Rehoboth Public Library services have been paused since November 12th to allow for renovations to take place ahead of construction of their new $2 million dollar location on Warrington Road.
The Warrington Road location was purchased by the library earlier this year and Library Board President Kay Wheatley announced they went to settlement on November 19th.
Rehoboth Public Library director Lauren McCauley says this new location is part of a recent, broader effort to better serve their visitors.
“Sussex County has had exponential growth in the past couple of years, and it’s just getting bigger. So, it’s important for us to be able to offer services to everyone, because that’s really what a library is all about.” she said.
McCauley says the current downtown location often struggles with accommodating large crowds due to limited parking, creating challenges when hosting larger events, which she says the library often does.
These issues often worsen during peak summer season.
Rehoboth's density limited their options to address those issues at the downtown location, facilitating the expansion. McCauley also stresses the downtown location is not closing.
Instead, they'll offer all the services of the downtown location at the new one; its Warrington Road position is expected to be far more accessible to the many library users who live more than 2 miles from downtown Rehoboth.
McCauley also says that events some events offered at the downtown location will be simultaneously offered at the Warrington Road location once it's up and running.
The library is spending the afore mentioned $2 million on the property and eventual construction of the new location, putting $500,000 dollars down and taking a loan for the remainder.
McCauley says they will begin fundraising soon to cover the full price tag.
“The emphasis right now has been on downtown, but as we finish raising funds for that project, we’re going to start promoting the Warrington Road capital campaign too.” she said.
The library wants to raise the rest of the money via fundraising before construction on the new location begins. Donations are possible through the library's website.
Renovations on the downtown locations are expected to be completed by the end of 2026, and the library aims to raise the rest of the Warrington Road’s costs during that same timeframe.
