Click on the image above to see it at a larger size. A $41,205 Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Planning and Design Grant was awarded to Tilton Library in August 2014. A required $20,600 supplement was funded by Tilton Fund, Inc.
Shortly after the award was announced, library trustees appointed a seven member Needs Assessment Ad Hoc Committee which interviewed and recommended an owner’s project manager and an architectural firm.
The firm, Johnson Roberts, Associates, Inc. of Somerville has prepared an initial design using the approved and accepted library building program.
This initial design and results of site studies were used to apply for a Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program Construction Grant Round in January 2017. At the July 13, 2017 meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Deerfield project was placed on the Waiting List, with a rank of #12 of 24. for a $3,944,338 provisional grant award, which would cover 50% of the project cost as estimated in 2017.
Schematic Design / Cost Estimate Library Building Program PDF Case Statement PDF Today and Tomorrow FAQs About the Project Library Project PowerPoint 2016 Library Project UPDATE SLIDE SHOW 2022 Libraries Are Essential Town Service 10/24 SPECIAL TOWN MTG PRESENTATION
July 7, 2022 Update: After close to 15 years of hard work by many people, we have the opportunity to improve and expand our beloved library to be even better, with a one-time state library construction grant of $4 million dollars!! We hope to join our neighboring towns – Greenfield, Hadley, Amherst, Erving, and Shutesbury – in the movement to improve and expand libraries. SEE Library Project UPDATE SLIDE SHOW 2022 button below for more details.
Our heartfelt thanks to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) for joining us in this new vision for an expanded Tilton Library. Thank you to all who have helped us get to this point.
How soon do we have to act to secure the grant? We have 6 months–until January 7–for the Town to secure the rest of the funding for this project or we will lose this opportunity for probably decades to come.
UPDATE October 25, 2022: There was a special town meeting on Monday October 24 where the project passed by two-thirds majority. Thank you, Deerfield! The next step is a ballot vote with a special election (needing simple majority to pass) taking place on December 6 at Town Offices.
Will there be private fundraising too? Yes, the Tilton Fund has embarked on a capital campaign. To date, $760,000 has been raised toward the campaign’s $2 million goal. These funds will further offset the cost of the project to Deerfield’s taxpayers.
The project’s estimated cost (updated 8-8-22) is $12.3M. The MBLC grant cuts that cost down to approximately $8M . The capital campaign will decrease the amount the town must finance by $2M, bringing cost down to approx. $6M. There is a potential to get additional funding from Community Preservation Act (CPA) dollars, up to $1M. And the library will get another state grant for being a LEED certified (energy efficient) design, in the amount of $100K. Also, the library’s board of trustees is committed to mitigating construction cost increases by taking a hard look at the original plans and retooling, within the limits of the grant.
Additionally, the Deerfield Selectboard wrote a letter to Governor Baker on behalf of all the towns across the state that are a part of this year’s grant cycle, asking to be given additional ARPA funds to help these towns better afford their library projects. This got the attention of 40 state legislators and a bill is being drafted. The amount that Deerfield is asking for is $4.3M, the amount of cost escalation due to COVID-based cost increases. If you want to reach out to the state legislators in support of receiving these additional funds, click here.
How can I help? If you are interested in supporting the capital campaign, please email us at tiltonlibrary@cwmars.org, and the library director or someone from the Tilton Fund will contact you. Please keep in mind that a capital campaign donation is a gift toward this building project only. It is different from a donation to the Friends which supports library programs or the Tilton Fund Annual Appeal which supports the annual operating budget. NOTE: When donating to the Capital Campaign through the Tilton Fund PayPal account, please note in the “special instructions” box that this is for the capital campaign. Thank you!
How will the Library educate the community on the project? We will continually update the community through email, a dedicated website, print materials and public presentations.