9/11 exhibit rejected... sort of

9/11 exhibit rejected ... sort of0-6001By Linda Kush/ Staff WriterThursday, June 8, 2006

The 9/11 Memorial Committee thought they were offering a gift. The Library Board of Trustees thought they were blind-sided. In the end, the memorial committee felt jilted by a library board whose members felt railroaded.

And all over something both sides really wanted.

On Monday night, the 9/11 Memorial Committee offered the library a multimedia educational exhibit to tie in with the 9/11 Memorial. The library trustees turned it down.

The trustees, who scheduled the presentation at their regular monthly meeting at the library, did not know that committee members would expect the trustees to vote on it that very night. The memorial committee felt the trustees should welcome free installation of a $25,000 education tool that would enhance the library's mission.

Uncomfortable making a decision on the spot, the library trustees voted not to accept the gift. The vote was three in favor, one against, and two abstaining.

The trustees planned to revisit the offer at their July meeting.

But to Memorial Committee Co-chair and Selectman John Ryan, the vote was a slap in the face, and the offer is being withdrawn.

"The 9/11 Committee welcomes any group that wants us, but we are not receptive to groups that don't welcome us," he said.

The exhibit, still in the design stage, will show a series of 20-minute documentaries presenting the facts of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington D.C. The presentations will tell the story for viewers on several levels, from elementary school students to post-graduate researchers.

Ryan insisted that the Library Board of Trustees vote to accept the installation Monday night because the committee is on a tight schedule. They want to unveil the exhibit for the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks this fall. The audio-visual firm handling the project normally needs only 30 days to complete an installation, but late summer is their busiest season.

Library Trustee Paul Fortunato, who voted to accept the exhibit, said his group was united in support of the project, yet he fully understood members who voted against it.

"Our only reservation was we wanted time to digest it, give consideration, deliberate, formulate our questions, and bring it to a vote," he said.

Ryan could not see any reason to deliberate. He said the exhibit would be designed so visitors could operate it themselves, and for large groups, a pool of 16 volunteers would be available to give a talk and show the videos. His committee has ambitious plans to heavily promote the exhibit and make Tewksbury a national center for 9/11 history.

Some of the trustees were concerned about the exhibit's location. The 9/11 Committee intended it for the library's large meeting room, but trustees feared the access would be too limited. According to Library Director Elisabeth Desmarais, the room is booked 1,000 times a year.

Those who voted not to accept the exhibit were really voting against making an immediate decision.

Fortunato is the father of a Tewksbury firefighter and a champion of education.

"I was profoundly affected [by the 9/11 attacks]," he said. "I would love our library to be the 9/11 resource center for Massachusetts, New England, even the whole country. But I did not like making a snap judgment without giving it a little thought."