Article 6 – Motion 2
Michael P. Lowery
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING WAYLAND FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY AT ITS HISTORIC LOCATION WHEREAS, The Wayland Public Library is the only historic building belonging to the Town that is still used for its original intended purpose, it is the Town of Wayland's most significant cultural and historic public building and is thus one of the Town's cultural resources worthy of protection; and WHEREAS, the Library's land at 5 Concord Road came to Wayland in 1899 for $1 from the widow of Warren G. Roby: ‘….said lot of land is the same marked “Library Lot” ½ acre on a plan of a portion of the Warren G. Roby Estate, Wayland, as set off for the Wayland Public Library, according to will to be recorded with Middlesex South District Deeds.’; and WHEREAS, Wayland Town Meeting of 1898 accepted the gift of a lot of land and $28,000 to be ‘devoted to the erection of a building thereon to be used as a Public Library, donated to the town by the late Warren G. Roby by his will’; and WHEREAS, the Library building is not well-suited for other municipal purposes, and its reuse or sale may be legally limited; and WHEREAS, more than 115 years later the Library remains Wayland's most beautiful, serene, and solid municipal building - inside and out; and WHEREAS, the Library adjoins Wayland's Historic District in the geographic and soon-tobe-walkable center of town; and WHEREAS, the Library is a monument to the generosity of a public citizen and is irreplaceable in the fabric of Wayland's history, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AND IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that the Town of Wayland urges the Library Board of Trustees to retain the principal functions of the Library at 5 Concord Road, to overcome its deficiencies, and to upgrade its facilities and infrastructure at the current location in support of Wayland’s essential library needs. Version 5 – November 6, 2015