An effort is getting underway to build a new home for Hartford Public Library. Library Director Stephanie Daniels tells WSJM News they’re waiting for the paperwork to clear on the acquisition of the old Red Arrow Elementary School, which sits vacant on East Street. The plan is to tear it down to make way for a new library.
“We need one here desperately because we’re just bursting out of our current building, which is at 15 Franklin Street,” Daniels said.
Daniels says the Hartford Library has used its current space since 1925. The new facility will be named the Art and Bonna VanDerlyn Community Center and Hartford Public Library, after the owners of the local Harding’s. Daniels says Bonna VanDerlyn has pledged big support for the new library
“She is contributing $1.3 million for this project, and we are going to be making a half million dollars to finish the project,” Daniels said.
You can donate now at the Hartford Public Library’s website. The new facility will have a meeting room, a computer lab, a kids area, a teens area, reading areas, and a maker’s space. Daniels says the plans are being drawn up now, the old school could be torn down this winter, and construction on the library could start in the spring.
