NEWS RELEASE

On January 28, 2017 Sherborn residents gathered with local and state officials to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Sherborn Library.

Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Secretary Roland Ochsenbien congratulated the community and said, “This is the most fulfilling thing we can do in a community – all you need to do is spend a few minutes in a library and you will appreciate just how important this work is.”

State Representative David Linksy echoed the Commissioner’s remarks. “Libraries impact every resident in the community,” said Linsky. “Sherborn is the third library in my district to make this important commitment to themselves and future generations.”

The $8.7 million library renovation and expansion will include many features of a 21^st century library including a dedicated space for teens and a public conference room. The current three level building, built in 1970, will be brought up to code and will be fully accessible to handicapped persons. The proposed project will also add 9,007 square feet in a two-level addition that will include an auditorium to seat 150 and a new Children’s Room, a feature lacking in the current library.

The project has been well-supported by the local community. It received unanimous support at Town Meeting and Mary Moore, chairwoman of the library trustees and president of the Sherborn Library Building Committee, announced that the group has met its fundraising goal of $3.8 million raised by from over 250 private donors.

The project is also supported by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), which awarded the community a Massachusetts Public Library Construction grant totaling more than $3.6 million in 2015. The library will also qualify for Green Library Incentive funding totaling between $100,000 and $127,000 from the MBLC when it attains official LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification from the US Green Building Council. It is designed to achieve LEED Silver certification. The new library is scheduled to be completed in late December 2017 or early January 2018.

Photos from the groundbreaking can be seen here.

The Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP) helps libraries across the Commonwealth meet the growing demand for library services with expanded and improved library facilities. Visits to public libraries have increased by more than 56% since 2000 as libraries evolve into the only remaining free community space that welcomes all residents. Technology in libraries has also become increasingly important. More than 27,000 people use the Internet every day in Massachusetts public libraries.

MPLCP library building projects are currently underway in Hopkinton, Leicester, Scituate, Sherborn, Stoughton, Webster, and Woburn. Communities with recently completed projects include Eastham, Edgartown, Framingham, Reading, Shrewsbury, and West Springfield.

Funding for the MPLCP is authorized by the governor and legislature. The MBLC is currently in the process of a new grant round. In January it received 33 applications from communities that want to renovate and/or expand their public library. The Board will vote on provisional grant awards to these communities in July.

The MPLCP was first funded in 1987. Since then, the program has assisted hundreds of communities in building new libraries or in renovating and expanding existing libraries. For more information about the program, please visit the MBLC's website