Midd to vote on $17M upgrade for Ilsley Library

Middlebury voters on Tuesday, May 7, will be asked to support an almost $17 million makeover of the historic Ilsley Library at 75 Main St., a project that — thanks to grants, a Herculean fundraising effort and use of some of the town’s local option tax surplus money — would only cost local taxpayers roughly $4.4 million.

It’s not often that residents of any town can gladly approach a significant bond issue knowing all parties involved have excelled at crafting a $16.99 million library renovation project down to a very manageable $4.4 million payment for taxpayers to retir … (read more)

I will vote to support the bond on May 7.

The Ilsley Public Library is consistently one of the most frequently used libraries in the state, but its 100-year-old building is in deteriorating condition.

Please, Middlebury, say yes on May 7 to funding a renovated and expanded Ilsley Public Library! For years, despite the severe limitations of its current building, Ilsley has been among the most visited libraries in the state. 

There are a few organizations that are critical to the fabric of a community. The library is one of them.

The bond vote for the Ilsley Public Library’s proposed improvements and redesign is one of the most important we can imagine, and it’s a shame that Middlebury must shoulder this responsibility alone when so many of us from other towns are loyal patrons an … (read more)

Ilsley Public Library is one of the most used facilities in our community. I’m asking Middlebury townspeople to vote yes on the May 7 Library bond.

Ilsley Public Library — a Middlebury treasure — deserves the support of town residents when we vote on a bonding proposal to expand and renovate its century-old building on Main Street. The shortcomings of the present structure include moisture problems i … (read more)

The Ilsley 100 Project Team has done a superb job. It has developed a beautiful design to provide library users — from toddlers to seniors — with a safe, accessible, energy-efficient building to accommodate their needs for the next 50 years or more. Furth … (read more)

Architects are firming up plans for a $16.5 million expansion and renovation of Middlebury’s Ilsley Library, with May 7 tentatively flagged for a local bond vote. Learn more in this video.

While Ilsley Public Library boosters are seeking to write a new chapter in the Middlebury institution’s 100-year history — one they hope will be based on a major makeover of the institution’s longtime headquarters at 75 Main St. — they’re also asking patr … (read more)

LOCAL PHYSICIAN NAOMI Hodde will give a talk called “On Being Enough: Combating Perfectionism Through Self-Compassion,” at Ilsley Library on March 19.

The library is an amazing regional resource, used by residents of many towns surrounding Middlebury.

When Middlebury voters endorsed a local option tax back in 2008, they saw it as a means by which neighbors and visitors would help pay off debt on the $16 million Cross Street Bridge. Sixteen years later, the local option tax has been paying even bigger d … (read more)