Ground broken for $5.6 million Amherst Public Library addition

AMHERST — Nearly two years of planning have gone into a $5.6 million addition to the Amherst Public Library, but it took just a few short seconds to turn over the first few shovels of dirt. There were cheers Wednesday afternoon as ground was broken in a ceremony on Spring Street. "We weren't always sure sometimes if we were going to make this happen," said Laura Dulmage, president of the library board. "We certainly knew that a lot of people in the community were supportive." A chain-link fence has already gone up at the rear of the library, and spray paint marks utilities under the surrounding sidewalks and parking lot. Concrete will be removed from the lot in the next couple of weeks, clearing the way for a two-story, 7,500-square-foot expansion. The construction timetable is already running slightly behind due to final planning, Donald Dovala, the library's administrator, said, with work expected to continue through the winter and wrap up next March or April. The main entrance on the south side has already been cut off. Patrons can now enter and exit on the Spring Street side of the building. Dovala gave assurances Wednesday that the library will remain open as much as possible throughout the construction process — but he's been clear that closures will happen, and areas inside may periodically be unavailable. Dulmage said the expansion project is important "because the world's changing. Information is available if we access it. Information is a powerful tool in every aspect of our lives. We need to take the time to look, to listen, to view and consider." That was the belief of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, who sponsored construction of the Amherst library in 1906 and some 3,000 libraries across the world before his death in 1919. Carnegie held that a library outranked any other thing a community could provide for its people, Dulmage said — he called it "a never-failing spring in a desert." And in return, the residents of Amherst and surrounding towns have embraced the library's vision, Dovala said. "We are grateful for the community's support and trust as we begin this next chapter in the library's history," he said. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.