Whitman Public Library faces closure, town leaders say funding part of decision

WHITMAN, Mass. — The Whitman Public Library could soon be closing its doors and town leaders say the decision comes down to funding.

Town leaders point to three main issues, rising fixed costs, a decline in school enrollment that reduces state funding and rapidly increasing pension costs. They argue that cutting other areas isn’t realistic, with police understaffed and fire services at a minimum. They say using reserve funds could create a bigger deficit down the road and argue the closure is unfortunately the only solution, if a proposed override does not pass.

Whitman Public Library faces closure, town leaders say funding part of decision

“Having the library access has been huge both me and my wife started reading again pretty regularly within the past year,” said resident Daniel Peters. “We’re really hoping that doesn’t happen this library has become a bit of a staple for us.”

Whitman-Hanson School Committee Member Rosemary Aahana-Hill says the library plays a vital role for students.

“Some of our students use the programs here during the summer, they rely on them, we don’t have a lot of resources and programs in town for families,” said Aahana-Hill.

Rosemary says the decision shows a disconnect between the selectboard and the needs of local families. “We have one librarian we don’t have multiple librarians, we’re really skeleton at the school level so having this library as a support really is an extension of the school,” said Aahana-Hill.

“The library closing will be just a little sad because we come here, we see Miss Sharon, she does a good job with the kids programs and we’d have to find a different routine and I think my kids would be totally be bummed,” another parent told Boston 25 News.

Without an override, this closure could be unavoidable.

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