Marking a milestone more than a decade in the making, officials broke ground Wednesday on the Jones Library expansion project. Ahead of two years of work, locals celebrated the library’s legacy and what’s to come for the almost-century-old library.
Board of Trustees President Austin Sarat says since the last groundbreaking in 1927, Jones has grown into one of the area’s most iconic structures.
“… from that day to today, Jones has had an unconventional - indeed rebellious – spirit,” Sarat said of the library built in the wake of a 1926 fire. “The original library was designed to be what one scholar has called an un-Carnegie library. Right from the start, this library rebelled against the then-dominant idea of what libraries should be.”
The now-48,000-square-foot library has seen its share of additions over the years, but by 2027, the three-story building will see almost all of its insides updated, spaces expanded and infrastructure brought into the 21st-century.
Following more than a decade of planning, key town votes and last-minute hurdles, the $46 million project crossed the finish line earlier this year when the town inked a deal with a general contractor.
The renovation requires shifting programs and books to a temporary facility on nearby University Drive – and a massive moving effort that was still underway during the ceremony.
Speakers at the ceremony ranged from residents to project organizers to Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern.
Among them was Emily Wang, who tells WAMC the library has been an anchor for her family.
“I feel like I belong in this community now … I've never really felt like I belong anywhere, because I've moved around,” she said. “Just bringing my kid here, seeing his friends, seeing friends of mine … it makes Amherst feel and has become a community for us.
Joined by her 8-year-old son, Michael Bauner, Wang says he has long-enjoyed the large children’s area – toys and books and all. Bauner tells WAMC the book selection is impressive, too.
"There's so many books - and then, you can choose a few that you like, right? I just really enjoy reading the books that I choose,” he explained.
Wang’s mother, Ying Liu, is also a regular library user, taking advantage of the library’s numerous ESL programs – regularly testing and building her English skills.
Officials like Sarat and Library Director Sharon Sharry say demand for both the children’s facilities and ESL programs has only grown over the years, but with ceiling leaks, cramped spaces and aging infrastructure, the library has long-been in need of significant repairs.
It was 2014 when planning by the trustees got underway, setting off a process that would secure significant grant funding from the state, millions from the town, plus a referendum, and at least one $1 million federal earmark, secured in-part by Congressman McGovern.
“This is the place where we combat ignorance and intolerance and hate, where we learn to respect every single member of our community,” McGovern told those gathered in the atrium. “This is a place where we actually can develop a future that is positive and hopeful and good. Here's to many years of learning, growth and community that will flourish within these walls.”
While the town has borrowed the funds for the project, the capital campaign driving the Jones Library renovations still has money to raise. Kent Faerber, co-chair of the Jones Library Capital Campaign, tells WAMC the group has already put up several million dollars for its portion of the funding – but will be working to secure almost another $8 million.
He’s optimistic about getting the work done, as is Sarat, who says much of the community’s demonstrated its commitment to the work.
“There's a real belief in the town of Amherst that libraries are essential to democratic life and that the library is the center of the kind of civic architecture of the town,” he said. “And what's true here is true all over the country - libraries are places of hope. They're places that welcome the community, they're places that honor the past and they're places that point us towards our future.”
