MLA: Building a Great Library

Two morning programs on library construction were filled with the wisdom of the experienced and advice from professionals. "MBLC Grant Process and the Building Program" featured Patience Jackson and Rosemary Waltos of the MA Board of Library Commissioners overviewing our state's "very well run library construction grant program", a compliment given by Richard Marks, President of project management firm Daedalus Projects. In MA, libraries must meet well laid-out milestones to receive grant money and that makes our library construction grant program predictable and achievable locally---thank you MBLC! Patience and Rosemary spoke of the Planning and Design Grants that help the smallest communities move toward new libraries, and the new "green incentive program" to help communities build energy efficient buildings. Building Consultant Marjorie Judd described how she gathers data in order to write building programs for communities, and Aaron Cohen spoke of the visual scan that guides his work producing a library facility plan. He recommended that you put the largest pots of money into aspects of the new library that your community will see and use in order to earn their support. Two owner project management firms, Daedalus Projects and Scanska USA, cautioned that hiring a project manager should come at the beginning of your project so that their expertise can help you define a budget that will work throughout your building program.

"Library Construction: Notes from the Field" featured two library directors who have built new facilities and two architects who design community libraries. Carol Mahoney, Director of the Greenwich (CT) Public Library, won my heart when she emphasized planning a delivery area that is sized and located for the safety and convenience of those staff members who prepare and receive deliveries, and in consideration of the delivery drivers who move all the bins of materials into and out of our libraries every day. The slide show that Leslie Morrissey of the Falmouth Public Library shared emphasized how an historic building can be beautifully renovated and added to, more than once! Charlie Van Voorhis is an architect specializing in renovating historic buildings. He admitted that it can take more energy and creativity keeping the old parts in a renovation project but such renovations can be competitive financially with building brand-new, and are very helpful in maintaining a community's spirit. Stewart Roberts of the firm Johnson Stewart Roberts Associates listed the pros and cons of new construction versus renovation of historic spaces. He proved his love for older libraries by giving us his company web address
http://www.johnson-roberts.com where you will find "Library Postcards Online". It's organized by state so look for your library there!

MLA Conference Reports on its Blog

MLA is going Web 2.0 this year with Twitter Tweets, Flickr Photos, and its annual MLA Conference Reports Blog ~ http://mlamasslib.blogspot.com/

Flickr Photos & the Massachusetts Library Association Annual Conference

Enjoy Flickr photos of the Massachusetts Library Association's Annual Conference which runs through this Friday.

The Big Board by jmgold [9 results matching masslib09, licensed under the Creative Commons]

Twitter #masslib09

Many librarians who attended today's Massachusetts Library Association Annual Conference at the MassMutual Center in Springfield are Tweeting about their day's experiences! ~Read All About It

Friends of Western Massachusetts Regional Library SystemRecognized by Big Y

The Friends of the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System
(WMRLS) is proud to announce that it has been selected as a recipient of
$5,000 from the Big Y Paul H. D’ Amour Memorial Charity Golf Outing
Committee. The Friends group was chosen for its efforts in raising
funds for services and programs for the regional library system (WMRLS).


Established in 2003, the Friends of WMRLS formed in response to a
devastating cut in Regional Library funding. Each year, the Friends of
WMRLS identifies one or more areas of Regional service to support
through membership dues and fundraising events, supplementing state
funding in good times and maintaining basic programs in times of
economic stress. This year the grant will be used to support the
delivery of books and audiovisual materials to library users in over 300
communities in western Massachusetts. The sharing of resources between
libraries is at an all time high in these challenging economic times.

Friends President Antonia Golinski-Foisy stated, “We are overjoyed by
this generous gift. Big Y has an established commitment to the
communities that it services and is dedicated to improving the quality
of life in southern New England. The Friends of WMRLS is honored that
Big Y would recognize our shared values by awarding us this generous
gift and assisting us in our own commitment to our communities.”