“We’re closed until further notice,” said library Director Mary Rose Quinn in the May 23 Advertiser. “We’ve struggled as long as we possibly could, but time has simply run out on us.” She said pink slips would go out within a week, and her eight full-time employees had been advised by Bisignani to use their remaining vacation time before they lose their jobs.
However, shutting down the library may necessitate the return of a $1.1-million grant the state Board of Library Commissioners gave the town to construct the facility in 1997. The contract stated that the library would have a minimum operational life of 20 years and be used as a free public library for that period. Bisignani has sent the contract to the town’s counsel for review.
The library could get a partial reprieve when the Town Meeting votes on the budget in June: Bisignani has proposed restoring half of its budget if a trash fee is approved, which would allow it to open on a limited basis. Meanwhile, Quinn and her staff would work to “mothball” the facility, canceling book orders and sending out return notices for circulating materials.
Posted May 25, 2007.