To the editor:
No one likes to see a museum forced to deacquisition its collections. But in our view, museums are dynamic institutions that must adapt to changing times if they are to play a vital role in their respective communities, as no museum can afford to be all things to all people.
The Berkshire Museum pays untold benefits to Pittsfield and the surrounding region and it must be placed on solid financial footing if it is to thrive here. We support Van Shields and the Board of Trustees in a decision that must have been as distasteful to them as it is to the people who oppose on principle the sale of the works of art from the museum's collections.
Under current leadership, the museum has become an exciting focus of the city's downtown and we look forward to its continued superb contribution to the quality of life throughout the Berkshires.
Alan Sandstrom,
Pamela Sandstrom,
Pittsfield