By Julia Beauregard
Hometown Weekly Editor
After nearly six and a half years, the doors to the Sherborn Library finally reopened this past Monday, March 20th. Sherborn locals lined up outside the library doors anticipating the long awaited reopening.
Rounds of applause erupted as the doors finally opened. All of the librarians waited inside for the arrival of their guests and welcomed them back into the library.
“This is a huge event! We’ve been waiting for this moment for over six years,” Irene Saranteas Baasselee, a local parent and building committee member shared.
The library had been closed for renovations and expansion; a children's wing had been added on, complete with an arts and crafts space. Down below the main floor of the library, an auditorium, which was designed to hold over one hundred people, had been put in place. This space was created for evening events.
The upstairs portion had spacious sections for tutoring, group studying, and spaces to read and hang out, perfect for local teenagers and college students.
“We’re still in shock that we’re actually here- it’s so nice. I can’t wait to have people come in and see this space for the first time!” Library Director Liz Anderson eagerly shared. “The thing I've been most excited about is seeing the kids; having them have this space to play and learn!”
While the first children trickled into the new space, dazzled by all of the books and toys, Maureen Hayes, the youth services librarian, shared her excitement for the teenagers to make their return to the library. “We’re just so excited, we know it’s been a long haul since we started the project… I’m so excited for the teens to come back because they didn’t have the space to study or socialize at the Community Center. Moms and kids could make it work, but it was difficult for the teens to find the same comfort.”
Updating this space was a very forward thinking thought process, as libraries have become community spaces over the years. The library is now able to provide an area for teenagers to study, socialize, hang out, and read, computers for those in need to utilize, nooks and study rooms for adults and teens alike to work within, and a beautiful children’s room for kids to play, craft, and make friends along the way.
For more information about library programs, hours, and when their grand-reopening will occur, check out their website: https://sherbornlibrary.org/
