HARDWICK – A grant from the Vermont Community Foundation will allow the Jeudevine Memorial Library to revisit its mission and vision statements white it crafts a strategic plan.
The $5,000 Capacity Building Grant will allow the library to work with Kate McGowan, a paid facilitator with many years of experience working with nonprofits doing this kind of work, and the new director of the library in Lincoln.
Jeudevine Library Director Diane Grenkow said “I look forward to working with trustees, [the] Friends [of the Library organization], and community members for this next step now that the addition is complete and thriving!”
She said, “We anticipate starting this work in January 2026 and completing it by April.
The library opened its new addition in 2025 after more than a decade of planning that began with a need for handicap accessibility for the original building, dedicated at a special Town Meeting at the Hardwick Academy on December 15, 1897. It cost $29,000 to build, including the site.
“The past several years have been dedicated to the design, fundraising and construction of the new addition during and after the upheaval of Covid,” said Grenkow.
“Library staff, trustees, Friends, the Town of Hardwick and community members have worked together to bring the addition to completion, and now it is the right time to look ahead to what’s next.”
Funded by federal grants and local philanthropic contributions, the new facility creates a more inclusive community hub with dedicated areas for different age groups.
The renovation and expansion project created a modern, accessible space, with a handicap-accessible entrance, meeting rooms. a kitchen, a three-stop elevator and spaces for children of all ages.
The addition connects to the original 1896 building that now serves as a quiet space, where historic elements like pocket doors and the original wood floors were restored.
“I want to identify our next goals and make a plan to accomplish them,” said Grenkow.
“The library and the consultant we are hiring will do this by gathering information through surveys, individual interviews and, if appropriate, focus groups comprising members of the board, library staff, Friends and community members.”
“We are all excited and grateful to be looking to the future, post-construction.” concluded Grenkow.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
