Ribbon Cutting Day - Sept 28, 2024

​On the morning of September 28, 2024, after years of thinking and planning, long months of construction and anticipation, and stupendous effort all-around, it was time to gather the community to celebrate the new Mount Vernon Library Commons. 
 
Nearly 500 people filled chairs, found places on the Courthouse steps, or stood with strollers and dogs.  Folks in high spirits told stories among themselves about the old library, caught up on news with their neighbors, marveled at the amazing structure before them. A trio of brothers who’d walked together from their house because they REALLY WANTED to see inside. A little girl hoping she’d like the new library because she REALLY LOVED the old one.  Everyone looking forward to getting inside.        
 
Federal, state, county, and city officials talked of the innovative project, its history, its place in the future of Mount Vernon—all lauding the cooperation it had taken to successfully complete the project.  
 
And after a hearty thank you to Mayor Jill Boudreau, it was time. Officials and design/construction managers stepped forward with scissors to cut a 50-foot ribbon.  And with those cuts, the doors opened to the community.
 
Right away, children were playing with building blocks inside THEIR room. Parents were taking pictures. Children lead their grandparents among rows of shelved picture books, covers facing out. Laughter and bright talk everywhere. Adults tried out the chairs in the quiet reading area. Teenagers checked out THEIR room. Library staff circulated, answering questions, directing traffic. People went up into the parking garage just to see—top floor with the best view of the town. 
 
It would be several weeks before the library officially opened, and longer until it was fully functional, but anyone who was there that September morning will not soon forget the joy of it all. 

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