2005 Annual Town Report
Board of Library Trustees
At
precisely 11:23 a.m. on April 28, – a gloriously beautiful day – folks from
near and far gathered to mark the “official” opening of the Library at its new
location, the corner of Center and Commercial streets. It was a long-awaited gift for our Town – an
historic moment that gave us all pause.
The
Grand Opening Celebration drew hundreds of guests, who gathered in the Main
Library to mark the occasion. They sat
and stood among the bookstacks with end panels graced by the original walnut
pew arm rests, lovingly restored by Master Woodworker Bill Ingraham. Trustees, Library Staff, Town officials,
Mass Library Commissioners, and Town residents saluted the transformation of
the 1860 Landmark building into our new Library.
From
the witty to the weighty, speakers inspired the guests and lauded the
achievement. Of great moment was a poem
written specially for the occasion by Provincetown Poet Sheila Sinead
McGuinness, titled “Ode on a Library”.
In addition, the celebration included the first glimpse of a striking
new painting in the Historic Front Lobby by Provincetown Artist John Dowd. John painted it in response to a request by
the Anonymous major donor who named the Lobby in honor of Suzie Fults.
The
celebration began with refreshments in the Reading Room prepared by Bruce
Moidell and Jim Cole, and hosted by Volunteers Susan Barris, Lee Brenner, Anita
and David Butler, Polly and Mel Cote, Georgia Coxe, Margaret Hotz, Jan Kelly,
Carol MacDonald, Sheila McGuinness, Mary Moore, Laine Quinn, Alexandra Smith,
Meg Stewart, Maureen Wilson and Mike Wright.
Guests were treated to music on the 2nd Floor provided by the Bart
Weisman Jazz Trio.
Design and Construction
The
Library’s brilliant design, conceived by Boston architects Peter Ringenbach and
Warren VanWees of Perry Dean Rogers|Partners, and carried out by the JK Scanlan
Company, Falmouth contractors, wrapped its arms around everyone with a
welcoming energy that we’ll never forget.
In fact, it was recognized in the December 2005 Architectural Issue of
the “Library Journal” as one of the three most outstanding renovated libraries
in Massachusetts!
An
18-month construction period, under the experienced “watch” of our Clerk of the
Works Bill Ingraham, concluded on March 30, when the Town’s Building
Commissioner issued a Certificate of Occupancy. For the two years preceding this date, the Library Director and
two Trustees, along with architects and contractors, attended weekly
construction meetings, assuring that the project moved forward in a timely
manner and on-budget. Although Winter
weather – below freezing in 2004 and the blizzard and record snowfall in 2005 –
affected progress at times, work continued in a professional and expedient
manner.
New Look
Our
new building called for a new look, so the Trustees engaged Blue Tide Design –
Irene Lipton, Phil Smith and John Sunderland – to develop a new sign system and
graphic identity. Volunteer Robin
Haeuter, a marketing professional, was instrumental in helping committee
members through the process. The result
is an identification system that is integrated with and complements the
architectural design. The costs were
underwritten by both the Friends of the Library and the Supporters of the
Library.
Saluting Freeman Street
One
final salute to the “old” Library took place one April afternoon when folks
gathered in the Freeman Street Lobby to take down the Nathan Freeman portrait
from its place above the Front Desk.
Several Staff, Trustees, and Friends shared thoughts about how life must
have been in 1873, when Mr. Freeman built and established the Library on this
site, and how both it as an institution and we, as a community, had grown and
prospered in response to his vision.
It was with a real sense of history that we carried Mr. Freeman’s
portrait to the “new” Library, to oversee his legacy.
In
the preparation for leaving the Freeman Street building and declaring it open
for use other than as a Library, the Town determined the following: that in
1873, Mr. Freeman had conveyed the property to himself as trustee of the Nathan
Freeman Trust, which thus owned the building.
In
1892, a second deed and trust were drafted by heirs, conveying the property to
“The Trustees of the Library Building in Provincetown”. However, the original of the 1892 deed has
never been found and was never recorded at the Registry.
An
August 27, 1997, letter written by Town Attorney Jeanne McKnight deemed that “.
. . the restrictions contained in the deeds and indentures [on the Freeman
Building] have lapsed.” And, further
on, “The legislature has limited the ability of a grantor (or his heirs) to
assert a right of reverter. Under
Chapter 260, Section 31A, no right of reverter created before January 2, 1955
is enforceable.”
Since
it was clear that the right of reverter had expired by operation of law, and
that there was no way to get a deed out of the Nathan Freeman Trust without the
appointment of a new Trustee, the Town petitioned the Court in 2001 to appoint
then-Trustee Chair James D. Cole as the Trustee of the Freeman Library
Trust. This done, in August, 2005,
Trustee Cole signed a Quitclaim Deed that conveyed the property to the Town
acting by and through its Board of Selectmen.
Subsequently, on September 13, 2005, the Library Trustees declared the
Freeman Street building “as surplus to the Library’s needs”.
Trustees
In
May, long-time Trustee Chair Jim Cole, along with Trustee Anita Berman, reached
term limits and stepped down. In his
nine-year tenure, Jim was integral to seeing the vision of a new and larger
Library facility come to fruition. His
quiet encouragement and his congenial and positive attitude pervaded each
Trustee meeting. His strong and steady
guidance influenced others in Town to honor the past, to look to and prepare
for the future. Jim’s fundamental
belief in steady progress helped us to nourish the best within ourselves and to
keep our sights on the goal.
Two
new Trustees were elected in May to fill the two seats, joining Secretary Cj
Noyes and newly-elected Chair Marcia Fair on the Board: Paul Benatti and Edward
“Mick” Rudd. Each brings with them a
world of experience and expertise in Town affairs over the past several years. They are already demonstrating how
invaluable they are in dealing with the issues and challenges that are implicit
with a new and expanded facility. First
and foremost on the Trustees’ agenda is reviewing and revising existing Library
policies as well as developing new ones that adequately address all aspects of
this new operation. Help with this
process came in the person of new resident Liz Angelino, an organizational
effectiveness and recruitment sourcing professional, who agreed to fill the
on-call Secretary position, left open by the resignation of Sheila McGuinness.
With
the resignation of Trustee Sandra Fay in November, we were fortunate to
identify Cathleen Metzger to recommend for appointment to fill the
vacancy. At a joint meeting with the
Board of Selectmen on December 5, the Trustees and the Selectmen voted unanimously
to appoint Cathy to our Board. Cathy
brings to the table years of Board and volunteer experience, with professional
skills in the areas of human resources and training.
Meanwhile,
Sandy’s two-year tenure on the Board was recognized for her many contributions
to not only the Board, but to designing the Library’s website.
Budget
Budget-wise,
we are doing what we do best – keeping expenses down and increasing
services. Considering that we are open
seven days per week for a total of 48 hours, our budget in 2005 was a mere 1%
of the total Town budget – $259,207 of $25,841,886. Clearly, residents are
getting their money’s worth. For the
4,348 registered borrowers, that’s only $59.62 per person per year – a true
bargain! The Trustees, along with our
Library Director, take seriously the fiduciary responsibility toward our Town
residents.
Building Campaign
The
Capital Building Campaign Committee, which had been meeting monthly since the
launching of the Campaign in 2001, met for the last time in late 2004. The Trustees took over from the Campaign
Committee.
Credit
for raising over $1 million in private gifts and pledges in that time period is
a tribute to all who served: former Trustee Arthur Pike; Supporter
representatives Sandy Fay and Carol MacDonald; Friends representatives Lee
Brenner and Murray Wax; at-large community representatives Margaret Bergman,
Gerry Brennan, and Nancy Sirvent; and the late Roberta Lasley. Library Director Debra DeJonker Berry
attended each meeting ex-officio.
As
2005 drew to a close, the Gift Report showed a total of $1,190,404 in Cash
Gifts and Pledges. This represents
1,307 first-time individual gifts from 37 states across the country, as well as
folks in Canada and England. All
Campaign expenses are underwritten by the Supporters, thus assuring that every dollar given goes directly to the
Building Fund.
Several
major donors chose naming opportunities for their gifts. The three at the $100,000 Nathan Freeman
1873 Circle level were directed to the Suzie Fults Historic Front Lobby
(Anonymous); the Wesley Russell De Olivera Arts & Literature Room
(Anonymous) on the Mezzanine; and The Gerald & Henry Fowler-Bombardier
Children’s Library, given by John Fowler and Tom Bombardier in honor of their
children. Other named gifts at the
$10,000 to $15,000 Harry Kemp Circle level included four end panels given by
Jim Cole and Bruce Moidell, and the Poet’s Corner by Carol Noyes and Rose
Basile. In addition, Michael MacIntyre
generously made an $85,000 commitment toward the restoration/reconstruction of
the Belfry.
Two
special events to benefit the Library drew townsfolk and visitors alike. In August, an Open House benefiting the
Reading Garden at the new Library, was generously hosted by Rhoda and Will
Rossmoore at their home. The newspaper
announcement designed by Ewa Nogiec featured a 1973 Arthur Cohen etching as
centerpiece.
Of
special note was the success of the Fourth Annual Packard Gallery Reception on
September 9. Thanks to the generosity
of Artist Anne Packard, who hosted the event and offered one of her paintings
as a Silent Auction piece, we realized a $22,000 addition to the Building
Fund.
Outstanding Needs
While
we are indeed operating in our new space, several outstanding needs must be
met. These include 1)
restoration/reconstruction of the Belfry; 2) front walkway installation; 3)
restoration of the decorative Front Façade and painting the building; 4)
hardscaping and landscaping; and 5) building out the Lower Level. The cost for these items is estimated at
$600,000. The Trustees will continue
fundraising activities to meet this goal.
Special Thanks
The
consensus on the Board this year is that the “top vote of thanks” goes to our
Library Director Debra DeJonker-Berry.
Instrumental in every aspect of this Building Project as well as in the
daily operation of our fine Library, Deb has demonstrated how one professional
can truly make an enormous difference.
I
believe that we in Provincetown are blessed with one of the most
multi-talented, intelligent and able individuals with which any of us have ever
been associated. Deb works tirelessly
to assure that plans are laid, managed well and carried out, goals met. Her inclusive manner, creative mind, and
technical skills and knowledge have been the key to realizing this new
Library.
We
extend special thanks to Vincent Guadazno, photographer extraordinaire, who has
faithfully photographed our progress over the years with an attentive and
creative eye, with patience and good cheer.
Finally,
thanks to the scores of volunteers who work tirelessly on behalf of the
Library, and to the Trustees – both past and present – who lend their minds and
hearts to this great Library love affair.
In a way, we have learned to make music together, to play it our own way,
and can now interpret life together in a new space.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Marcia
Fair
Chair