A new and improved Haverford Township Free Library on Mill Road reopened Thursday, thanks to $22 million in renovations, writes Pete Bannan for the Daily Times.
Library board member Phil Goldsmith, who kept the project alive over 10 years of planning, compared it to Homer’s “Odyssey.”
“Years and decades in the making, with our own versions of cyclops and sirens,” Goldsmith said.
The project was sidetracked by a zoning board decision requiring more parking, the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased costs, and a siren that needed moving.
The library work was finally greenlighted in 2023 and stayed on time and on budget.
Several federal and state grants helped pay for the renovations, with $1 million coming from the library as well as other fundraising efforts.
Highlights include new heating and air conditioning, a new elevator, and 24 new parking spaces.
There is more public space, including a living room space with a fireplace for quiet reading, additional meeting and study rooms, increased public computer access and tech zones, a new teen room with large monitors, gaming consoles, and tables, and an innovation zone with 3D printers.
Plans for a digital art corner with a green screen area and laser cutter are being developed.
Find out more about Haverford’s newly-renovated library in the Daily Times.
