Last week Norton became the 17th community in Massachusetts to lose certification for its library system, thanks to underfunding — specifically, a town meeting vote to cut funding by 33 percent. Deborah Knight Snyder laments the “dark day” in the Easton Journal:

The worst punishment of the state decertification is that Norton residents are now in literary and research exile. They will lose their membership in the SAILS Library Network, which offers a hugely expanded world, providing books and materials from over 70 member libraries and branches in southeastern Massachusetts….

Norton residents have essentially been thrown back into the dark ages and will only be able to borrow the limited materials on the shelves of the Norton Public Library.

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners currently lists the following towns on its online equivalent of a “do not accept checks from these people” list:

Alford
Bridgewater
Fitchburg
Freetown
Hancock
Hawley
Hubbardston
Medway
Monroe
New Ashford
Northbridge
Norton
Saugus
Savoy
Tyringham
Wareham
Washington

The biggest community, and the only city, on the list is Fitchburg. Its library website now has the following notice:

NOTICE:  Beginning January 1, 2009 residents of Fitchburg will be limited to borrowing materials housed at the Fitchburg Public Library.  Requests for materials from other libraries will not be filled by the loaning library.  This is due to loss of certification resulting from a 68% budget cut.  Residents from other communities may still place reserves through our web site but may not pick the items up in Fitchburg.  Again, this is a result of the library losing its certification.

Photo from Anorak Records Archive.