Restored and expanded, the Grafton Library blends old with new
There’s a portal in the Grafton Public Library where the old meets the new.
From the former main reading room, where the high ceilings, woodwork and large windows can finally be appreciated, the doorway that once led to the crowded stacks travels through time to a fully modern library. There’s light, there’s space, there are study rooms and reading nooks, and they are all accessible.
The original library can be seen through a doorway from the expansion. 
The former circulation area now opens up into the new library. 
The open staircase leads to one of the marble insets created from material from the old building. 
The exterior of the library extension. 
Library Director Beth Gallaway is looking forward to the project’s completion. 
Jerome Wheelock gave the town funding for the original 1927 library. 
Children play on the chairs in the new gaming room. 
Without shelves and computers, design details can be appreciated in the old library reading room. 
Without shelves and computers, design details can be appreciated in the old library reading room. 
Doug Bowman leads a tour. 
This machine takes books from the drop-off and sorts them into the appropriate sections. 
The outdoor amphitheater sits in the space between the old and new library. 
The children’s room 
The teen room 
With the 100th anniversary of the library coming up in 2027, what might be planned in celebration?
From the other side of the portal, the past will be appreciated. The reading room, once crowded with bookshelves and computers, is now stripped down to its original 1927 glory and appropriately becomes dedicated to Grafton History.
“Going to the library before used to be an errand,” Library Director Beth Gallaway said Sunday, when attendees of the library’s board of trustees meeting got a sneak peek inside the completed $16.5 million building. “Now it will be a destination.”
The library is substantially complete and recently received its certificate of occupancy. Shelving is expected to arrive Tuesday and, once books and other materials are transferred from the interim library at 53 North Main Street, it’s expected to open at the end of August.
Highlights include:
- A large children’s section, complete with appropriately sized furniture, space for programs, and a “tree” with leaves made of acoustic panels;
- A teen section, with study spaces, a gaming room, and a maker’s space that includes a 3-D printer (the donor also included a year’s worth of materials);
- A large-print section;
- A machine which checks in book returns, sorting them into appropriate bins for reshelving;
- A conference room available to the public;
- Private rooms for group meetings, book clubs, and studying;
- A “green” roof of plantings;
- An outdoor “auditorium” and other outdoor spaces, including a planned giant chess board;
- The new entrance includes several marble insets, using materials recovered from the former library.
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