Massachusetts Library Construction Projects

41 Communities Apply for Library Construction Funding

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 11, 2005

CONTACT: David L. Gray
Director, Communications & Public Information
1-800-952-7403, x208
David.L.Gray@state.ma.us

41 Communities Apply for Library Construction Funding

BOSTON – Forty-one municipalities filed Applications for New Construction, Addition/Renovation or Renovation Projects by the February 9, 2005 deadline for the 2004-2005 Massachusetts Public Library Construction Grant Round.

These Applications will now be evaluated for their completeness, and then reviewed and ranked by independent non-Agency reviewers who are not associated with the projects under consideration, as well as by staff of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The Board will announce the projects recommended for funding that will receive a provisional grant award (pending confirmation of local funding) or placement on a waiting list for future funding at its Board Meeting on Thursday, July 7, 2005.

Funding for a construction/renovation project is based on its eligible costs, which can include purchase of land not already owned by the town or its school district, consulting, architectural and engineering fees, actual construction costs and costs of fixed equipment. Landscaping, parking lots and furnishings are not eligible for funding. The state share is awarded on a sliding scale and ranges from approximately 35 percent of a larger project to 60 percent of a project under $1.2 million.

Municipalities and their libraries that applied were:

• Municipality / Library
• Acushnet / Russell Memorial Libray
• Auburn / Auburn Public Library
• Belchertown / Clapp Memorial Library
• Belmont / Belmont Public Library
• Bolton / Bolton Public Library
• Boston / Boston Public Library - Mattapan Branch
• Bourne / Jonathan Bourne Public Library
• Boxford / Boxford Town Libraries
• Buckland / Buckland Public Library
• Cambridge / Cambridge Public Library
• Dalton / Dalton Free Public Library
• Dartmouth / Dartmouth Public Libraries
• Dighton / Dighton Public Library
• Dudley / Pearle L. Crawford Memorial Library
• Edgartown / Edgartown Free Public Library
• Everett / Shute Memorial Library (Branch)
• Falmouth / Falmouth Public Library
• Foxborough / Boyden Library
• Gloucester / Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Library
• Granby / Granby Public Library
• Heath / Heath Free Public Library
• Holbrook / Holbrook Public Library
• Holyoke / Holyoke Public Library
• Hull / Hull Public Library
• Mashpee / Mashpee Public Library
• Millis / Millis Public Library
• Milton / Milton Public Library
• North Attleborough / Richards Memorial Library
• Norwell / Norwell Public Library
• Shrewsbury / Shrewsbury Public Library
• Upton / Upton Town Library
• Wales / Wales Public Library
• Walpole / Walpole Public Library
• Ware / Young Men's Library Association
• Wendell / Wendell Free Library
• Westhampton / Westhampton Memorial Library
• Westwood / Westwood Public Library
• Wilbraham / Wilbraham Public Library
• Wilmington / Wilmington Memorial Library
• Winchendon / Beals Memorial Library
• Woburn / Woburn Public Library

The Board of Library Commissioners (mass.gov/mblc) is the agency of state government with the statutory authority and responsibility to organize, develop, coordinate and improve library services throughout the Commonwealth. The Board advises municipalities and library trustees on the operation and maintenance of public libraries, including construction and renovation. It administers state and federal grant programs for libraries and promotes cooperation among all types of libraries through regional library systems and automated resource sharing. It also works to ensure that all residents of the Commonwealth, regardless of their geographic location, social or economic status, age, level of physical or intellectual ability or cultural background, have access to essential new electronic information technologies and significant electronic databases.

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Related Link: www.mlin.org/mblc/news/2005/nr050211.php