NEWS

The New Hampshire

Friday, September 13, 2013

Durham Library hosts grand opening, ribbon cutting

of new building after $4.8 million renovation project
By CATIE HALL
STAFF WRITER

The scene at 49 Madbury Road

was one of celebration this past
Sunday, Sept. 8, due to the grand
opening of the new Durham Public
Library.
The improved facility received
all of the perks of a grand opening,
including a ribbon cutting and guest
speakers.

its size.
According to Thomas Madden,
library director, the library outgrew
its storefront space, which offered
3,000 square feet. The new library
lends itself to 10,500 square feet.
It always cramped our ability to move, Madden said of the
storefront property. The staff area
was an aisle with worn out, beat up
carpet. There was nothing good
about the old space, except the peo-

In terms of keeping this building as green

as possible, one of the things we discovered

is that investing in insulation, which isnt
sexy saves you tons of money.

Thomas Madden

Director, Durham Public Library

Over 100 people showed up to
celebrate the librarys change of address from its storefront home in the
Mill Road Plaza to Madbury Road.
UNH seniors Jordan Pritikin and
Alex Ivanov were in attendance.
Its an awesome facility, Pritikin said after he and Ivanov toured
the building.
The librarys most noticeable
change, aside from the location, is

ple that worked there.

The extra 7,500 square feet of
space means more opportunity to
Madden.
Well now what? What do
we do with this beautiful facility? Madden asked in his opening
speech.
Madden had several ideas,
which he listed, such as increased
childrens programming, more computers, meeting spaces that can be

reserved online and space for staff.

In the old location, the mere
3,000 square feet meant that childrens programming had to be
hosted at the local high school, and
staff areas were limited in size and
function.
Many were visibly impressed
with the larger facility. However,
the building is also full of green surprises that would make any environmentalist proud.
For example, small solar panels, approximately one foot long and
one foot high, cover one side of the
librarys roof.
The panels are unostentatious,
as they lie close to the roof.
In addition, the back of the library hosts a landscaped rain garden
to handle storm water runoff from
the parking lot and library roof.
As we did our research on
where to invest our money in terms
of keeping this building as green
as possible and saving money, one
of the things we discovered is that
investing in insulation, which isnt
sexy saves you tons of money,
Madden said in regards to sustainability.
The entire projectthe buying
and renovation of the property, implementation of sustainable efforts,
and addition of more technology
cost $4.8 million in total. Madden

said that the funds came from a bond

vote and fundraising.
We had a little over a million dollars at hand that we fundraised, so we could afford [the site
we wanted], Madden said. With
all the fundraising we did over the
years we raised $2.2 million dollars. And, actually, $500,000 of that
came in bequest from the estate of
Margery Milne. Then we went
for a bond vote of $2.6 million dollars that passed by 74 percent.
Despite its new look, the library has an old history.
The Durham Public Library
was not originally located in the
Mill Road Plaza but, rather, it used
be a part of the Dimond Library on
the UNH campus.
Todd Selig, Durham Town Administrator, explained that 16 to 17
years ago, the Dimond library wanted to expand. Thus, the Durham
Public Library was forced to nd a
new location.
It found its home at the Mill
Road Plaza, where it stayed until
the library could nd a new locale
a process that took 15 years, Selig
said.
During that 15-year period,
some residents did not appreciate
the storefront location.
I was surprised to see the
towns library was in a strip mall,

especially in a university town,

Lisa Pfeiffer said upon her move
from Colorado to New Hampshire.
Pfeiffer has been a Durham resident
for ve years, and she attended the
librarys grand opening.
I am thrilled that this has come
to fruition, she said, looking around
at the building.
While the building has been
equipped with modern technology
and a caf on the inside, it still has a
historical tie to Durham.
I remember as a student at
UNH coming here to drink tea with
the professor that lived here, Barbara Siegert, a Durham resident for
25 years, said.
According to Siegert, town residents were afraid that the old house
would have to be taken down in order to make room for the library.
That was not the case.
They kept the front of the
house the same, Siegert said. Its
the same building the professor
lived in all those years ago.
Though Madden explained
the capabilities of the librarys
new space and its sustainability,
he highlighted the unique opportunities the facility offered town
residents.
This is your library, he said.
Its up to you to determine how
you want to use it.

UNH Family Weekend

October 5 & 6 Saturday & Sunday

Its a UNH tradition Invite the whole family to campus !

Free Events:

w Illusionist Mike Super w Ice Skating w Pancake Breakfast

w Sport Club Demos w UNH Museum w Non-GPS Geocach Event
w Talk by Prof. Nancy Kinner w Parents Coffee w Art Museum
w Special Friday event: Dueling Pianos Concert

Ticketed Events:

w University Picnic w UNH Mens & Womens Hockey Games

w Meals at Holloway w Movies

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For more info. and to register go to

www.unh.edu/parents