(Patch) Melrose’s long-awaited library renovation project recently took a step forward with the signing of a contract to begin the project’s construction phase, Mayor Paul Brodeur announced on Wednesday.
Following uncertainty over potential cost increases in recent months, Brodeur confirmed that the cost of the city’s contract with the Massachusetts-based Castagna Construction Corporation is roughly 12% higher than estimates available when the City Council approved the project last year.
The city has adjusted, though, with officials saying this week that a combination of state, federal and Library Trustees money has allowed the project to proceed without a need for new city bond funding.
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Category: Library News Bites
Need a mobile hotspot for internet service? Try a Cape Cod library
Can you imagine not having access to the internet? For most, the internet is more than just a way to read news or go on social media. It can be essential for education, work and even health care. With a grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, libraries have been able to bolster their programs for mobile hotspots, allowing more library patrons to “borrow the internet.”
Gloucester gets State Help Toward Library Expansion
Gloucester’s Sawyer Free Library is closing in on a decades-long goal of updating and increasing the size of its facility with help from new state funding. The state Board of Library Commissioners announced July 7 it is providing Gloucester $9 million for the library’s $28 million renovation and expansion plan. The grant would grow by $316,052 if the project meets green building standards.
Voters back Jones Library project in Amherst
A $36.3 million renovation and expansion of the Jones Library will proceed after voters at Tuesday’s biennial election overwhelmingly affirmed the Town Council’s April decision in favor of the project.
Boston Celtics display original championship banners for first time in 26 years at Boston Public Library
Boston Celtics fans can take a step back through history with a visit to the Boston Public Library, where the 17-time NBA champions’ legendary original victory banners are out of storage and on display to the public for the first time in 26 years.
After 18-month wait, Erving Public Library holds open house
After a year-and-a-half long delay, Erving finally celebrated the opening of its new public library with an open house Sunday. The open house invited the public to join key workers who helped bring the library to fruition for music, refreshments, a raffle and speeches.
Medford Public Library named 2021 EBSCO Solar Grant Winner
EBSCO Information Services selected its four 2021 EBSCO Solar Grant Winners.
Hazel Park District Library in Hazel Park, Michigan; Medford Public Library in Medford; College of Menominee Nation in Keshena, Wisconsin; and the Virgin Islands Montessori School in St, Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, will each receive an EBSCO Solar Grant to pay for the installation of a solar array. The grants offset the cost of installing solar panels and allow the libraries to reduce their electricity expenditures.
Many turned to libraries during the pandemic for free Wifi and other services. Will these venerable public institutions get the credit they deserve?
Ramses Escobedo probably wouldn’t call himself a hero. But during the pandemic, he was asked to act in some heroic ways. Escobedo, a bilingual Spanish-English librarian, manages a branch of the San Francisco Public Library. For more than a year, however, Escobedo hasn’t been lending out books. Instead, he’s worked with a Covid-19 contact tracer team for San Francisco’s Department of Public Health.
Boston Public Library makes thousands of images available free online
The Boston Public Library has made more than 8,000 photos, ranging from pictures documenting the construction of the McKim library building in Copley Square to 19th-century daguerreotypes, publicly available on Wikimedia Commons, according to library officials.
Children’s librarian Kay Lyons to retire: ‘I found I had a way with children’
Librarian Kay Lyons has journeyed with local children for almost three decades to places like Wonderland, Narnia and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but when she retires in March, it’s her turn. She and her husband, Rick Roy, will take some trips of their own, though never forgetting the joy she’s known.