Problems
Three major weaknesses in the Regional Library Center program were identified soon after its formation:
- Service areas were too large to be served by one bookmobile (which took six weeks to visit each location)
- The 12,000-volume book collection did not provide sufficient materials for the population of the service area
- Consulting services provided by the professional bookmobile librarian to local libraries were very limited because of the number of libraries served.
A study completed in 1944 recognized that library support in small towns would always be limited because of the narrow tax base. To address this, the study recommended that the Centers be strengthened, that other types of coordinated services be provided, and that additional state funding be made available to equalize library services where inequalities existed. Between 1945 and 1948, the Massachusetts Library Association tried to win legislative support for a plan to improve library services as recommended by the study, but no plan evolved.
Read more about this topic: Western Massachusetts Regional Library System
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