Vermont libraries are getting their biggest infusion of federal funding in decades.
Fourteen public libraries will split nearly $16 million in grants from the American Rescue Plan Act. In a state where half of library buildings are more than 100 years old, according to Commissioner of Libraries Catherine Delneo, the grants, which were finalized this week, will fund much-needed infrastructure improvements across the state.
“To maintain those historic structures is expensive, and to modernize them for today’s library services is also a challenge,” Delneo said Tuesday.
The two structures that make up the Bennington Free Library were constructed in 1865 and 1936. Library Director Wendy Sharkey said air quality issues related to the antiquated HVAC systems have become a barrier to entry for immunocompromised residents who rely on its services.
"It means that if people need to come in and use these facilities, we have the option of offering it to everybody."Wendy Sharkey, Bennington Free Library
Sharkey said the $1.5 million ARPA grant that Bennington Free won this week will help solve the problem by funding building envelope improvements, HVAC upgrades and electrical repairs.
“By having air quality that’s good, by having good connectivity to the internet and things like that, it means that if people need to come in and use these facilities, we have the option of offering it to everybody,” she said.
Thirteen other libraries will receive between $174,000 and $1.5 million to fund capital improvements. Delneo, whose department administered and awarded the ARPA grants, said the program targeted projects that would increase public access to the internet for work, telehealth and education services.
She said the shuttering of public libraries during the coronavirus pandemic spotlighted the important role the institutions play in communities where residents lack home access to internet.
“For people who don’t have internet at home, that was just a complete absence in their lives,” Delneo said.
While the $15.9 million in grants awarded Monday will provide a major lift to the libraries receiving funds, it won’t come close to addressing the backlog of infrastructure needs at the 187 public libraries in Vermont.
Delneo’s department conducted a statewide capital-needs assessment in 2023 and estimates that libraries will need more than $100 million total to address deteriorating infrastructure. She said she hopes that a forthcoming national needs analysis, being conducted by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, will result in significantly more federal funding for libraries in the near future.
“It’s a great time for libraries in Vermont, and I hope that we’re going to continue to build, that this won’t be the last you hear about these opportunities and about big things coming for libraries,” Delneo said.
Sharkey said she’s grateful Bennington Free Library won its ARPA grant. But she said she worries about the more than 50 other public libraries in Vermont whose applications for funding were denied.
“We teach children how to read. We teach parents how to interact with their children, to help them on their journeys,” Sharkey said. “We’re so important, and we’re undervalued, and I think that’s a shame.”
List of libraries receiving grants
Alice M. Ward Memorial Library
City: Canaan
County: Essex
Award: $900,000
Project: Interior renovations for ADA compliance and improved patron centered useability; new HVAC system, new windows
Arvin A. Brown Public Library
City: Richford
County: Franklin
Award: $174,502
Project: Renovations to increase useable library space, new HVAC system, electrical system updates, new windows, and interior renovations for ADA compliance
Bennington Free Library
City: Bennington
County: Bennington
Award: $1,500,000
Project: Building envelope repairs with new windows and insulation, new HVAC system with electrical system updates
Brandon Free Public Library
City: Brandon
County: Rutland
Award: $1,406,936
Project: Installation of four-story elevator with renovations and improvements for ADA compliance, repair or replace windows for energy efficiency
Brooks Memorial Library
City: Brattleboro
County: Windham
Award: $1,472,501
Project: Asbestos abatement and building envelope repairs with interior and exterior renovations for ADA compliance
Grand Isle Free Library
City: Grand Isle
County: Grand Isle
Award: $1,500,000
Project: New library building construction
Groton Free Public Library
City: Groton
County: Caledonia
Award: $522,043
Project: Building expansion and envelope repairs with renovations for ADA compliance, new HVAC system
Jeudevine Memorial Library
City: Hardwick
County: Caledonia
Award: $725,000
Project: Library expansion with two-story addition, four ADA compliant bathrooms, HVAC plumbing and electrical updates
Johnson Public Library
City: Johnson
County: Lamoille
Award: $1,500,000
Project: Relocate building away from flood zone with new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Construct an addition to existing building. Renovations to egresses for ADA compliance
Lawrence Memorial Library
City: Bristol
County: Addison
Award: $483,000
Project: New HVAC system, building envelope repairs for structural integrity, electrical and mechanical system updates
Leach Public Library
City: Irasburg
County: Orleans
Award: $1,082,750
Project: Library expansion with two-story addition, new elevator, ADA compliant bathroom, and new HVAC system
Middletown Springs Public Library
City: Middletown Springs
County: Rutland
Award: $1,293,384
Project: Renovate and upgrade library building infrastructure at new library site
Salisbury Free Public Library
City: Salisbury
County: Addison
Award: $978,807
Project: Repair or replace HVAC system, new plumbing system, potable water, interior and exterior renovations for ADA compliance
Wilder Memorial Library
City: Weston
County: Windsor
Award: $650,000
Project: Building expansion and envelope repairs, new HVAC and plumbing systems, electrical system updates, and new ADA compliant bathroom
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