Library Expansion & Renovation Project

The next meeting of the Library Planning and Building Committee is Monday August 1, 2022 at 6 pm. This is an open meeting and all are welcome to attend via Zoom. Agenda and minutes are posted online.

For more information about the project, please visit the Grafton Library Expansion Project Page.

Project Cost: $16,597,997

Eligible costs: $14,506,106 (MBLC will reimburse  about 51.25% of these costs)

Provisional Grant Award: $7,435,041

At Special Town Meeting on January 9, residents voted for a portion of lot 89 and all of lot 90 to be dedicated to Library use for the proposed Expansion and Renovation project; this would grant another sum of money as an eligible project cost. Should the grant, building schematics or project funding fail, the land would revert to Town-owned undesignated land.

Project History

At October Town Meeting in 2015, the Town voted to apply to accept and expend grant funds to assist with renovating and expanding the Grafton Public Library. On July 2017, the Town of Grafton was awarded a provisional MA Public Library Construction Program grant award of $7.4 million from the MA Board of Library Commissioners for the renovation and expansion of the Grafton Public Library.

The grant covers up to 50% of eligible costs and allows the Town of Grafton to renovate and expand the 90-year-old facility at nearly half the cost, adding a much-needed community meeting space, designated areas for quiet study, youth programs and collections, and dedicated workspace for staff.

Facility size is dictated by:

• Shelving to meet a basic library standard of 4.8 materials per capita (we reduced by 20%, citing the increase of digital formats)
• Seating for 10,000 to 25,000 residents (99 to 154 lounge or table seats available all the hours the library is open)
• Program elements (meeting rooms, quiet study space, staff workspace - we have one of 4 libraries in the state without a public meeting room)
• An additional 30% for unassignable space - or non-program space - for a mechanical room, stairwells, hallways, closets, restrooms, etc.

Additionally, the design must include a parking plan for library-dedicated parking spaces based on square footage of the expanded facility.

The building size in the building program is only an estimate. The Town has directed the architects to develop plans for a 21,000- to 25,000-square-foot facility, which would triple our current 7,200 square feet of space. A 24,000-square-foot building is a 24% reduction in the original 2010/2011 design schematics developed from the building program.

Schematics - site plan, floor plans and elevations - are required submissions as part of the grant application, and were due January 26, 2017. The Library Planning and Building Committee selected Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc (DRA) to design the required schematics, and DRA meets with the Library Planning and Building Committee on the first and third Monday of the month. All meetings are open to the public.