The library expansion will make the building 50 percent larger. Specifically, the current building has 22,456 square feet, and was constructed in 1895, with renovations in 1963, 1969, and 1988. The expansion will increase the space to 35,159 square feet.

The new library design:

• Doubles the space for children and triples the space for young adults

• Will be fully handicapped accessible, with a larger elevator and level floors throughout the building

• Increases the amount of public meeting spaces

• Offers a large meeting room with a separate egress that can be locked off from the rest of the library

• Centralizes circulation functions

• Increases silent, tutorial, and collaborative study options

• Has bathrooms on every floor, including a family bathroom on the ground floor

• Will meet current fire, safety, and building codes, including a fire suppression system and stairs with turns and landings

• Will use green building practices and adhere to the Westford Climate Roadmap

• Includes a Library of Things, which patrons have requested

• Offers a better flow throughout the building, with better sight lines on every floor

• Features a Reading Patio directly outside the new children’s area

You can see floor plans and architectural renderings here.

Please note that the historic façade on Main Street will remain unchanged.

Yes. Given how extensive the renovation will be – and as mandated by the library grant language – the library will have to move to a different location for the duration of the construction project. Where the library is going is still being determined. The staff expects to be able to creatively offer the same services it always does, regardless of where the temporary library is located.

Once the project breaks ground – anticipated to happen in late 2024 – the construction will take two years.

The renovated library will be designed using green building practices and will adhere to the Westford Climate Roadmap.

Those practices include (but are not limited to) low-flow bathroom fixtures, energy efficient mechanical systems, low-emitting materials, occupancy sensors, high-efficiency windows, and a design that maximizes daylight. Solar and geothermal options will be explored. The building envelope will be critical in terms of maximizing energy efficiencies. Additionally, the project is anticipated to undergo third-party commissioning to ensure all systems are optimized.

Yes. The library will still be fully operational. It will just be in a different, temporary location while the current building is being expanded and renovated. Patrons will still have access to all the materials the library currently houses, as well as the collections of all the libraries in the Commonwealth.

The J.V. Fletcher Library staff will make every effort to provide the same level of service patrons have come to expect and rely on.

The expanded, renovated library is anticipated to reopen in late 2026.

Yes. The library’s current elevator, for example, is too small and is used as a pass-through and an exit.

The floors throughout the building are uneven. The stairs currently do not have turns and landings, as are now required by code. The bathroom in the current children’s area is too small to accommodate a wheelchair. All of these issues – and more – will be addressed and fixed in the renovated building.

The total projected cost of the expanded and renovated library is $32.5 million. Of that, the library will receive a construction grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) for $7,851,994. In addition, when the library project meets certain critical benchmarks during construction, the project is slated to receive an additional $829,263 in grant funding from the MBLC.

The J.V. Fletcher Library Foundation is committed to raising $1.5 million of the total cost.

The remaining funding – approximately $22 million – will be funded by the town through a debt exclusion approved in 2022.

In addition, the library project may be eligible for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds, which in part focus on historic preservation.

The library project is slated to receive a total of $8,681,257 in grant funding from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. This includes the original construction grant of $7,851,994 that the town voted to accept in 2022, and an additional grant in the amount of $829,263 that the library project anticipated receiving when critical construction benchmarks are met.

The money the Foundation is raising will primarily be spent on furnishing the renovated building. The furnishings – flexible, functional, and comfortable – have to be built to last. And, depending on the amount raised, some funding could be spent on other features, as well.

No. The parking lot is expected to gain six additional spaces with the redesign. And the flow of the lot – along with the lighting – will be improved.

Yes. As the library is currently designed, any public event needs to end and vacate the premises by 9:00 p.m. when the library closes during the week. With the library renovation, the large meeting room on the ground floor with have a separate, lockable entrance. That way, larger events happening in that space will have the flexibility to meet later, with an after-hours egress.

Accessibility is an issue in the current building. As is safety. The current elevator and sets of stairs are not built to code. The elevator is too small – it cannot accommodate a gurney in the event of a medical emergency, for instance – and the stairs do not have turns or landings, which are now required. The floors are uneven throughout the building. The bathrooms and elevator are inadequate for large wheelchairs and strollers and multiple children needing the facilities at the same time. Although the building has smoke and heat detectors, it does not have a fire suppression system.

The way the building is currently configured, none of the collections can be housed all together in the same space. Collections are sometimes spread over two or three floors due to lack of adequate shelf space. There isn’t enough meeting, programming, study, and tutorial space in the current building to meet the community’s needs. Circulation services are not centralized. The library staff doesn’t currently have adequate workspace, either.

The J.V. Fletcher Library was last renovated nearly 40 years ago. Since then, the town’s population has grown to just under 25,000. That’s an increase of 10,000 residents, and the library is currently bursting at the seams. Despite the proliferation of digital resources – e-books and downloadable and streaming services -- patrons still use and rely on physical books and materials. Even young people – so-called digital natives who’ve grown up with the Internet – continue to use physical resources, as well.

While more and more information is available online, consumers of that information still need help making sense of it. And that’s where the library staff members come in. Patrons of all ages benefit from a dedicated, knowledgeable staff.

Residents also need and want adequate, comfortable spaces to gather. Even though more people now work from home, residents enjoy having a place to go to take a break from work. Or to have a change of scenery while working, either alone or collaboratively. Students need safe, public places in which to study. Older residents may rely on the library as either a cooling or warming station, and many residents come to the library to charge devices in the event of a power outage.

When the library expansion project came before the Town, many of the challenges Westford now faces were not known. Over the course of the past year, Westford has experienced generational high inflation, renewed union contracts in this high inflation environment, dealt with extremely high health care insurance claims by the Town’s employees, had to negotiate a new solid waster vendor (when the outgoing vendor – with traditionally very low pricing – retired), and renewed a bus contract and special education tuitions that are dictated by the State and not the Town.

The library project was authorized by a vote of what is known as a debt exclusion. This funding is outside of Proposition 2 ½ and cannot be used or given to the operating budget. The debt exclusion for the library will fall of the tax roll once the note for the project has been paid off. The override, on the other hand, is a permanent tax increase.

Town residents have voted seven times on the funding, grant approvals, and debt exclusion related to the Library Planning and Design Grant, and the subsequent Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program Grant dating back to March 2012.

As of mid-January 2024, Westford has spent $301,178.32 of the first grant disbursement from the State.

The Town contacted the Division of Local Services (DLS) to ask the mechanics of rescinding a debt exclusion vote once it is passed, and under MGL Ch 59 Sec 21C, there is not process that expressly authorizes communities to rescind a borrowing authorization to the extent that funds are unencumbered. This usually occurs after a project has been completed. As shown above, spending on this project has already begun. The DLS noted that only a handful of towns have considered rescission of borrowing in the past.

If the library project does not move forward, the funds that Westford has spent from the State would have to be returned. Westford would then have to budget for building repairs and maintenance that are not currently budgeted for. In addition. Westford would lose out on the $8.6M grant funding that the Town has been authorized to receive.