GREENFIELD — After nearly 50 years of serving public libraries, Greenfield Public Library Director Ellen Boyer plans to ensure a smooth transition to the new building before retiring this summer.

“My employment contract with the city was supposed to be renewed July 1,” said Boyer, who was named director in February 2012. “It just seemed like it was a good time, and I wouldn’t be leaving the city in a lurch.”

Boyer said the new 26,800-square-foot library, which is being built next to the current one on Main Street, remains scheduled to open in June, “barring any unforeseen catastrophe.” She plans to finish her tenure aiding in the first month of transitioning to the new building.

“I feel like my greatest accomplishment was guiding the process of getting the new library,” Boyer said. “That started with getting a sizable grant from the state.”

In 2019 — seven years after the vision for a new library was first discussed — Greenfield voters approved building a new library with a 61% positive vote. The $19.5 million appropriation accounts for construction costs as well as those of the architect, project manager, furniture and fixtures, according to Library Building Committee Co-Chair Ed Berlin.

In addition to a $9.4 million grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Greenfield Public Library Foundation pledged to raise about $2 million, reducing the city’s cost to approximately $8.1 million.

Boyer recalled that in the interview process for a new library director more than a decade ago, the search committee indicated its desire for the incoming director to “explore the possibility” of a new library in Greenfield. At the time, she served as director of the former Mark Skinner Library in Manchester, Vermont, where she had spearheaded the process for a new building. Boyer knew it would be a long process from start to finish.

“I had some experience,” she said.

But Boyer doesn’t take all the credit; in fact, she credited the work of each advisory group that participated along the way, such as the furniture and teen advisory groups, and all the volunteers who stepped up outside of an organized group.

“We’ve had a ton of community involvement in what this building will look like and what it will have inside,” Boyer said. “I’m really proud of that.”

One thing she couldn’t predict, however, was the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it would have on her staff, the community and libraries.

“We weren’t able to do the things we normally did,” she said, recalling the quick pivot to curbside services and eventually outdoor events. “I’m really glad we were able to continue to provide library services, even if they looked a little different.”

Boyer said while she’s seen vast changes in technology use since her start in public libraries, people’s reliance on electronics increased, in particular, during the pandemic.

“Not that they’ve gone away from books … but I know people who swore they would never stream a video or … download an audiobook, because they liked physical DVDs or a physical book in their hands,” the Greenfield resident said. “Now, they think … ‘I’ll just download an e-book.’”

Boyer said she thinks people’s perception of libraries “as warehouses for physical materials” has changed.

“Libraries are places were people can connect with information in the form that is most helpful to them at any given time,” she said. They’re places where people can meet, read the newspaper or enjoy a cup of coffee. “This new library will really allow us to tap into that — the library as a community space.”

As for the next leader of the library, the job posting for which can be found at bit.ly/3EyeVLS, Boyer hopes to see the role go to someone with a “bold vision.”

“This is the right time for me,” she said, sharing that she looks forward to spending more time with family, and in particular, with her young grandchildren. “We’ll get a new director who, I hope, will have a bold vision for the future and who will be able to usher the library into the future in a very thoughtful and deliberate way. I really look forward to seeing what happens.”

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.

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