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December 29, 2006
A New Year for a New Darien Library
This is the year when construction will start on the New Darien Library. We have some final approvals to receive, and cost estimates and bids are still in the offing, but we are tentatively planning on breaking ground in April. Construction is expected to finish in the fall of 2008.
Years of planning, hundreds of meetings, and the tradition and reputation of the Darien Library have led up to this moment. Coordination between the staff of the Library, and the work of Peter Gisolfi Associates, with leadership from the New Building Committee chaired by Jenny Streeter and David Campbell, have led to the design of an extraordinarily attractive building that will be the central focus for cultural life in Darien.
The citizens of Darien take out so many books and other items, and visit the Darien Library so often, that it is the busiest library in the state. That support of the Library is shown in the success we have had in raising private funds for the building project. George Wyper and Kim Huffard, Capital Campaign Chairs, have raised $21 million of the $24 million needed -- but don't worry, if you haven't had a chance to contribute, the public fund raising campaign is about to begin.
Library Journal has called the new building a "great library in the making;" plans are for a "green" building with LEED certification to reduce environmental costs; quiet spaces with books, active spaces with coffee and friends, expanded children's resources, technology that will work for users -- all are in the future.
Right now is a time to pause and take stock before the first shovel is in the ground, the first beam rises in the air, and long before the building opens, with thoughts about a past of accomplishment and a future of extraordinary promise.
Posted by Alan Kirk Gray at December 29, 2006 08:29 AM