New London library addition blends old and new
By David Jacobs
Editor’s note: part of a series
A major upgrade to the historic New London Public Library, now fully in use, has created more than just a modern entrance and elevator — it’s given the century-old Carnegie library a new lease on accessibility while preserving its original heritage.
The estimated $400,000 project, completed earlier this year, included the construction of a new back entrance, a lobby, a reading loft and a new elevator.
Photo gallery: New London library marks expansion
Library director Lindsey Byron said the push for the expansion began with a goal of providing an elevator to make the building more accessible to all users.
“Our elevator was old, wasn’t very user-friendly,” Byron said. “Everybody was afraid to go in it. It was basically one of those old (service elevators)…mostly for packages.”
"It turned into making this a nice lobby space, plus the reading loft to give us some more usable space in the library," she said of the project.
Construction began in May 2024. While the addition was physically complete by around January, other efforts continued leading up to the April 8 open house special event.
“People have been able to use it,” she said. “We just didn’t have it fully furnished yet, where people could start using the doors and coming in using the elevator.”
The new portion of the building extends from what Byron described as the “wooden archway” at the library's rear.
“Everything from that wooden archway this way is new,” she said, referring to the spacious back area now home to the updated entrance and lobby.
The project was fully funded through savings generated by a levy approved by voters in 2018. Byron said no outside funding or borrowing was needed.
The New London Public Library’s expansion blends modernization with historic preservation.
The construction was carefully staged to minimize disruption to library operations.
“They didn’t cut the hole into the (existing) library until they were almost done,” Byron said. “So we were only disturbed for about a week or so.”
During that time, patrons continued to use the original entrance and interior stairs.
"There was a brief period of time that if you needed the elevator, you wouldn’t be able to use it,” she said. “But other than that, normal foot traffic wasn’t disturbed.”
The solution was to build off the back of the structure -- an area that had previously seen an addition -- preserving the integrity of the historic structure.
“Nobody wanted to disturb what the original architecture of the building looked like,” Byron said.
Byron emphasized the cultural and architectural significance of the site, which has housed the public library since 1916.
“There’s a lot of history within Carnegie libraries,” she said. “The architecture of the building itself and then just how long they’ve been in use.”
The New London library now features two entrances, with the new one offering enhanced accessibility while the original remains in place.
The result is being "ADA-friendly, inclusive to the community but without disturbing that original architecture," Byron said. "That was a main concern for the library board."
