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Dear Mr. Shanahan, It was with great interest that I read your editorial, "What About Marriage for Lilly Library and Florence Association?" I am glad that you recognize the urgent need for improving the homes of both the library and the Florence Association, and that you support Lilly's expansion. However, I feel I must make a few comments. First, your statement about our proposed addition, that "most of [it] will occupy and displace present parking spaces," is simply untrue. In the architect's drawings submitted with our grant application to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, only a sliver of the addition encroaches onto our existing parking lot, and almost entirely onto the unusable northern tip of it at that. In any case, expanded parking for patrons will be a necessary part of any library improvement project we may undertake, whether by reaching an agreement with the Florence Association to share their lot, or by adding spaces on our own land. Second, a building shared with the Florence Association would be extremely difficult to pull off. Our major anticipated source of funding is the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners; if we receive a construction grant from them, it will cover close to 60% of the cost of our project. However, these funds cannot be used towards any part of a joint-use facility that is not dedicated to (and controlled by) the library side of the partnership. Your proposed community center and museum would have to be paid for entirely out of local funds, on top of the 40+% match we are already faced with. Further, the logistics of operating a shared building would be tangled indeed. Who would staff and supervise the museum and community center, given the voluntary nature of the Florence Association? Would there be separate custodians, and if not, how would hiring (and firing, heaven forbid) and payroll be handled? How would utility bills be divided? And so on, and so forth. Unless the City began funding an annual operating budget for the Florence Association, I do not see how any of this would be manageable. The needs you identify are undeniable. More meeting space is definitely needed in the community--which is why a multi-purpose room of 1300 square feet is included in our current plans for the library. The Florence Association and Lilly definitely need to work closer together--which is why there have already been discussions about developing our shared space in Florence as a unified "campus" of learning, history, and community resources. And the Florence Association definitely needs and deserves a better home than the Civic Center in its current state. Lilly and the Florence Association do share many goals, and are dedicated to serving many of the same people. But both organizations are better served by developing at their own pace, according to their own strengths and priorities, rather than by joining together in a hasty, shotgun-style wedding. Cooperation, not merger, is the answer. I believe you are a trustee at Forbes, yes? I am sure you can see how, just as Northampton benefits from having two independent (and so more responsive) libraries, Florence will benefit from having two strong and independent community institutions, who have complete control over their respective homes. Thank you again for your interest in Lilly and the Florence Association. I might not agree with your analysis of our situation, but I deeply appreciate that you care enough about us to have put so much thought into it. Regards, Mark Kille Director Lilly Library |
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