AMHERST — Before the Jones Library’s expansion and renovation gets underway, the Massachusetts Historical Commission is requesting that library officials reconsider use of synthetic shingles in replacing the existing slate roof, and to not cut into the front of the 1928 building for installing a book drop.

With a letter received on Dec. 26 from Massachusetts Historical Commission Executive Director Brona Simon as part of the project review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, Jones Library trustees will meet via Zoom on Wednesday at 10 a.m. to discuss the possibility of using an authentic slate roof and to have a stand-alone book drop instead of one embedded in the building.

The town received an extension in December from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, through March 31, to complete the Section 106 process, which calls for minimizing or avoiding adverse effects on the historic property from the $46.1 million project. Plans created by Finegold Alexander Architectes of Boston are to enlarge the library, originally built in 1928, by demolishing a 1990s addition and then constructing a new addition, while also doing significant interior renovations to the nearly 100-year-old building.

Fontaine Brothers Inc. of Springfield submitted the low $35.77 million construction bid to handle the work.

The Section 106 process, which will lead to a memorandum of agreement spelling out the ways adverse effects are minimized or avoided, is required to access federal grants for the project, including a Challenge Infrastructure and Capacity Building grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as an Economic Development Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Section 106 review is also needed for the project to secure a hazardous waste removal permit from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Simon, in response to a construction alternatives analysis prepared by Public Archaeology Laboratory of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, sent a letter on Dec. 19 to the town that requested that more be done to protect the 1928 building, noting that the response “describes alternatives that were rejected as the project proceeded to design without consultation with MHC.”

With a slate roof, Simon recommends that officials get cost estimates from specialized slate roof installers. “It should be noted that the roof of the Jones Library is a character-defining feature and, as such historic materials should be maintained, if possible,” Simon wrote.

Simon also writes that stand-alone book drops can be effective if monitored and emptied regularly, and that patrons can also drop off any borrowed materials inside the building. “The library should avoid damaging the stone on the front facade. Cutting into the stone is not a reversible treatment,” she wrote.

In addition to the two concerns with the look of the building from the exterior, Simon wrote that the state agency is awaiting results of an ongoing archaeological investigation, which will complete the identification of all historical resources affected by the expansion and renovation project.

Previously, town and library officials have indicated that some of the preservation of historical resources will include an extensive photo exhibit and display that would be housed in the library’s special collections.