Williamstown Resident Appointed to State Library Board

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Timothy Cherubini of Williamstown has been appointed by Governor Maura Healey to serve on the nine-member Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). 
 
Cherubini brings over 3 decades of experience in libraries and non-profits to the MBLC, including work in academic libraries, regional and national library networks and consortia, as well as library centered associations and coalitions.
    
"Libraries are well situated to bring a broad, unique vantage point to many different issues and opportunities in our communities and institutions," said Cherubini. "I am honored to serve as a Commissioner and will work to maintain and strengthen libraries across the Commonwealth and support them in meeting their full potential as the valuable and vital infrastructure that they are."
 
Currently Cherubini is the Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Foundation, and recently served as a library trustee at the David and Joyce Milne Public Library and on the State Advisory Council on Libraries to the MBLC. He is also an executive advisor to the non-profit organization EveryLibrary Institute, where he focuses on identifying and engaging with organizations and coalitions to ensure sound policy and continued public support for libraries
nationwide.
 
Commissioner Cherubini began his career as an academic librarian serving in various positions at Duke University, Emory University and Ohio State University. He then moved on to work for over a decade as the Senior Director of Engagement and Programming at LYRASIS, a non-profit consortium committed to the success of libraries and cultural heritage organizations. In 2014 he was appointed as the first Executive Director of the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), an independent organization of the top library directors, officers and commissioners across the United States tasked with statewide library development and initiatives. Cherubini also formerly served on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Center for the Book.
 
Cherubini holds a Master of Library Science and Master of Music from Indiana University, and a certificate in Academic Library Leadership from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. He is a member of the Massachusetts Library Association, New England Library Association, American Library Association, and the American Society of Association Executives. 
 
The MBLC was established in 1890 and is responsible for library services across the Commonwealth including Federal Library Services and Technology grants, State Aid to Public Libraries grants, the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program, as well as regional library services and online statewide resources.

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Williamstown's Cost Rising for Emergency Bank Restoration

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The cost to stabilize the bank of the Hoosic River near a town landfill continues to rise, and the town is still waiting on the commonwealth's blessing to get to work.
 
Department of Public Works Director Craig Clough was before the Finance Committee on Wednesday to share that, unlike the town hoped, the emergency stabilization work will require bringing in a contractor — and that is before a multimillion dollar project to provide a long-term solution for the site near Williams College's Cole Field.
 
"I literally got the plans last Friday, and it's not something we'll be able to do in-house," Clough told the committee. "They're talking about a cofferdam of a few hundred feet, dry-pumping everything out and then working along the river. That's something that will be beyond our manpower to do, our people power, and the equipment we have will not be able to handle it."
 
Clough explained that the cofferdam is similar to the work done on the river near the State Road (Route 2) bridge on the west side of North Adams near West Package and Variety Stores.
 
"We don't know the exact numbers yet of an estimate," Clough said. "The initial thought was $600,000 a few months ago. Now, knowing what the plans are, the costs are going to be higher. They did not think there was going to need to be a coffer dam put in [in the original estimate]."
 
The draft capital budget of $592,500 before the Fin Comm includes $500,000 toward the riverbank stabilization project.
 
The town's finance director told the committee he anticipates having about $700,000 in free cash (technically the "unreserved fund balance") to spend in fiscal year 2027 once that number is certified by the Department of Revenue in Boston.
 
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