By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Shutesbury, MA) Shutesbury could be getting a new library thanks to the Small Library Pilot Project grant. The grant will cover three quarters of the construction costs and the town will need to bring the project to the annual Town Meeting in May to get approval for the remaining project funds. The town won the grant over the other applicant, the town of Otis in Berkshire County.
The current building, M.N. Spear Memorial Library, is a 120-year-old structure with no running water. Mary Anne Antonellis, the library director, has said “The M.N. Spear Memorial Library is just too small to meet the town’s library needs.”
The town attempted to build a new library in 2012 with a different grant, but the voters rejected the additional funding needed. The library board will provide a cost estimate and Antonellis hopes savings can be found amidst high construction costs.