January’s Note from the Director

Welcome to 2025! As we usher in this new year, my thoughts (like many of you, I suspect) turn to fresh starts and beginnings. I’m not a resolution-maker although I do like to ponder what could be in the year to come. My hope for the Library is that we will receive positive news regarding our grant application, allowing us to design a renovated, expanded space. Our renovation/expansion dream is not simply because we need more space to hold additional materials and programs (although that is true), it is because inclusive, accessible libraries today do so much more than act as a book repository. I recently heard a community member say that we need to stop being nostalgic about the library of our past, and I could not agree more.

Libraries of today are technology hubs where community members can access and learn about the latest tech tools. They are places to discuss topics of importance to the Town and the world. They are places of gathering where neighbors can meet, and we can help banish the epidemic of loneliness so prevalent these days. They are learning spaces where the youngest can access early literacy benefits through story times and other programs and materials, students can have spaces to study, both quiet and collaborative, and where adults can continue to discover and pursue lifelong interests. Libraries provide materials and information to assist with job searching and business development. They lend things to borrow and try, they provide discounted access to museums and cultural institutions. Most of all, libraries should be safe, accessible spaces that welcome everyone in.

While our Library tries to be all of the above for our community, we have several areas where it falls short. Accessibility is a particular problem as anyone who has used our public restroom, climbed to the teen loft or tried to maneuver a wheelchair, scooter or stroller in our stacks can attest. Retrofitting the Library with the plumbing, electricity and technology it now requires remains a challenge. Providing adequate space for the various programming and gathering needs of the community continues to be problematic.

So, my wish this year for the Town of Manchester is that we have the opportunity to begin the journey toward a newly renovated and expanded Library; a renovation that restores features and respects the historic character of the existing space, while providing much needed updates and a complementary addition. And on behalf of the entire Library staff, I wish you a joyful, healthy, peaceful 2025 filled with family, friends and new discoveries!

– Cynthia Gemmell