Friday is the day I (sometimes) get an update on the oh-so-protracted process of returning full library services to the Mason Square neighborhood at 765 State St., the site of the former library branch. And while for too many weeks, the reports were an exercise in frustration, chronicling the Urban League’s apparent lack of motivation to vacate the building it bought from the Springfield Library and Museums Association back in 2003—and which the City Council took by eminent domain a year ago—of late, there have been some promising signs of progress. Most recently came news that the Urban League should be out by the end of September, with the library to re-open in November.
I haven’t gotten any updates from City Hall this week. But in an effort to quell my impatience with a healthy dose of Zen, I’ll turn to a note I recently received from Stephen Cary, chairman of the Springfield Library Commission:
“Things are looking up in Mason Square, … Kudos to Aaron Williams for putting the precise birthplace of basketball on the map, to Richie Neal for helping improve the entire State Street corridor and to a woman named Annie Curran who left millions of dollars for the Mason Square library that can now be used as she wished.
“It was great news to read the article in the Advocate (Thursday, July 22) that full library services will return to Mason Square. The Urban League announced they would leave by the end of September, which should allow the library to restore services by November.
“As chair of the Springfield Library commission, I’ve heard many residents express anxiety that this day would never come. It is with cautious optimism that I believe the schedule will stay on track. I urge people to have faith in Mr. Thomas’s words and future actions. The Urban League is a provider of solid social services that are needed in Springfield, and they’ve identified a new location for that effort.
“A full range of emotions have followed this issue since 2003 when the property was quietly sold and the library had to vacate the premises in three months. The building was constructed and renovated uniquely as a library at great cost to taxpayers of the city … a price we are still paying. But now Springfield residents will finally be getting what they paid for.
“It is said patience is a virtue, and it’s generally considered a good thing to be virtuous. To all those who are losing patience with the long process, I ask they hang in there until the end of September. At that point, where patience is concerned… well, it has also been said there can be too much of a good thing.”
