Amidst balloons, flowers and cake, the Ilsley Public Library last Saturday celebrated the centennial anniversary of its completion and official dedication to Colonel and Mrs. Silas A Ilsley on Sept. 25, 1924. The Ilsley Library 100th Birthday Bash also marked the start of a new chapter for the library as it moves forward with the Ilsley 100 Project, a major renovation and expansion of the library building. Activities at the event included a birthday cake bakeoff, attendees singing happy birthday to the library, a story time for children and a presentation on the history of the library.
Residents of the town of Middlebury passed a bond to support the Ilsley 100 Project in May. Aiming to make the space more accessible, modern and flexible, the project will remove the previous additions to the library from 1977 and 1988 while preserving the historical 1924 building. It will then add a two-story addition on the northeast side of the building and replace some of its critical appliances.
“The Ilsley 100 Project is all about setting up the library to serve the community for the next 100 years. We have a great library, but the building is failing. We cannot provide what a modern library needs to provide in our current space,” said Dana Hart, director of the Ilsley Public Library. “As the community's needs change, what we provide changes. The community lets us know what they need and want from us, and then we constantly check in with them to make sure we get it right.”
There was an atmosphere of excitement at the celebration, and not just around the numerous kids who ran through the open doors, eager to show off the homemade cakes their families brought for the cake bakeoff.
The bakeoff included three categories: amateur, professional and gluten free, which were judged based on appearance, creativity and taste, according to reporting by The Addison Independent. The judges of the contest were Otter Creek Bakery Manager Tatiana Dale and Hannaford Career Center Culinary Arts instructor Jillian Huizenga and the entries were served at the 3 p.m. celebration.
The celebration was a perfect example of what the library offers the community, from the incredibly engaging story time for children led by Youth Service Librarian Tricia Allen to a talk by David Munford on the library’s history. Middlebury students beginning their work study programs at the library were also present.
The Ilsley 100 Project is primarily driven by the needs of the Middlebury community, according to Dana Hart. The library has served many roles throughout the years and its building’s history is a testament to that fact, having seen many small renovations since its founding. However, the current structure has interfered with the programming and amenities that the library wishes to offer to the community.
“The children’s area is in the basement, so it is dark, does not have very good views and is also quite wet,” said Joe McVeigh, the chair of the Ilsley 100 project board.
Librarians have limited lines of sight in the children’s area and also have an incredibly cramped office space, according to McVeigh. The addition should help to make the librarians' lives simpler while making the space more conducive to fostering a love of reading in children.
The children’s area is not the only problem with the current space. The meeting room, also located in the basement, is small and features low ceilings, this is a problem because the space is almost always full, the current location also has limited natural light and no windows.
Another focus of the Ilsley 100 Project is to make the library more accessible by reducing the amount of stairs that patrons and employees are forced to use to use the building. The project hopes to render the library completely accessible to all who wish to enter.
The planned expansion faces various challenges, especially with regards to funding. A project of this magnitude will cost approximately $17 million dollars, $4.5 million of which will be generated by local taxes over the course of 20 years. Another $2.5 million dollars is expected to come from the government through state grants, federal grants and rebates.
This leaves about six million dollars to be raised through private donations, which are being gathered on the Isley 100 Projects’ website. The renovations the library will implement are subject to financial feasibility. McVeigh shared that the building will feature steel pillars because there are not sufficient funds to pay for wooden ones.
The Ilsley 100 Project is expected to break ground in April of 2025 and be finished in July of 2026. Beginning in January and for the duration of the construction period, the library will be located at a space within the National Bank of Middlebury, from where they will continue operation.
