Opinion: Ilsley’s reopening was a success thanks to community

The grand opening of the new Ilsley Library on Saturday, Aug. 29 will long live in Middlebury’s history.

Middlebury’s newly renovated library building was officially unveiled Saturday morning.

I want to thank all the hard working folks at Ilsley for a job well done.

Following the Ilsley Library’s departure from the building, the bank has announced the newest tenant of the historic space.

Gov. Phil Scott on Tuesday announced a range of appointments to various boards and commissions that he made during the second quarter of 2026

  Middlebury’s Ilsley Library renovation and expansion project is beginning to look more like a finished product. Believe it or not, the end of construction is near on the $17 million undertaking at 77 Main St. In her most recent report, Ilsley Direc … (read more)

The Department of Children and Families has significant placement needs for children in foster care here in Addison County.

“Finding Hope Within” co-curators John Vincent and Heather Newcomb will present as part of the American Association of University Women and Ilsley Library 2025-26 speaker series.

The tearing down has concluded. Now it’s time for the build-up.

Good night, Ilsley, our old friend./ With thanks and admiration\ we’ll watch with eager eyes and hearts/ your budding transformation.

I just visited the Ilsley Public Library at its temporary new home in the Duclos Building for the first time. Kudos to the imaginative folks who created a welcoming space with all the elements of the Ilsley on which so many of us depend.

Middlebury residents will have a bigger, better Ilsley Library to admire and use starting in the summer of 2026. But between now and then, folks will face a few hardships — not the least of which could be finding a convenient downtown parking spot.

When the Ilsley Public Library shuts down its services at 75 Main St. in Middlebury for 16 months of renovation and expansion work, the local public access channel Middlebury Community Television (MCTV) also will be displaced from his home on the top floo … (read more)

The Middlebury selectboard has decided to dip into the community’s local option tax reserve fund to plug a $1.8 million revenue shortfall in the funding of $17 million Ilsley Library expansion and renovation project.

Barring a surge in private donations and/or winning additional grants, Middlebury taxpayers could be asked to absorb a greater chunk of the $17 million Ilsley Library expansion-and-renovation project than was originally anticipated, according to town offi … (read more)