Op-Ed: ‘Critically Important’ To Move Forward with Current Plans To Rebuild New Canaan Library

To the editor:

These are exciting times for the New Canaan Library as we embark on a project to build a new library and center for lifelong learning that will serve the town for generations to come. 

We truly appreciate the incredible amount of support and interest that we have received from the community, town government and our very generous donors. Over $15 million in private capital has been raised to date indicating strong support for our existing plans for an iconic mid-century glass and stone building combined with the Town Green. 

Further, a recently completed economic impact study indicates that New Canaan could benefit with up to an additional $6 million of economic activity as a result of this project. We expect to break ground in early 2021 and have the new building up and running by late 2022. 

To achieve all this, it is critically important that we continue to move forward now with our current plans. Over the past 15 years, successive Boards of Trustees of the New Canaan Library have worked to advance a plan for a new library in downtown New Canaan. This process included convening focus groups to determine the needs and desires of residents and a careful examination of the requirements for the next generation of modern libraries.