The Orono Public Library Foundation is continuing to raise money for its library expansion while moving onto the next step of the $8.62 million project.
A push for donations in July brought in more than a quarter of a million dollars, but the foundation is roughly $219,000 short of its goal. Regardless, the project will go out to bid in September, the foundation’s president, James Jackson Sanborn, said.
The publicized goal of “achieving the vision” for the campaign by July 31 was a “hopeful date” of obtaining all the donations needed for the expansion, Library Director Laurie Carpenter said.
“We’re really hopeful that this is going to come in lower than we estimated. But even if they come in right where we estimated, I think that we’re in a good place,” Jackson Seaborn said.
The library expansion is a large undertaking for Orono and would nearly triple the building’s size. Costs for the project have grown since the project’s inception, but the foundation has been able to secure funding from federal earmarks, the Orono Town Council and, as of Tuesday, 548 individual donors, according to Alicia Nichols, the foundation’s campaign manager.
Funding will be accepted through the construction process and once the expanded building is completed, Carpenter said.
Because of where the library is in the process of expanding, it’s unclear when construction will start.
The project will be put out to bid in September. The foundation has worked with a third-party estimator to ensure projected costs will be similar to what bids are submitted, Jackson Sanborn said.
Once a company is selected, it will be able to decide if work should start this fall and winter or if work will begin in the spring, Carpenter said.
Throughout the campaign for expansion, which began soliciting donations in August 2024, the community has supported the effort, Carpenter said.
The library was built in 2009, but residents were skeptical about having a library that had to be supported by the town, Carpenter said. That skepticism hasn’t been part of this fundraising, she said.
“I think people were just kind of cautious about putting their money out there, and now they see that it works and they really have embraced this library and what it means to the community,” she said.
Community support has been strong because of how grateful the foundation is for every volunteer’s effort and resident’s donation, along with how great the library staff is, Jackson Sanborn said.
Some people have volunteered and helped fundraising, Carpenter said. One person raised $1,000 through pledges for a summer read-a-thon contest, she said.
“I’ve just been blown away by the generosity of some of the individuals that have given. And that extends from the people who’ve given huge amounts of money down to some kids who have walked up and given small bills to Laurie at events,” Jackson Sanborn said.