Shutesbury Library Trustees Adopt ALA Bill of Rights, Demand Town Fix Snow Removal

Library Trustees · Meeting of January 27, 2026

Shutesbury Library Trustees adopt the ALA Library Bill of Rights and demand town action on snow removal at the new library building. The board voted unanimously three times at its January 27 meeting, approving December minutes, adopting the American Library Association Library Bill of Rights as library policy, and passing a motion directing the town of Shutesbury to find a solution to ongoing snow removal failures that have left Library Director Marianne and student intern Sam Speziak digging out HVAC compressors by hand. Marianne told trustees the town had allocated more than $4,000 to the highway department for sidewalk clearing at the library but that the work has not met accessibility needs; she said she has already submitted a two-page memo to the Town Administrator and Select Board.

"I don't think that having the library director do the snow removal is really the appropriate response," she said. The meeting room policy remains unfinished pending a draft patron conduct policy Marianne said she would produce within two weeks, with the room unlikely to open to the public before March.

In the full story:

• The complete report, 1,075 words

Source: the Library Trustees meeting of January 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.