Libraries will get the money only if they raise the remaining amount they need to complete their proposed buildings by January 2012.
An artist's rendering of the proposed new South Hadley Library.The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners announced Thursday that four public libraries in Western Massachusetts have received multi-million-dollar provisional grants from the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program.
“Provisional” means that the libraries will get the money only if they manage to raise the remaining amount they need to complete their proposed buildings by January 31, 2012. The average grant is for 50 percent of the total cost of each library building.
Granby Free Public Library was awarded $2,603,663. The M. N. Spear Memorial Library in Shutesbury was awarded $2,093,084. The South Hadley Public Library was awarded $4,841,312. West Springfield Public Library was awarded $6,276,143.
In spite of the provisional nature of the awards, supporters and staff were almost giddy with joy when the announcements were made.
“It was our dream to have a 21st-century library for Granby,” said Virginia Snopek, chair of the Library Trustees in Granby. “Our community has really banded together.”
“We are over the moon, absolutely ecstatic over the news,” said Toni Golinski-Foisy, director of the West Springfield library.
The Elm Street entrance to the West Springfield Library.“It’s been a long journey, and everyone worked so hard,” said Golinksi-Foisy, whose proposed library has a total cost of $13,441,200.
“I had to sit down and take off my glasses,” said Mary Anne Antonelli, director of the Spear Library in Shutesbury, who got the news by phone from an architect working on the project.
“We’re thrilled and we’re very proud,” she said. “For a tiny little town like Shutesbury, this is a huge project and a huge opportunity.”
Antonelli said the town has 1,800 residents and 1,200 of them are registered library patrons. The library was built in 1902 for 400 residents.
“It’s a great day for South Hadley,” said Joseph Rodio, director of the South Hadley library. He seemed the calmest of the lot, but insisted that was just on the outside.
Rodio and the chair of the Library Trustees in South Hadley, Mitch Resnick, were so excited about the impending announcement that they drove to Northborough Thursday morning to get the news first-hand from the Board of Library Commissioners.
So many other applicants had the same idea that the commissioners moved the announcement up on the agenda.
Eight Massachusetts public libraries were awarded provisional grants, and 15 are on a waiting list.
Rodio, whose grant represents 51 percent of his proposed library’s total cost, said it’s significant that of the eight winners, half are in Western Massachusetts.
“I think that speaks to a need from this part of the state,” he said. “With this grant round, the state is recognizing that.”
An artist's rendering of the proposed new library in Granby.Some communities have already been fund-raising like crazy.
“We’ll try to deflect as much of the town’s cost as we can,” said Jennifer Grant, director of the Granby library, whose proposed library is budgeted at $4,775,000.
All of the winning libraries expressed plans to get LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which could make them eligible for other grants.
There are different levels of LEED certification, said Golinski-Foisy.
“If we hit the marks we think we are going to hit, we could add another $300,000-to-$400,000 in grants,” she said.