NEW SALEM — Friends of the New Salem Public Library have wanted to “reimagine” the library for years. Now, with $10,000 in hand, they can start doing it.
The grant comes from the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts and will fund the Reimagine Our Library project, adding a new “multi-function community space” to the small 23 South Main St. building.
Chairs and tables, a kitchenette with a sink, and cabinets and countertop will be in the community room, which the Friends hope will be a pleasant activity center for a wide range of groups.
“We’ve been trying to develop a community space, which New Salem doesn’t really have,” said Monica Winters, Friends board co-chair.
Winters said she envisions the community room as a place for educational programming, workshops, book groups, film screenings, cookbook clubs, yoga and other activities.
“New Salem has a lot of older buildings, and they can’t really hold more than 12 people at a time for events,” Winters said. “We’ve had events at the library with around 20 people, and we’ve had to put chairs in between the shelves. There’s no community space where we can have yoga without moving furniture.”
Winters said the plans for renovating the library under the Reimagine Our Library program have been in the works for at least a year and a half, and floor plans were drawn up by Tucker Library Interiors in Manchester, N.H.
The community room is the first part of the project, which will ultimately cost around $25,000 for a full renovation, but the grant is a “very good start,” Winters said.
“We want to create a multi-function library, because libraries these days aren’t just for choosing books, they’re really a place to gather,” Winters said, adding that the library was renovated 12 years ago, but in a “frugal” way.
The New Salem Public Library will continue to raise money through the Valley Gives program and donations to fully realize Reimagine Our Library. Winters said “down the road” the library plans on getting new lighting and floors with “cozy and quiet” carpet tiles, Winters said.
The first of the $10,000 to be spent, Winters said, will likely be relocating the children’s room, installing the kitchenette and painting the community room.