Spear Memorial Library

The Spear Memorial Library, located at 10 Cooleyville Rd. in Shutesbury, is a one-room building located in a rural community of approximately 1800 residents. The library has a paid staff of two; Mary Ann Antonellis is the Director and Sally Fairchild is Assistant Librarian. The library is also supported by a rotating group of volunteers. The library building has been in existence since the 19th century and has always been used as a library. Before the building was constructed, a cabinet containing books was transported around the town, by horse-drawn cart. We certainly have come a long way since then, with the outstanding service of our libraries and the WMRLS Delivery System.
Ms. Antonellis met Becky Marconi and I on an August morning, and along with a tour of the building, we learned about the eventual expansion plan for the library, as well as what areas she wanted to focus on for improvement. Two areas were to be addressed- weeding the collection and entering items into the CWMARS system. Library Friends provided boxes for me to place books in, and there was a plan to sell books at the next town fair, in September. I have completed the weeding process, with Mary Ann making the final decision on what to keep and what to remove. Another Circuit Rider named Patrick is steadily making progress with the items being entered into the CWMARS system.
Visiting and working alongside Mary Ann at the Spear Memorial Library was a very positive experience, and my work was augmented by an excellent organizational system for the current collection, which is supplemented by interloan. The library is a lively place whenever it is open and serves its' patrons quite well.

Carol Scheier
Circuit Rider