Jones Library groundbreaking set for June 18 in Amherst

The Jones Library in Amherst

The Jones Library in Amherst STAFF FILE PHOTO

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 06-04-2025 11:43 AM

AMHERST — A ceremonial groundbreaking for the $46.1 million expansion and renovation of the Jones Library, which is already closed to the public to make way for the project, is set for June 18.

Library, town officials and others will gather at the 43 Amity St. site at 10 a.m. that day to mark the beginning of the project that has been in a planning stage for the last 10 years.

Crews from Fontaine Brothers, Inc. of Springfield are expected to mobilize in the coming weeks to begin the initial work on the development, with the 1990s addition to be removed entirely to make way for a new addition that will increase the size of the building from 48,000 square feet to 63,000 square feet.

Before any work begins, though, staff and a moving company are getting all materials out from the current building, with the circulating collection as well as main library operations to eventually be at 101 University Drive.

Library Director Sharon Sharry told library trustees at a meeting Thursday that bankers boxes were brought for initial packing by staff, with a moving company to supply the majority of these and the majority of the work.

An exact date for when the temporary site opens has not yet been determined, with patrons directed to the Munson Memorial Library in South Amherst and the North Amherst Library.

Much of the special collections, though, is going to a storage building in Hadley to be stored in a safe place with sprinklers, security alarms and a climate controlled environment, Sharry said.

Before construction begins, Sharry said conversations need to be happen with tenants at the neighboring North Pleasant Street building where The Drake performance venue is located, with concerns about site access and egress.

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Trustees President Austin Sarat said work is underway with neighbors and abutters to make sure the project goes smoothly from their point of view, including final details related to easements.

Sharry said project team meetings involving the architects Finegold Alexander, Colliers as the owner’s project manager and town and library officials start happening in June,.

Programming that can’t be at the temporary site will remain in town center, such as English as a Second Language classes, with space at the parish center at St Brigid’s Church and the Bangs Community Center.

“All of our community partners have been amazing, everyone’s been great about working with us and being patient,” Sharry said.

During the meeting, Sharry also updated about concerns with the Trump administration’s federal order to end the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.

Because of this financial support being lost, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is cutting 21 of its databases, with six remaining, Sharry said “five-sixths” of the databases is a “big hit” but not a big portion of what Jones patrons use, such as The Boston Globe.

“This is a really hard hit for school libraries across the state,” Sharry said.

MBLC’s support for core services is staying intact, though, and there is no risk to the $15.6 million in MBLC money that is going toward the building project, she said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.