Director Dan Szczesny shares a collection of brief essays on the expansion needs of Griffin Free Library.
HOW WE GOT TO HERE
A word about our journey thus far. To many, it may seem like this major expansion came out of nowhere. But in reality, a variety of library leaders have been working toward this moment for decades.
Town growth and the library’s small size, comparatively, was recognized all the way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A variety of campaigns and projects back then led to minor expansions in the early 2000s when the library got plumbing and restroom facilities for the first time!
But dreams of a larger, more inclusive library, museum and community center remained and began to blossom again around 2018 as it became clear that Auburn’s growth and prominence was increasing fast!
Right before the pandemic hit, the library hired a consultant out of Boston to create a needs assessment for Griffin Free. In February 2021, that consultant concluded that our library was “too small in 2021 to serve its population.” In fact, per capita, our library is dramatically the smallest in the state.
Once the pandemic was behind us, plans to expand began in earnest. A budget passed in 2022 gave us the means to put out bids to hire an architect and construction manager. In turn, after dozens of meetings with our citizen building committee, those plans — like the one at the top of this page — are now available for the community to study.
During the budget season of 2025, the town overwhelmingly approved a $100,000 warrant article to begin prep work for the expansion, including updated architectural plans, drone survey work, ledge and soil testing and other site work. That’s all ongoing!
Now, Budget and Town Meeting season is upon us. This is it Auburn! Can you help us grow and create a legacy library for generations to come?
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN AUBURN GROW
Our plan calls for a significant increase in space for families, children and young adults. Collection increases for young people, a storytime area, dedicated teen space and computer stations, youth reading areas and more are included. Why?
Well, primarily because our current space can no longer accommodate the increased usage from all age groups, but in particular from our families and youth users.
For comparison, this year’s summer reading program saw Auburn kids and young adults read almost 130,000 pages — that number in 2024 was 90,000 and 2023 was 50,000! Since a full-time children’s librarian was instituted in early 2023, our children’s and juvenile circulation has increased by nearly 50 percent! All that in a space barely larger than a master bedroom. Currently, about 65 percent of the library’s circulation comes from lending for kids and young adults.
Auburn kids and families are using the library at a pace never before experienced and we’re working hard with this expansion to be the library families want us to be!
A PLACE FOR COMMUNITY
We celebrate the enormous growth of both event participation and patron usage, two of the most critical elements of our charter and our promise to our Auburn community.
Our expansion calls for increased spaces for both functions. The crown jewel of the expansion is a Community Center that will have a dedicated entrance and restroom facilities and will be available for meetings and events even during times that the library is closed. We hope this space will serve as the focal point for community events and gatherings for all types of organizations and activities, from the Massabesic Garden Club, Auburn Senior Group, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts and Rotary, to adult crafting events and swaps, to banquets, open houses, meetings and more.
Why is this so critical? Well, it’s all about patron usage. While event attendance and patron usage have increased steadily over the last few decades, in the last couple years alone Auburn residents and families are using the library and attending events at a record pace. Last year, we set a record when 11,500 patrons walked through our doors. This year, we’re on a pace to break that record by quite a bit.
Book events now regularly attract 40-80 or more attendees, a number too large to safely fit into our current library’s small event room. Storytimes are jammed with children and families. Our monthly adult craft nights reach their registration limit within days of being announced.
Surging attendance means that more and more events now have to be moved to AVS. And while the school is wonderful and we have a great working relationship with them, having our own dedicated space, designed for events instead of a cafeteria, is the direction you all want us to go.
THE LIBRARY COLLECTION GROWS WITH AUBURN
Over the past few months we’ve worked hard to expand our Library of Things, which now includes cake pans, cookie cutters, an ice cream maker, knife sharpener, walkie talkies, a telescope and much more. We even have a stud finder (you can insert your own dad joke!).
We have big plans to add more to our Library of Things that include more instruments and tools. We’ve been asked about adding items such as a carpet cleaner, dehydrator, folding tables, snowshoes and even a sewing machine.
We love those ideas and I want to bring them to you. But for now, we simply don’t have the space to do many of those requests justice. Our expansion will provide ample room for a vibrant and full collection of items to fulfill the ever-growing needs of Auburn.
A RETURN TO SEBASTIAN GRIFFIN’S MUSEUM
When our founder, Sebastian Griffin, donated his collection of artifacts in 1893 and our library was first chartered, we became one of the few libraries in the state that was both a library and a museum. As the community grew over the years, we had to prioritize our function as a library.
When we expand, our goal is to return our front room (Sebastian’s original collection room) back to a museum. Sebastian was a collector of Native American artifacts and naturalist items, many of which we still have in storage and which will be brought back out for Auburn residents, and everyone, to enjoy again. Who wouldn’t want to see some turn-of-the-century rattlesnake rattles from right here in Auburn?! I’d love for all of you to be able to explore Sebastian’s collection and soon you’ll be able to!
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
As the library expansion projects moves into budget season and we prepare for the Auburn Deliberative Session and Town Meeting, our staff, friends and trustees will continue to meet with the community to answer questions and provide information prior to our bond vote.
Please reach out to me, Dan Szczesny, for information on how you can be part of the project (donations are welcome!). My email is director@griffinfree.org.
We hope you’ll all join us in the incredible adventure to provide a generational institution for the town we all love!