Trustees elect co-chairs, approve $500 gift and mural donation
Library · Meeting of June 10, 2026
Great Barrington library trustees reorganize, then deadlock over a possible shake-up of the Ramsdell Building Committee. Laura Mars and Lauren Clark were elected co-chairs and Sharon Shaloo secretary-treasurer, all by 5-0 roll-call votes, and the board separately approved a $500 appropriation from Ramsdell donations for youth programming and accepted a donated hand-painted mural for Mason's Children's Programming Room. Library Director Dawn Jardine reported the library system is short 2.5 full-time staff positions and said the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners construction grant funding the Ramsdell renovation likely will not be available again for decades if a 2027 Town Meeting vote fails.
Trustee Patrick Hollenbeck pushed for additional summer meetings, warning "you can't do it just once a month," while Shaloo defended the town manager's proposal to reorganize the building committee, asking "why would we fight against that?" No letter to the Select Board was authorized, and trustees agreed only to speak as private citizens at that board's June 16 meeting.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,528 words
Source: the Library meeting of June 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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