Library expansion isn't needed

Every tax is a pay cut. Every tax cut is a pay raise.
Citizens for Limited Taxation

Library expansion isn't needed Friday, January 7, 2005

Harold J. Wolfe Metrowest Daily News

The McAuliffe library has served North Framingham well for 30 years, has an abundance of parking and is a mere four miles from the main downtown library. The library was originally built to hold 16,000 books but now has about 70,000 books. Only a mile away, Framingham high school also has a significant library that should be opened to the public given that we the taxpayers have just paid $59.2 million to renovate the school.
The internet (and particularly www.google.com) has significantly reduced the need for a library to do any kind of research. A significant portion of the population also uses Barnes and Noble and Borders to do research. I find far more people in book stores than I do in our libraries.
Personally, I prefer the downtown library because it has more of what I seek in the library, which is Framingham town records, annual reports, and the like. In all my visits, I've never had a parking problem and there is unlimitted room to work in.
Self-serving, turf building, tax-wasting bureaucrats like Tom Gilchrist say we should have an expanded McAuliffe library on the north side but we already have two very significant libraries in North Framingham. Why should the taxpayers have to pay one more nickel to serve his needs?
When a building is 30 years old, they say we should tear it down and build a new one. When that same building is over 50 years old, we have historic preservation laws that may prevent us from tearing them down. Let's exercise some foresight and work on making the McAuliffe library a historic building. The older library building on the Commons still exists.
Save your hard earned money and don't waste it on an expanded McAuliffe library. Let's open up the Framingham high school library instead.

Library expansion isn't needed	Friday, January 7, 2005
Harold J. Wolfe	Metrowest Daily News
The McAuliffe library has served North Framingham well for 30 years, has an abundance of parking and is a mere four miles from the main downtown library. The library was originally built to hold 16,000 books but now has about 70,000 books. Only a mile away, Framingham high school also has a significant library that should be opened to the public given that we the taxpayers have just paid $59.2 million to renovate the school. The internet (and particularly www.google.com) has significantly reduced the need for a library to do any kind of research. A significant portion of the population also uses Barnes and Noble and Borders to do research. I find far more people in book stores than I do in our libraries. Personally, I prefer the downtown library because it has more of what I seek in the library, which is Framingham town records, annual reports, and the like. In all my visits, I've never had a parking problem and there is unlimitted room to work in. Self-serving, turf building, tax-wasting bureaucrats like Tom Gilchrist say we should have an expanded McAuliffe library on the north side but we already have two very significant libraries in North Framingham. Why should the taxpayers have to pay one more nickel to serve his needs? When a building is 30 years old, they say we should tear it down and build a new one. When that same building is over 50 years old, we have historic preservation laws that may prevent us from tearing them down. Let's exercise some foresight and work on making the McAuliffe library a historic building. The older library building on the Commons still exists. Save your hard earned money and don't waste it on an expanded McAuliffe library. Let's open up the Framingham high school library instead.

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