Library to Soon Select New Building's Design

The group charged with overseeing the work to design a new North Hampton Public Library is currently evaluating five different proposals, and will soon select its favorite design.

In an e-mail to the North Hampton Select Board, Kelly Parrot, the chair of the library trustees, said five proposals have been collected from architecture firms and that the library evaluation committee will review the plans between now and April 16.

The library's building committee will then meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17, to "go over their evaluations" before selecting two finalists on Friday, April 19, according to Parrot's e-mail.

Interviews with the finalists will be conducted between April 25 and April 30, and Parrot said she hopes to notify the firm behind the chosen design on May 1.

Voters approved at town meeting in March a to help fund the new library, the cost of which has been estimated at about $4 million. The library is tasked with raising roughly $2 million through private funds, and Parrot said in her e-mail that "progress has been made in the capital campaign" and that additional "public outreach" is planned.