New Lewes Public Library grand opening June 25
The new Lewes Public Library officially will open Saturday, June 25, with an 11 a.m. ribbon cutting ceremony with Gov. Jack Markell, Lewes Mayor Ted Becker and State Librarian Dr. Annie Norman. Family activities both inside and outside the library will take place until 1 p.m., including story time with Markell, an interactive musical program for children by Nancy Marvin, balloon animals by Chuckles the Clown and face painting. Everyone is welcome to attend the event.
Over the past month, workers have put finishing touches on the building. Movers and staff have been busy transferring materials from the old library next door, which closed in May to prepare for the opening of the new building.
Ground breaking for the new building took place in December 2014 with construction starting shortly afterward. Becker Morgan Group designed the new building with input from a design committee comprised of local architects, library staff and community members. The 28,500-square-foot building is almost twice as large as the old library and has three times the parking. It is located in a park-like setting and shares its site with the new rail-trailhead at the nexus of the emerging rail-trail system.
The new library includes three different sized meeting rooms available for community use, a new young adult room that shares a program room with the children’s room, four tutor/study rooms, 43 computers for public use, a computer training room for up to 12 users, a quiet room and expanded administrative space for staff. There also is a Friends of the Library store called Just Between Friends selling books and literacy-related items. All proceeds from the store go toward purchasing new items for the library and supporting programs.
The State of Delaware paid 50 percent of the $11.3 million cost to construct the new library, continuing the Markell administration’s commitment to libraries. Additional funding for the Lewes library came from Delaware foundations and other state and public sources. A capital campaign committee is working to raise the remaining $400,000 needed for the project. Dennis Forney, chair of the committee said, “There are a number of ways our community can support the library during this final phase of raising money. We are still accepting donations, and individuals may choose to purchase an engraved Tribute Paver or leaf on the Children’s Room Learning Tree in honor or memory of a family member, sponsor a solar panel or reserve a tree or bench.”
For more information about how to give or to be involved with the library campaign, contact Rebecca Lowe, campaign administrator, at 302-645-2733 or by email at Rebecca.Lowe@lib.de.us. For more information about library programs, go to www.leweslibrary.org.
