Ground broken for Grafton Library expansion
Officials took turns donning hard-hats and scooping dirt. 
Custodian Paul Farrar made a running leap onto the dirt pile at the Grafton Library groundbreaking. 
Beth Gallaway, Grafton librarian, has been working on the expansion project since starting the job in 2013. 
Officials took turns donning hard-hats and scooping dirt. 
Officials took turns donning hard-hats and scooping dirt. 
Officials took turns donning hard-hats and scooping dirt. 
State Sen. Michael Moore 
State Rep. David Muradian 
The Cusher family takes a moment for group scoop. 
The rear of the Grafton Public Library will see significant changes during the construction. 
The dirt was flying Wednesday morning as the town broke ground for the Grafton Library’s $15.8 million expansion project, designed to bring the overcrowded building — and its offerings — into the 21st century.
The 90-year-old building is a cornerstone of the Grafton Common Historic District, gifted to the town by Jerome Wheeler in 1927. After construction is finished in 15-16 months, visitors to the Common will still see the original historic building — but behind it will be a 22,700 square foot addition, Library Trustee and Building Committee member Doug Bowman said.
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners will reimburse up to 48 percent of the cost. A capital campaign with a goal of $800,000 is now underway, with a third of the goal met.
“You hear from the public, why are you spending so much money on libraries?” said state Sen. Michael Moore. “But libraries are the cornerstone of a community.”
The expansion will include spaces for children and teens, meeting rooms, climate-controlled historical preservation, and a rooftop garden area. It will also make the library fully accessible.
“Shortly, very shortly, we will be seeing changes on our site, and the building going up, and it will be a very exciting process,” said Julie Grace, a member of the building committee.
For Library Director Beth Gallaway, the project has been part of a journey that began when she was just 14 and volunteering at a library, where she shelved books and dusted off old record albums.
“People would come in and they would take books but they wouldn’t stay because there was no room,” said Gallaway, who came on in Grafton in 2013, shortly after another, larger, effort to expand the library was shot down by voters.
The library will remain at its temporary location in the former Episcopal Church on North Main Street until spring 2021, when the newly renovated library is expected to open.
A website, https://graftonlibrary.org/thetimeisnow/, is keeping track of the project as its happening.
