Nelson trustees are open to ideas about library’s future

COVID-19 was the final death knell for the continued existence of the Nelson Library as a library.

Nelson Park Trustee Roger Currier came before the Select Board Tuesday to acknowledge that the group is considering the future of the building, but said Select Board member Ray Mead’s recent suggestion to turn it over to the Grafton Recreation Department was a bit premature.

“We need to entertain the problem before the possible solution,” Currier said.

The Nelson Library, while owned by the town, has a separate board of trustees (elected by Town Meeting) and a history entirely separate from the Grafton Public Library.

In 1935, the 18 acres that are now Nelson Park were bequeathed  to the town of Grafton in the will of Charles H. Nelson, who requested that a library be built on the property. For several years, it resided in his former mansion, with the current structure replacing it after a fire.

Both the Nelson Library and the South Grafton Library were shut down in late 2008 due to budget issues, but Nelson supporters collected books, many duplicates from the Grafton Public Library, and kept Nelson open, staffed by a dwindling supply of volunteers, until 2020. 

“The first thing we have to do is figure out what to do will all the books,” Currier said.

In the past year, Nelson’s meeting space has been rented by various groups, which Currier said “is not really an effective use of the space.”

Nelson Park also holds several softball fields, a playground, and is utilized for multiple reception programs.

“It may be that we come back and say we’d like to entertain the idea of using the recreation,” he added. “We were kind of given guidance by Mr. Nelson to use it for a public park.”

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