Construction of the North Branch Library

The Dartmouth branch library on Tucker road was slated for demolition to allow for the relocation of Tucker Road. The Town and the Libraries began planning for the loss of the branch library in 2012 when the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners announced the opening of a Library Planning and Design Grant round. Dartmouth was awarded $50,000 in grant funds from the state, and only had to provide $25,000 in matching funds. That grant paved the way for Dartmouth to apply for a Library Construction Grant in January of 2017, along with 32 other communities.

On July 13, 2017, the Massachusetts Board Library Commissioners announced that nine communities had been selected for the first round of construction and the Dartmouth branch project was included in those nine. The grant was provisional and the community had to show that it would provide its share of the funding by January 12, 2018. At the Dartmouth Town Meeting held on October 17, 2017, the funding for library construction was overwhelmingly approved. Ground breaking was in July 2018 and the library opened in January 2020 for 6 weeks until the pandemic. The new branch is located on 211 Cross Road, in close proximity to Potter School and Autumn Glen assisted living. The new branch enables the libraries to provide 21st century library service to all residents of Dartmouth.

Access the New Branch Construction Photos July 2018 through May 1, 2019.

Timeline

Planning Through Groundbreaking In following Order:

• July 17, 2018: Groundbreaking for the new Dartmouth library branch 211 Cross Road, 4 pm.
• October 17, 2017: Dartmouth Town Meeting approves Warrant Article 6 (PDF) to help fund construction of a new Dartmouth library Branch.
• July 13, 2017: The Town of Dartmouth was awarded a Provisional Construction Grant through the state-funded Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program (MPLCP). The grant award is approx. 48% of the eligible costs with the remaining cost incurred by the municipality. Dartmouth received $5.346 million as one of nine communities awarded a grant out of 33 that applied.
• January 2017: We applied for a grant to help fund construction of of a proposed $10 million branch library on 10.5 acres of town-owned land off Cross Road.
• August 8, 2016: The Building Committee has chosen a design for the proposed new branch.
  Dartmouth Public Library - North Branch Render (PDF).
• July 2015: Read our updated July 2015 FAQ (PDF) on the future of North Dartmouth Library to get a good overview of actions/information from the outset through Summer 2015
• June 2015: The town received the first two grant payments, totaling $40,000 A Request for Qualifications for an Owner's Project Manager was drafted by Town Director of Development, Deborah Melino-Wender and was published. Bids are due by June 29, 2015. The state requires that an Owner's Project Manager be hired to oversee this project.
• May 2015: Director of Libraries Lynne Antunes presented the Library Building Program, with a few small amendments, to the Library Board of Trustees at their meeting on May 12. The Board voted to accept the plan as amended. The plan was sent to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and was accepted.
• May 2015: Read the Dartmouth Building Program Final Report (PDF) issued May 13, 2015 by Sondra Vandermark
• April 2015: The Library Building Program was completed by Library Building Consultant Sondra Vandermark
• March 24, 2015: Second meeting of the Library Building Committee, originally scheduled for March 19, but postponed due to snow. View the Draft Minutes March 24, 2015 (PDF).
• February 25, 2015: First meeting of the Library Building Committee - Minutes February 25, 2015 (PDF).
• June 2014: Read our June 2014 FAQ (PDF) on the future of the North Dartmouth Library created in the early stages of response to the information in the Transportation Study.
• June 2014: Read the Planning and Design Grant (PDF) received in June 2014 from the State of MA to begin planning for what will happen regarding a branch library in the northern part of Dartmouth.
• 2007: Read the 2007 Transportation Study (PDF) that proposes to remove the current library on Tucker Road - the reason why the Dartmouth Public Libraries Trustees began to plan for alternatives.

News Coverage of the Project

• Standard Times Article July 18, 2018
• Standard Times Article October 17, 2017
• Standard Times Article October 14, 2017