Ramsdell Library to Stay Open

By a vote of 460 to 6 at Monday night’s town meeting, Great Barrington chose to keep Ramsdell Library open. The decision came following a year of tumult touched off by a study done by Library Director Anne Just for the Board of Selectmen on the impact of closing, continuing, or renovating Ramsdell Library. Town residents, especially those in the library’s Housatonic neighborhood, were very vocal in opposing closure. While the town administration decided early on not to close the library, a citizen’s petition to close was placed on the warrant, which reignited anxieties. A vocal citizen’s campaign was mounted to save the library, which now looks ahead with clearly demonstrated citizen support.