GALWAY — Last Saturday, Sept. 21, Galway opened a new public library on East Street. Over 100 people showed up for the grand opening and ribbon cutting, including state Senator James Tedisco and former state Senator Hugh Farley.
Arlene Rhodes, President of the Board for the library, said that in fall of 2008, the board decided to move forward with an initiative to start a new public library. After five years, they found the right location and submitted a referendum to begin funding and building.
Debra Flint, the library’s Director, said that after the first referendum failed, they wanted community feedback about how to improve. The general response was that the building was too large and too expensive.
With the new feedback, they submitted a second referendum, this time with a reduced building footprint, cost and with half of the funds coming from the Dockstader Charitable Trust.
In September 2017, the second referendum passed, and the new library began to be constructed.
Mary Cuffe Perez, a volunteer with the library who has helped them write grants in the past, said that one of the reasons the library is important is because it is “the only resource in Galway for cultural programs.”
Rhodes recalled that they first broke ground on June 30, 2018, and that they had more than 120 volunteers give over 630 manhours to move all of the library’s inventory over the course of three weeks. She said that it was a community effort, and showed “what good we can do.”
She also said that the old library was 1,800 square feet, while the new location is three times the size. Flint clarified that the new library was specifically 5,930 square feet. Rhodes said that it had an inventory of around 30,000 items.
Gary Flint, Debra’s husband, was at the checkout desk during the grand opening, answering questions. He said that in addition to the main library area, they also had two program areas, one larger and one smaller, a kids’ room and a teens’ room, in addition to a few employees only areas, like office space and a kitchen/break room.
He added that the larger program room would generally be used for larger events, while the smaller program room had things like the Historical Preservation Society and a Hubble Space Telescope display.
Debra Flint said that the library was “going to be a really great place for the community.”
For more information, visit www.galwaypubliclibrary.org.
