Southwick Library Must Cut Operations 10 Percent, May Lose State Certification

SOUTHWICK -- April 14, 2026, Southwick library faces mandatory 10 percent operations cut and potential loss of state certification. The Board of Trustees learned at its April 14 meeting that a joint Select Board and Finance Committee directive requires all town departments to reduce operations budgets by 10 percent for fiscal year 2027, setting a target of $153,098 for the library's operations line. Library Director Anna told the board that preliminary numbers suggest the library will not meet the Massachusetts Municipal Appropriation Requirement even at the lower 16 percent informational materials threshold available to libraries open more than the minimum required hours, and that the town will likely need to pursue a formal certification waiver from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, a process requiring documentation from the town administrator and possibly a presentation in Boston. The board voted unanimously to adopt a case-by-case policy for extending borrowing privileges to other libraries that lose certification, and unanimously approved a shift to annual lending agreement waivers for library-of-things and hotspot checkouts. The informational materials line, which funds books and patron-facing resources, will bear the largest share of the required cut.