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Community Corner

Residents Form Group to Urge Passage of Library Expansion

     Supporters of the Tolland Public Library have formed a group called YES for a Better Library to urge passage of the library expansion referendum on Nov. 5.
     Its members include business owners, parents, library users and other Tolland residents who believe the expansion of the library into the old Hicks gym at town hall is a modest, cost-effective solution to cramped conditions at the current library.
    The group’s chairperson is Susan Beeching and its treasurer is Gerald F. Griffin.
    “I always loved our former library housed in the old courthouse. Others had the vision to build our present library, which offers so much more,” Beeching said. “I believe that the proposed renovations will be another great step forward.”
    Members of YES for a Better Library will be visiting community group meetings to educate the public about the project this fall and will have a booth at Celebrate Tolland on Sept. 21 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. behind town hall.
    The $2.6 million project would expand the library by 43 percent into space that is currently unused. Town officials have identified as much as $1.9 million in grants that will help fund the expansion.
    The status of the grant applications will not be known before Nov. 5, but the town manager has said Tolland can afford the project even if the grants are not secured because other projects will be paid off before the library is expanded in 2014-2015. The library expansion is not expected to increase the town’s debt burden.
    In June, the town council simply set the referendum date; voters must still approve the project on Nov. 5.
    “Some residents may believe the council has already approved the project, but that is incorrect,’’ Beeching said. “We need your YES vote on Nov. 5 to make this happen.”
    The current library is significantly undersized for a population the size of Tolland’s. At 13,348 square feet, it is also much smaller than the libraries in other comparable towns. The library in Ellington, for example, is 28,000 square feet for a population nearly identical to Tolland’s.
    The library’s program room is also too small to hold many popular programs. The project would expand the program room and add a separate children’s room so events for children and adults could be held at the same time without disrupting other patrons.
    YES for a Better Library wants the public to know that today’s libraries are evolving to be much more than simply warehouses for books. Tolland’s library is one of the few places in town for people of all ages to hold meetings, learn together, hear an engaging speaker or use free computers.
     The current layout and size limit the library’s usefulness, but the renovation project would allow the library to evolve into a 21st-century digital learning center and community hub.
     For more information, visit yesfortolland.com. To arrange for a YES for a Better Library member to visit your community group or neighborhood, call Susan Beeching at 860-680-5910.
    YES for a Better Library is a registered political action committee that can accept small donations to help it spread the word about this important project. To make a donation, mail a check made out to YES for a Better Library to P.O. Box 632, Tolland, CT 06084. For more information on donating, call Gerald Griffin at 860-875-9325.

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