Donations revive historic Pittsfield library
Toolbox
By Cristina Kumka Staff Writer - Published: April 23, 2009
Nearly three years ago, the Roger Clark Memorial Library in Pittsfield was closed due to a lack of community interest and volunteers to man the book shelves.
But today, those same shelves at the more than 100-year-old library housed in the town schoolhouse-turned-clerk's-office are becoming more and more stacked and volunteers are aplenty, according to library volunteer Angelique Lee.
A recent $10,000 donation and a sold-out fundraiser are the latest chapters in the historic library's renaissance.
It took the library closing to encourage more support — 20 volunteers now work shifts to keep the library's doors open and the library has received more than $5,000 in public and private grants from three organizations over the last two years.
On April 1, 85 residents and private donors from the small rural town of less than 500 people attended the library's second annual dinner and first-ever silent auction where $2,373 was raised for library programming, equipment and supplies and rebuilding the library's adult book collection.
And, about a week before the fundraiser, the library received a $10,000 bequest from the late Mary Giorgetti, a philanthropist from New York who moved to Pittsfield, then Rutland, with her husband, about 40 years ago.
The money is slated for capital improvements that will remain on hold while town officials continue their discussion of possibly moving the clerk's office and library out of the historic structure, Lee said.
For a library that receives a less than $1,000 operating budget from the town, the grant money and private donations were much needed to sustain the book collection, book club and other children's activities, according to Lee.
"When I first moved here, they said, 'Well, take your books now because we are closing down in a month,'" she said.
"We had a big motivation to make sure our kids knew each other and that they had a place to come back to."
For more information on the library, go to http://pittsfieldlibrary.weebly.com.
cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com
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