HOPKINTON — Fifteen-month-old Ayaansh Gupta posed for a photo in front of sign in the children's room of the town's newly renovated and expanded public library that asserts, "Reading can take you anywhere." 

Ayaansh loves studying and flipping through books, even if they're well above his reading ability, his grandfather Sandeep Gupta said Friday morning.

"As soon as he came into this room he found it fascinating," Gupta said. "The ambience is good. The collection is good."

Gupta, who spends most days with his grandson, said the new library is a great place for the two to spend time. For about a year and a half, the library called rented space on South Street home.

After the official ribbon cutting on the front steps, residents swarmed to get a first look. Libraries are no longer only about taking out books, but a spot for people to gather and create community, said Mary Ann Cluggish, a Massachusetts Board of Library commissioner.

Public libraries are a place for people of all walks of life to meet — for free, said Library Director Heather Backman.

"This building is not sufficient to achieve our vision on its own," she said. "We cannot be the heart of the community without the community's participation."

She called former Director Rownak Hussain the driving force behind the project.

The library was built in 1895 and expanded in 1967 when the town purchased the former St. Paul Episcopal Church building next door. The expansion makes the building about 25,000 square feet.

Residents approved a debt-exclusion override to pay for the $11.8 million project in May 2014. The town has received a $4.5 million state grant toward the project.

The project took about a decade of planning, Backman said. Many people spoke during the ribbon cutting on how the project melded the historical features of the building with modern amenities.

"The glass doors accentuate the 19th architecture of the original library as well as the former Episcopal Church built in the 1890s," said Laura Barry, who founded the Hopkinton Public Library Foundation. "The library now offers so many more resources than before, including more material and state-of-the-art technology."    

All great civilizations have had extensive libraries for "storage of information and transfer of knowledge," selectmen Chairman John Coutinho said.

"Some people say libraries are no longer needed. We have the internet. We have Google," he said. "My answer to them is, 'Why do we need oceans when we have water coming through the tap? Why do we need theaters when we can watch a movie on our phone?' We need many more avenues of transferring knowledge than the internet, which all know can be hacked and corrupted in seconds."

Carol Walsh, who grew up next door, remembers going to the original library to get her first library card as a four year old. She went on to become the children's librarian and later director. 

"I am absolutely amazed at what they have created," she said. "It is a welcoming place for everyone. They've covered everything you would need in a modern library."

Another former children's librarian, Dinny Potenza, says the space will offer a more educational experience. She hopes for a ukulele workshop in the future.

Of the new building, she said: "It's beyond my wildest dreams."

Jonathan Phelps can be reached at 508-626-4338 or jphelps@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JPhelps_MW.
http://hopkinton.wickedlocal.com/news/20171027/hopkinton-celebrates-opening-of-expanded--library
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