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PRIME Editor HAMPDEN It was another first for the Hampden Free Public Library. On March 7, the library that had gained notoriety as the first in the nation to close for more than six months due to a lack of community funding played host to to the annual Western Massachusetts Regional Library System (WMRLS) Legislative Breakfast. The message of the event was that communities must work together to keep library funding in the legislative forefront as local and state budgets tighten. According to library trustee Beth Burger, approximately 40 people attended the event, which took place in the auditorium of the Town Hall. Among the local dignitaries in attendance were Sen. Gale Candaras, Reps. Mary Rogeness and Angelo Puppolo, Hampden Selectmen Richard Greene, Vincent Villamiano and John D. Flynn, and Library Trustees Raymond Andree and Burger. Acting Director Ellen Bump represented the Hampden Library. Regional library services were represented by Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Katherine Dibble and Richard Dunbar, Carl Sturgis, director of the Longmeadow Public Library and representative for the Central/Western Mass Resource Sharing service, Mary King, regional librarian for the Western Mass Regional Library System and Toni Golinski-Foisy, director of the West Springfield Public Library and Friends of the WMRLS. "It was with a great sense of pride that I welcomed our guests to the revitalized Hampden Library," Burger said. During her remarks, Sen. Candaras hammered home the need for grassroots activism to maintain public library funding, noting that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease; you've got to squeak more, especially during this difficult budget year." "Library funding throughout the state continues to be targeted in this dismal financial climate," Burger told Reminder Publications in a post-event e-mail. "We all heard Gale's message loud and clear; we have to make noise to get the message heard by our legislators and patrons." In her speech, West Springfield Library Director Golinski-Foisy urged breakfast attendees to make their voices heard at the Massachusetts Library Association's Legislative Day at the State House on April 2. Hampden's local grassroots group, the Friends of the Hampden Free Public Library, represented at the event by President Patty Ehlers, Kathleen Rochford and several other members, worked tirelessly to prepare the Town Hall for the event. Burger said that, with the help of a local Boy Scout troop, the Friends had "set about making the auditorium look like a breath of spring," setting up the tables and topping them off with fresh daffodils. The Friends also provided home-baked goods for the event. The hosting duties were just one more of the services this active group has performed for the library. They were responsible for keeping a limited book swap and children's program services going for residents, and the library issue in the forefront, during Hampden's year without a town library. | ||||||
