{"id":38712,"date":"2026-09-16T11:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T15:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/?p=38712"},"modified":"2026-09-16T11:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T15:54:09","slug":"capital-campaign-launched-for-new-east-springfield-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/capital-campaign-launched-for-new-east-springfield-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Capital campaign launched for new East Springfield library"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwlp.com\/news\/local-news\/hampden-county\/capital-campaign-launched-for-new-east-springfield-library\/\">WWLP<\/a>) \u2013 The Springfield Library Foundation and city officials launched a capital campaign Tuesday to rebuild the East Springfield Branch Library, backed by a $50,000 lead contribution from Beacon Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The project will replace an outmoded facility at 21 Osborne Terrace that was built in 1932. The new building will mark the city\u2019s second major library capital project since 2019. The original branch library suffered from limited space, crowded working conditions for staff and accessibility challenges for visiting patrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Springfield City Library Director Molly Fogarty explained that the new structure will update offerings while honoring the site\u2019s history. \u201cWe will be able to expand services, technology and collections,\u201d Fogarty said. \u201cAnd while this will be completely new construction, elements and themes from the existing building are being incorporated into the new design.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Plans for the 8,700-square-foot facility feature a Family and Children\u2019s area, a dedicated Young Adult section, a large community meeting room and quiet study spaces. The building will also include multiple computer stations, expanded media and book collections and an outdoor patio area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwlp.com\/news\/local-news\/hampden-county\/capital-campaign-launched-for-new-east-springfield-library\/\">Visit the source to see a slideshow of the event where the campaign was announced<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mayor Domenic Sarno highlighted the historic role of the neighborhood branch during the announcement. \u201cOur East Springfield Library branch has been providing successful and popular library services for our community since 1934 \u2013 and now we will move forward to enhance this neighborhood learning center so that it can serve our community for another 100 years,\u201d Sarno said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sarno called on additional private and institutional donors to contribute to the fundraising effort. \u201cI\u2019m proud to say that the East Springfield Branch represents our second major library capital project in the last decade,\u201d Sarno said. \u201cWith the support of great champions like Beacon Bank, we will build a vibrant 21st Century Library and Learning Center here on Osborne Terrace, making our City an even better place to live, work and raise a family. I encourage other businesses, families and individuals to join Beacon Bank to complete the Library Foundation\u2019s capital campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jim Hickson, president of Beacon Bank\u2019s Springfield &amp; Hartford region, represented the bank at the announcement. Beacon Bank, formerly known as Berkshire Bank, provided the initial $50,000 anchor donation for the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new library facility is currently in the design phase, with full completion expected in 2028.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The new building will allow the library to expand services, technology, and collections for the neighborhood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-news-foundation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38712"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38713,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38712\/revisions\/38713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springfieldlibrary.org\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}