NEWS RELEASE

On July 17, 2018 local and state officials gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new North Dartmouth Public Library. The $11.8 million project is made possible in part through a $5.3 million grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioner’s (MBLC) Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP).

“A groundbreaking is the perfect time to make predications,” said MBLC Vice Chair, Mary Ann Cluggish. I predict that 16 to 18 months from now you’ll be here saying, ‘Can you believe how fabulous this building is? Why didn’t we do this sooner?’

The project will build a new 14,854 square foot library to replace the 3,600 sq ft building that was demolished for the relocation of the Tucker Road/Route 6 intersection. Located on Cross Road, the new branch is critical to this fast-growing part of Dartmouth. It will include some much needed new features such as a community meeting room, a children’s room, a teen area, study rooms and an outside garden courtyard- features that Library Director Lynne Antunes says have been needed for over a decade. “It’s just too small. There’s no place for programs. It had gotten so busy, it wasn’t able to adequately serve the community.”

The project may also qualify for additional funding from the MBLC through the MPLCP Green Library Incentive if it attains LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The North Dartmouth project is planned to attain silver level LEED certification.

MPLCP library building projects are currently under construction in Leicester, Sherborn, Stoughton, Webster and Woburn, and in the final planning stages in Erving, Hadley, Medford, Monterey, Norwell, Springfield, and Weymouth. MPLCP grants provide crucial funding that enables the libraries to meet the growing demand for services. Statewide, attendance at public library programs has increased 49% since 2006 and every 5.5 seconds a Massachusetts resident accesses the Internet through a public library.

Funding for the MPLCP is authorized by the governor and the legislature. 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. Please visit the MBLC website for more information about the MPLCP.