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Library's Expansion | Newspaper Articles
Renovated library to open June 10
Marisa Donelan, Sentinel & Enterprise, May 30,2007
LEOMINSTER -- The newly renovated Leominster Public Library
on West Street will be open for business June 10, following
a dedication ceremony, officials said Monday.
Kathleen Reynolds-Daigneault, a member of the library's
board of trustees, said the two-year expansion and
renovation project will result in a booming library
downtown.
"Leominster is such a vibrant city right now," she said.
"This will only add to it. There's going to be more space
for people of all ages, with the children's area, the teen
section, and plenty of room for adults."
Leominster has been without a library since April 16, when
the temporary location at Crossroads Office Park closed for
the move.
The dedication ceremony will be a chance for people to take
a tour of the downtown building, and start checking out
books if they'd like, Reynolds-Daigneault said.
Gilbert Tremblay, the board's chairman, said he's toured the
building recently, and praised the builders for
incorporating the new sections with the historic 1910 front
section of the library, which had been closed off to the
public before the renovation.
"(It fits together) flawlessly, really," he said. "It just
merges perfectly together."
Tremblay said he has visited Fitchburg's library during
Leominster's closure, and said having the library downtown
once again will be a "big plus" for the city, particularly
on Pearl Street, which faces the library's new parking lot.
"I think the dedication is going to be a significant event
for Leominster," he said. "It's going to have a positive
effect on that neighborhood."
The library expansion and renovation, estimated to cost $12
million when it started, was paid for through grant money
and city taxpayer money.
City Councilors last fall approved a controversial loan
order for $1.3 million to cover cost overruns from
construction setbacks, such as ledge underneath the site and
water problems.
A fundraising committee has also raised more than $1 million
in donations to pay for furnishings in the new building,
Library Director Susan T. Shelton told the Sentinel &
Enterprise in April.
Reynolds-Daigneault said despite some building setbacks last
fall, the rest of the project went well.
"Remediating water is just very difficult, and they wanted
to do it the right way," she said. "The water caused a bit
of a headache, but they solved that problem and it went on
smoothly from there ... It's built to last. It's going to be
a great place for the city."
A dedication ceremony, with comments from city officials and
light refreshments, will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 10
at the Leominster Public Library on West Street.
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