'Great Week for the Library'

Director Hilding Hedberg is “grinning from ear to ear’’ today after the state yesterday awarded the library $5 million for its proposed expansion project.

 One day after the award was announced, the town is closing on the Perrault property. The property, located behind the library, is needed to accommodate the expansion.

 “This is the high point of my eight years here so far,’’ Hedberg said. “This is a great step forward. This has been a great week for the library.’’

The state grant validated the need for more space at the library, which Hedberg and the Grafton Board of Library Trustees have been advocating for some time, he said.

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, which awarded the grant, “has no stake’’ in the Grafton project, he said. But they objectively viewed the project report and “recognized there’s a real need for expanded Grafton library services,’ he said.

The project now has two of three crucial pieces in places, he said. With the Perrault property purchase and the grant award, expansion plans now go before Town Meeting voters in October.

Voters will be asked to approve about $6 million of the $11 million project cost. Fund-raising efforts will be bolstered to privately raise a portion of that money, he said. Studies have estimated that about 10 percent of the town’s share can be raised privately, he said.

The timing is good for the town, he said, because the project will be done when the weak economy means lower construction costs.

Informational meetings are tentatively scheduled for late August and mid-September.

For more information, see  http://patch.com/A-kmPn.