“We are grateful, we give thanks,” West Tisbury poet laureate Justen Ahren read during Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the West Tisbury Free Public Library’s expansion and renovation project. After nearly five years of planning, grant applications, and fundraising, construction on the new building will begin next month. A large crowd gathered in the courtyard of the library to celebrate the big day.
Mr. Ahren was one of a lineup of speakers that featured state rep.
As ground breaking nears for construction of the new West Tisbury library, the town selectmen this week reviewed a tree-cutting plan to accommodate the larger design.
West Tisbury library trustees asked the town selectmen this week for permission to cut down nearly 10 trees to make way for construction of the new library late this fall. The library also needs the money to take the trees down.On Wednesday trustee Linda Hearn asked the selectmen to put an article on the Nov. 13 special town meeting warrant asking for $6,000 for the tree removal. There are four large trees adjacent to the parking lot, two at the rear of Howes House, several small trees around the property and a large maple at the entrance to the parking lot, which Polly Hill Arboretum executive director Tim Boland called “diseased and dangerous,” according to Mrs. Hearn.
The Vineyard Haven and West Tisbury libraries have been named “star” libraries in an annual national rating process conducted by the Library Journal. Only eight libraries in Massachusetts and 256 libraries throughout the United States were given the star rating, out of a possible 7,513 libraries.
Public spectacles like the annual monster shark tournament have much in common with the gladiator games conducted in the Coliseum during ancient Roman festivals. Large, adoring crowds immersed in a circuslike atmosphere amid unbridled commercial activity, awaiting the extravaganza of torture, execution and the eventual display of victims.
When the West Tisbury Library opened in 1993, it was already too small. A frantic patchwork of low-cost space solutions over the years have never kept up with growing demand for library services. For well over a decade we have struggled with a severe shortage of space for patrons, materials, programs and staff. Today we have the Island’s largest collection and the highest circulation, but the smallest facility (except for Aquinnah).
Jennifer Tseng began her reading at Wednesday’s night’s Speakeasy benefit for the West Tisbury Library held at State Road restaurant with an apology for being morbid. Her poem, When You Are Gone, was in honor of Andrew Jephcote, a “beloved regular and friend” who leaves little found-object sculptures around the library.
