Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — The patrons of the Robert A. Frost Memorial Library have been waiting patiently for a new library. Now, thanks to numerous donations and the grand writing skills of Librarian Rea Caldwell and co-worker Joanne Worthen, the end of the fundraising is in sight.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
From left, Joanne Worther and Rea Caldwell stand in front of the Tree of Knowledge at the Robert A. Frost Library in Limestone.
“We’re at 75 percent of our goal,” said Caldwell, “we want to raise $680,000, and right now we’re at $510,000.”
“I think we’re right on track,” said Caldwell. “the community has supported by with pledging towards our campaign and with the fundraisers we’ve had; the walk-a-thon held by the library was well supported.”
The library is hoping to meet the $680,000 mark by January or February.
“We’ve got a few more months to work on it,” said Caldwell, “but our funding has come through, we’ve also been doing some grant writing and we’ve had a little bit of success with that; currently we have six outstanding grants that we’re waiting to hear back from.”
The library is currently in the process of hiring a new architect to see it through the plans and the building process; the last architect could not longer continue working with the library.
“It sort of slowed us down a bit,” said Caldwell, “but we’re hoping to have the project out to bid in March, and for construction to begin either next spring or early next summer.”
The library is going to be adding 32,000 square feet to their structure. A major reason for the expansion is to finally meet all of the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
When the library is finally complete, the patrons won’t be the only ones enjoying the new space.
“Right now, our program area for the children is in the adult reading room; you get ten kids in here and it’s crazy,” said Caldwell. “but usually have 20 to 25 kids. Currently, we’re kind of crammed, so we’re going to spread everything out a little bit.”
The library is looking to build new children’s area, meeting room, program area, and restroom facilities among other things.
Caldwell also stated that the library has seen an increase in its circulation, especially regarding the number of patrons who frequent the library to use the internet.
“The internet is used a lot here for people researching jobs or applying online,” she said, “Joanne and I help them as much as we can.”
The increased number of people using the computer mad it obvious that a technological update was needed.
“We only have one patron computer with the internet,” said Caldwell, “and it’s in the children’s section which is not the best place for an adult to sit and try to work on the computer because the kids are right there.
It is anticipated that the new facility will have a designated technology area as well as additional computers.
“The need for a new facility has really been apparent since the last ‘60’s,” said Caldwell. “We started fundraising back in ’99, so we’ve been at this a long time.”
Plans were held up further because of space concerns regarding the old Limestone fire station that was right behind the library. Space, however, is no longer an issue; the town has since built a new fire station and tore the old one down.
“We have plenty of room to expand,” said Caldwell. “We want to get this done because the cost goes up every year that we wait.”
The Robert A. Frost Memorial Library services patrons mostly from Limestone and Caswell.
“We’ve got pretty good patrons,” Caldwell said, “they return their things when they’re supposed to for the most part.”
