Historical Society Reading Room

 —​I have often thought what a gift it would be to the town to have an historical reading room where residents could have access to materials that are otherwise stored away and only seen on open house days 2 or 3 times a year.  Now that the possibility presents itself if the library does move to Jacobs Road, I believe our Historical Society would miss  an opportunity to put in a request for the current library space. The town had considered leasing 5 Ledges Road for $1, why not the same arrangement for the current library space?   
 
The Select Board has discussed what would make Sawyer Hall (and Community Hall) ADA and Fire Safety compliant using grants and special project monies.  Robyn would like to look at the building as a whole to see how it can be improved and used. Now would be a perfect time to request a reading room to give residents access to the wealth of materials and perhaps some rotating artifacts.  The room could be open on Saturday mornings and provide the same social interaction as did the library.
 
I have mentioned this to a few people in the Historical Society, but did not get a sense that they saw the same possibilities that I saw. One response was how would it be staffed? I can only say that during the months of remote learning there were volunteers covering 7 hours a day in 2 shifts, 5 days a week.  Certainly, a reading room could get 1 or 2 volunteers for one day a week, from 9:30 to noon on Saturday mornings.
 
Right now when at least two groups are requesting office space, the Historical Society  could potentially  miss a great opportunity.   —Pat McGahan