NEW VINEYARD — Library trustees received more good news this week as they continued their pursuit to build a larger library and add running water and a new septic system.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program awarded the library expansion $27,600 to help offset the $225,000 they have committed to raise for the project.

The New Vineyard Public Library will receive $9,850 and the New Vineyard Public Library Association will receive $17,750 to address building accessibility issues, install a new septic system and new well, and build an addition to the current building.

Trustees and municipal officials were notified in April that $180,000 in a public facility grant from the Community Block Development Grant  program was reserved for the proposed expansion of the library. It would go from 580 square feet to 1,800 square feet. The money is not guaranteed, but association members have been working to complete grant criteria.

The space would include a community room that could be used by local organizations. It also includes installing a new, drilled well and new septic system.

Trustees plan to build an addition on the far end of the building where the New Vineyard Historical Society is located. A wall would be removed from the society’s space and a 44- by 36-square-foot addition would be built.

The society and the New Vineyard Town Office would shift into existing spaces in the building owned by the New Vineyard Library Association.

“These USDA Rural Development grant funds will be instrumental in ensuring this very rural community has access to the valuable resource of a library that is equipped to meet their needs,” Virginia Manuel, state director of the USDA Rural Development said in a release. “I congratulate them on securing funding for their new space and hope they enjoy the library for many generations to come.”

Trustees and municipal officials were notified in April that $180,000 in grant money has been reserved for the proposed library expansion.

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