cheering crowd in 1930 and parts of town still lack cable or high speed internet. The library is the heart of town, the only place you see everyone.
The MN Spear Memorial Library, where space age technology meets colonial era cleaning methods, was built in 1902 for $1547.61 and has outgrown its 768 square feet.
I want a library with a flush toilet, one where you don’t get whacked by the door while checking out books. I want a library where I can dance, visit with friends, read the newspaper or check my email while I drink a cup of coffee. I want to honor those who came before and leave a legacy for the future. I imagine a library with a winding path, gardens, and a cozy place to use wifi on a sunny winter afternoon. I see a bustling community center, an opportunity for people to share their talents and strengthen families and community. I see a jewel of an energy efficient green library building, generous yet frugal, a good value, well constructed through a community effort that proudly carries forward the spirit of our library started in 1811 by 40 men who each gave one dollar and established the Social Library.
The Library's first Trustee Chairman William Hemenway and first librarian Mary Clark delivered the library into the new century with a donation from local merchant Mirick N.Spear. Their future is our past and again we stand on the threshold of time.
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