Citizens in Rockport are coalescing around a plan to build a new, expanded library at the historical site of the old library. The consensus is growing in the weeks leading to a Nov. 8 vote on the new library plan, which has also received the unanimous support of Rockport’s elected Select Board. 

Some community leaders have seized on the new library plan as an investment in the town, making Rockport more inviting to businesses, workers, and new transplants — all vital to Rockport’s growth.  “When we are recruiting new physicians and professionals, we are showing off our local community as part of the package,” said Erik A. Frederick, chief operating officer at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport. “A new library in Rockport is an important piece of the picture for people who are considering relocation to the Midcoast." 

The plan for a modern new library at the historic location seems to have healed rifts that developed over several years among Rockport citizens, mostly over whether to move a new library out of the harbor area. This new plan has brought opposing sides together, in part because Rockport so badly needs a new library. After nearly 70 years of wear-and-tear and four renovations, the library is no longer safe, and cannot satisfy the community’s needs.

Parties on both sides of the old debate are applauding how the new library will have a dedicated children’s room with kid-height shelves, new space for free adult educational and cultural programs, room for free high-speed Internet, meeting spaces, and furniture designed for laptop and tablet use. Proponents also note that the new space will allow the full book collection to be displayed at its most accessible. 

The financing plan has also received positive reviews, since grants and private donors will cover half the total project cost. Should it be approved, Rockport’s bond for a maximum of $2 million will only kick in after that fundraising campaign is successful. For a typical household, the bond means taxes will go up about a buck a week.

Supporters hope all these factors will sway the electorate, and after Nov. 8 citizens of Rockport can look forward to a new, modern library, an anchor to the community, and an investment in Rockport. 

Jan Rosenbaum lives in Rockport