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New Mount Vernon Library Is Awesome!

 June 26, 2018

 Folks in Mount Vernon and Vienna are very excited about our wonderful library addition, expected to be completed by early August.

We decided to build a two-story addition, which required an elevator, but the good people of Mount Vernon, at our town meeting a couple weeks ago, appropriated $50,000 to cover unexpected expenses (Including some work in the existing library).

The addition is beautiful and larger than we originally planned. There will be lots of room for books, some great event space, and an expansion of space for children. I love seeing the children’s room crowded with kids, all enjoying a good book. We also will be able to host more children’s events now.

Overall, the expansion will probably cost about $400,000. We even were able to expand our very limited parking area. All contractors were local.

We’re hoping to have a dedication event in mid-August.

The expanded library will serve our two small rural communities for many many years and be a gathering place for all of us.

Thanks so much for your support!

 George Smith, Chair, Trustees of the Dr. Shaw Library

Excepts from an article June 24, 2015   – from Central Maine Newspapers staff writer Betty Adams.

“Picture an updated, fully insulated and larger Dr. Shaw Memorial Library, one that keeps all the New England farmhouse charm and provides enough room to host programs for more than a dozen people at a time, and one that is accessible to all.

The library’s board of trustees has embarked on a plan to raise $400,000, with the construction to begin in late summer or early fall of 2016.

A progress report by George Smith, who serves on the board and is heading the fundraising efforts, says $100,000 has been collected already. An invitation-only gala is one of the events planned for later this summer, and corporate donations will be sought. The library trustees have been working on the project for a year already.

Library trustee Fred Webber, who has been on the board for more than 30 years, said the $400,000 would allow significant work to be done on the existing library, including new windows and a new roof as well as adding more insulation.

“With that sum of money, we’d be the fanciest small library around,” Webber said, adding that a minimum of $300,000 would allow the expansion to move forward. Donations to the library are tax-deductible, Webber said.

The trustees have worked with architects at Bunker & Savage in Augusta and now have some completed drawings.”