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New Vineyard Library’s expansion to be celebrated Saturday

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The New Vineyard Library, once located at the front of the building at 20 Lake Street moved into a new addition at left on June 30.  ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Saturday, Aug. 2 at 11:30 a.m. Tours, entertainment and refreshments will be held from 10 a.m. to noon.
The New Vineyard Library, once located at the front of the building at 20 Lake Street moved into a new addition at left on June 30. The town office will be moving into the former library space soon. The New Vineyard Historical Society also shares a space in the building.

NEW VINEYARD – A dedication with a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held in celebration of the completed new expansion of the New Vineyard library. The ribbon cutting will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2 with tours, refreshments, and music from 10 a.m. to noon. The building is located at 20 Lake Street, (Route 234, just off Route 27).

After years of planning, grant writing and many, many fundraisers, the recently completed new addition to house the library triples the space for its programs, books and readers. The new library space opened on June 30.

A total of $311,000 was raised, with $227,000 for construction and the balance for items such as the furnishing needs, said librarian Sandy Bestwick.

The New Vineyard Library Association’s expansion committee, working since 2010, was able to secure a Community Development Block Grant totaling $180,000, along with USDA Rural Development grants totaling $50,000 for a new well and septic system and to provide Americans with Disability Act compliant accessibility. Other major grants were awarded by the Davis Family Foundation for $20,000, and another $20,000 from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, $15,000 from The Betterment Fund; $1,000 each from the Franklin Savings Bank Community Development Foundation, and the Camden Bank Development. The balance, roughly $24,000, was raised through individual contributions and lots of fund raisers.

According to Judy Uhl, the library got its start in the 1950s when a small group of residents began making plans towards establishing a library for New Vineyard. A small, informal book swap was started on a shelf at a local church. In 1961, 20 residents formed a library association and offered annual memberships for $1.

“The original shelf evolved into a larger bookcase in a foyer at the top of the stairs at the local school, then an area in the basement of Smith Hall on Route 27. At last the library had more space, but the area was dark and damp in some seasons. Not a great place for books,” Uhl said.

In 1986, Jerry and Sandra Howard, owners of the former convenience store My Wife’s Place at the north end of town, offered to house the books at their store. This generous offer was a step up from the basement, she said.

The library association members continued their discussion and plans for a library building started to form but their now-$2 a year in dues and annual donations didn’t match what would be needed.

Judith Johnson
Judith Johnson (Photo by Becky Sweeney)

There first major donation came from resident Judith Johnson after she purchased and gave the town the property at 20 Lake Street for use as a library site.

A volunteer crew made up of Lenny Ellis, Al Turgeon, John Maki, Duffer Luce, Francis Bliss, Zadie Hargreaves, and many others built the original structure. Another anonymous resident donated $15,000, an endowment whose annual earnings would start the process of buying books on a regular basis.

Over the years, additions to the original building by the town created space for the town office and meeting room. In 1996 the library brought modern technology to the library in the form of a computer with a phone hookup to the Internet.

By 1999, the library was able to hire its first part-time librarian thanks to a $60,000 anonymous gift for the endowment, whose earnings would help pay the salary over the years. Volunteers supplemented the librarian’s hours and continue to do so. In 2002, Bestwick, was hired.

A Teen Center was established, and the library volunteers began a homework assistance night where students could get help with reading and math. Home-schooled students have also benefited from the library over the years, Uhl noted.

In 2008, the library was awarded grants from The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation and Central Maine Library for new computers and improved networking. The well-used library, which offers a variety of programs and services began to feel the need for a larger space to effectively continue its mission as the community’s center. The volunteer effort to plan, write grants and raise funds will be celebrated at Saturday’s dedication.

“It’s just beautiful,” Bestwick said of the new library space. “People come in and either say, ‘wow’ or ‘awesome’ when they see it. It’s really just beautiful.”

The new New Vineyard Library opened on June 30. (Photo courtesy of Judy Uhl)
The new New Vineyard Library opened on June 30. (Photo by Becky Sweeney)
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4 Comments

  1. I cant wait to come to check out the new building and you deserve it sandy you the only reason the library is the way it is and you got a great new building and plenty of space for all your books and things lol cant wait to come check out the new establishment you have now lol :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

  2. Can’t wait to see the new library, though I wish the dedication was a different day so that we could make it. Seems like everyone has scheduled something for the same day as the Blueberry Festival. Hope it goes well!

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